Contextual Information on Asexuality
Asexuality has been an elusive and intriguing subject in American society. Dr. Alfred Kinsey published reports on human sexuality where “category X” was mentioned (Asexual History, 2015). This category was used to describe individuals with a lack of sexual relationships and reactions (Asexual History 2015). In 1979, Michael Storms came up with a model of erotic orientation and this model included asexuality (Asexual History, 2015). Paula Nurius published a study observing mental health and orientation and found that asexual individuals had both a lower desire and frequency for sexual activity than compared to heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual individuals (Asexual History, 2015).
Even more recently
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Then, Poston and Baumle used a social constructionist viewpoint when analyzing the results. This approach looks at sexual orientation along a continuum (Poston and Baumle, 2010, p. 511). What they found was that the highest prevalence of asexuality was observed when only asexual behavior was taken into consideration. In other words, if we determine that asexuality only occurs when an individual has not had sex yet, or is a virgin in laymen’s terms, then we have a high percentage of people that would be considered asexual using this criteria only. However, this criteria is limited because some people abstain from sex due to religious purposes so it doesn’t paint a full picture of this minority group. The next highest prevalence of individuals occurred when self-identification was measured. Though, when looking at an individual’s desire, this criteria most resembled Bogaert’s findings. Since there is such limited research on a small population of people (relative to the heterosexual population) it is difficult to observe the prejudices that asexual individuals face in this society as a whole.
Interview Summary and Personal Reflection
I was personally unaware of asexuality until my freshman year in college when I took a human sexuality course. Though, I didn’t think much of it until I met Ariel in my junior year here at UNT. She and I shared come common interests and had a few classes
This is Damian form your Monday's & Wednesday's 12:30 pm class , it came to my attention that there seemed to be some problems relating to the test we just took on chapter 2 of the Human Sexuality class. Personally, im under the impression that i took the new exam although it had no timer applied to it and some of the question's apparent responses seem a little contradictional. On this questions for example # 1; "Which of the following statements regarding the desire phase of sexual response is true?" , #2; In which of the following areas would Masters and Johnson's research on sexual response be least helpful?, #3; Which of the following most accurately describes the plateau phase?, the book clearly states that this is
Contemporary understandings of sexuality are not the same as back in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Understandings and terminology in the past hold multiple differences and similarities than our current contemporary understandings.
The topic of sexual orientation is both sensitive and controversial. This is evident in events, such as the Pride Parade, and also in media, where authoritative figures preach against it and speak of its “sinful nature” (Emmanuele, Blanchard, Camperio-Ciani, & Bancroft, 2010). Sexual orientation exists in various forms, it differs in the way it is viewed by different cultures, and researchers propose different perspectives to explain the emergence of an individual 's sexual orientation. In the discourse of sexual orientation,
It’s no secret that we all have sex. Every person grows up as an individual, learning things about themselves as they go along, as well as learning about others. We all eventually end up calling someone else our significant other, whether it be of the same sex or not, and we all end up making personal decisions about our sexual identity and actions as we progress through life. We define our sexual identities of something unique to only us and we acquire our identities with a mix of influences: biological, psychological, social, cultures, values, and society in the time in which we are growing up. After such influences, we make the choice when to lose our
Alfred Kinsey’s extensive research into sexual orientation has brought about some of the greatest and perhaps most controversial findings of the 20th century. His findings range from sexual activities to sexual orientation, including “facts” that were considered shocking at the time of their publication, such as 10% of men are gay and almost half men have had adulterous affairs, etc. Not only have they changed the ways people view sex and sexual ethnics in the U.S., but these findings are also still deeply embedded in the public imagination. However, a closer look at the great man’s research reveals some major flaws. Even though nobody has yet been able to replicate the research due to its magnitude, in the 21st century, we have other approaches to explore the same field, the results of which both confirm and challenge Alfred Kinsey’s findings.
Human sexuality is a common phrase for all, and anything, pertaining to the feelings and behaviors of sex for the human race. Sexuality has been a topic that has been discussed and studied for as far back as 1000 years B.C. and is still being studied today. As the discussion of sexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. Out of the many theories that pose to explain sexual behavior, Sexuality Now explained ten that are seemed to be the most overlapped, and built off of theories. Of these theories, two that were discussed in the text were the behavioral and sociological theory. These two theories cover some of the basic ideas of what could possibly influence a person’s sexuality.
