Today in class I was amazed at the many different terminologies I thought I knew but learned I did not actually know the true definition of. During the morning activity of defining human sexuality within our group, I learned that everyone’s definition of human sexuality is different. I define human sexuality as defining who you are sexually, your gender, and who you are attracted to. Some of my classmates defined it as your sexual orientation, the physical and mental connection you have with one person or more than one person. I did agree with the group that human sexuality could also be defined by your culture, societal influences and norms, and biological factors.
“Culture takes our sexual interests-our incitements or inclinations to act sexually and molds and shapes them, sometimes celebrating sexuality and other times condemning it” (Sayad & Yarber. 2013, p.14). In my culture, females are to wait to have sex until they are married, and if they do have sex prior to marriage they are looked down upon. Male that have sex prior to marriage are looked as being a conqueror of females and are cheered at amongst other males. This is not the case in other cultures. The Mangaia of Polynesia both sexes begin to learn what sexual arousal and pleasure is during early adolescence. At the ages of 13 and 14 boys are taught how to please the girls by using erotic kissing, fondling of the breast, and how to bring the girl to have multiple orgasms. Two weeks after the teachings,
What do you think of when you hear the word sexuality? You can either think of it in a negative light or a positive one. Growing up my family never talked about sexuality, it was only when you want to have a baby you get married to a man that you love and that was that. There was never any in between with sexuality. Sexuality is a lot more complex than I was originally told. So what is Sexuality, where does it come from and how has it changed over time? These are some of the questions that I hope to unfold in my essay, first starting off with past
In any given society, at any given moment in history, people become sexual in the same way they become everything else without much reflection. They pick up directions from their social environment. They acquire and assemble meanings, skills and values from the people around them. Their critical choices are often made by going along and drifting. People learn when they are quite young and few of the things they are expected to be, and continue slowly to accumulate a belief in who they are and ought to be throughout the rest of their childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Sexual conduct is learned in the same ways and through the same processes; it's acquired and assembled in human interaction, judged and performed in specific cultural
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.
It was primarily held as the parents or guardians responsibility to teach their young about sex. At age fifteen, “Verna” learned from her mother and other older Hawaiian women to look forward to sex and appreciate its pleasures. Once she hit puberty sexual exploration with the opposite sex were actively encouraged. “Verna” believes that her education on sex was very sufficient. Although most of the sexual discussion was strictly on genital-to-genital intercourse, other sexual foreplay and pleasures were also discussed and encouraged. At puberty, Individuals of both sexes were expected to participate in sexual pleasures. “Verna” acquired sex education in all aspects of her life. Everyday exposure to principles, practices, and attitudes concerning sex helped her with understanding what sex was and the intentions it
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.
You are to respond honestly and completely to each of the questions in the journal. It is important that I will be able to understand your point of view on each and every question - so short 'Yes' or 'No' responses will not suffice. ( Place your response in the ‘Answer’ section indicated.) Give examples and details to support your responses.
Human sexuality can be interpreted in many different ideas and understandings. Watching the documentary “Guardians of the Flutes,” I was able to see a different life style than I’m use to but at the same time see many similarities. Both men and women have different roles in their daily lives and their works do not intersect. The Sambia tribe is patriarchal, in which the men have the control or rule, similar to most American house hold; however, that is changing. Understanding the way sex influences or impacts our lives is very important. Not only do humans interact sexually but also many animals. Human sexuality is being able to be comfortable with one to be able to interact with others in a deeper level.
Sex and gender play a big part in american society today and are often misconstrued. These two topics have become progressive as people are starting to express their gender and sexuality in ways other than what is and has been considered the norm. Many people believe that sexuality and gender are synonymous with one another. Gender is socially constructed while sex is biologically determined. In society’s past, Americans often strayed away from discussing controversial topics, but with the rise of different ways of addressing people, it is deemed more important to understand. Along with the blurred lines of gender and sex comes sexuality, who someone is attracted to sexually. When people stray from society’s heteronormative mindset, they are often faced with many more challenges than the average hetero man or woman. People often have the preconceived notion that if something does not concern them, then they should not be involved in it. A person who could be your neighbor, co worker, or even child, may have to deal with the troubles of people confusing their gender identity with their sex. While also facing challenges that deal with the sex of the person they choose to love. Learning the difference between gender and sexuality will open the eyes of many people and see how the two are different but relate to one another very much.
Traditionally speaking, most people view sex and gender as interchangeable, synonymous, and biological. As more studies and research are done, more professionals are realizing the vital difference between the two terms. Sex, according to sociologist Doctor Zuleyka Zevallos, is the “biological traits that societies use to assign people into the category of either male or female, whether it be through a focus on chromosomes, genitalia, or some other physical ascription”. She goes on to say that the definition of gender is “the cultural meanings attached to men and women’s roles; and how individuals understand their identities including, but not limited to, being a man, woman, transgender, intersex, gender queer, and other gender identities” (Zeyallos, 2014). We see sex as something we are assigned at birth due to the body parts we are born with, and we see gender as the way one identifies with their assigned sex. In the majority of cases, assigned sex and gender identity line up, but less often it does not. In these cases, we see individuals who are transgender, gender queer, gender fluid, and more. More people are coming forward about these different ways they are experiencing gender, so many people assume these ways of experiencing gender are new.
Sexual orientation can be considered as one of America’s most controversial topics. Although the rationale and choice differs from person to