Answer: Self esteem plays a large role in my sexual choices. I think many people make the mistake of equating another person’s love for you to the love you feel towards yourself but they are two very different things. Early on, I found that I had low confidence and was participating in sex partly out of curiosity but also partly because I thought it would make me more attractive, or cooler or more dynamic. I also thought that when my partner loved what I did, that meant I was doing something right and now I have a good reason to love myself. Unfortunately I viewed it as a tool to make myself “better” however I do think that the
If sexual orientation is something that we can’t change or choose, then how are these specific preferences such as heterosexuality and homosexuality created? How does one person progress to either heterosexuality or homosexuality? Studies showed that there were genetic factors linked to influencing sexual orientation in males before they were born by increasing the female reproductive capacity in mothers during multiple births. (Iemmole, Ciani, 2008: 393) Though that doesn’t mean that there technically is a “gay gene” that has been discovered, just that several human genome studies has suggested promising areas of research that are pointing to that direction. (Iemmole, Ciani, 2008: 393) With more
Human sexuality is defined as the capability of individuals to experience their sexuality and be able to express themselves as sexual beings (Hyde & DeLameck, 2006). Our interest in this topic is because with time, there has been a change in rules that control human sexual behaviour. The status quo in our contemporary society is much different as compared to an earlier state of conditions, and the change has, as a result, brought the evolvement in human sexuality. People 's view on virginity has changed greatly with a decrease of importance in regards to its preservation. Sexuality is essential to the economic, cultural, social and political organization of society or country. Our sexuality plays a fundamental role in all our lives regardless of age, sex or race. It forms a basic part of our personality and the decisions we make in what we do. One’s sexuality also consumes much of their time through behaviour or thoughts; at times every aspect of our lives seems to revolve around our sexuality. Studying sexuality is very important since human sexuality majorly contributes to social as well as personal problems. A lingering question concerning this topic is to what extent is virginity determined by the status quo and the rules that control human behaviour?
In 1998, David L.Weis conducted an assessment on 39 theoretical frameworks of sexuality research, including the social script that referred to Simon and Gagnon's account. Base on his findings, he presents the conceivable explanatory model of social scripts.
The first outcome that I felt the most personal growth in was outcome number nine. This outcome is stated as, “Enhance your personal life by formulating a Personal Sexual Policy – an ethical/moral foundation for making decisions regarding an individual’s sexual rights and expectations.” I felt the overall focus in the class gave me the opportunity to explore and learn new ideas and perspectives on sexuality. While my personal outlook on my own sexuality remained unchanged, I did gain knowledge about the other views of sexuality. I feel this experience will help me as I look for significant other to settle down with and raise a family. For example, I’ll be able to except her views on sexuality and when we engage in sexuality related conversations
Throughout history it is evident that human sexuality changes do to religious, governmental and societal influences. The perception of human sexuality has gone through many changes such as being very open and unlabeled activity; to being very “conservative” and a topic that shouldn’t be talked about in public or at all. In any case, human sexuality has always been a topic of interest because humans are sexual beings who want to understand the consciousness of themselves as male or female and see their personal response when encountered in erotic experiences with other individuals. Unlike many other species whose sexual force is strictly for reproduction, human’s sexual drive seems to be driven by many factors that intertwine with each other which leads to very different outcomes. Do to these obscure human emotions and personal gratification, sex is always shown every culture’s art, literature, social norms, and laws.
Sexuality is historically rooted vacillating through out time, adjusting to the individuals personal experience and is influenced by cultural norms. In the United States, sexual behavior and attitudes are driven by variations in gender, social class, ethnicity, and religion. In fact, sexuality is fluid and is different for everyone. It is a unique, diverse, complicated, secretive, and puzzling experience that is always changing. In essence sex is queer. In examining the definition of sexual orientation De Cecco (1981), reasons: Sexual orientation is one of the few areas of human behavior in which biology is not destiny ... Sex is interwoven with our feelings for others, their feeling for us, and the erotic possibilities we fancy in all these relationships. Sexual orientation, too, is a tapestry far richer and more intricate than we have imagined (p. 64). In this discussion of sexual orientation the critical concept to be examined is MSM, which refers to a wide range of groups of men who self-identify as straight, gay, bisexual, or heterosexual, primarily homo/heterosexual. The term “MSM” has a built-in ambiguity regarding the word “have” (as in “men who have...”). In present tense, it implies a habitual, ongoing behavior, not any specific event. But this use has a past tense, historical connotation as well, in that no one would be termed an MSM if he had never had sex with a man in
Throughout history there has been speculation about what influences sexuality in men and woman. Is sexual orientation biological or cultural in nature? There is a common misconception that sexual identity operate in parallel with gender roles( Sell, 2005 as cited in Wilkinson & Roys, 2005, p.65). Scholars have not came to an agreement regarding what actually comprise a person’s sexual orientation, however a sexual orientation has been deemed a cumulative experience and interaction of emotional and sexual feelings towards one or both genders (Wilkinson & Roys, 2005, p.65). The paper provides provides some clues as to what factors influence sexual orientation in men and woman.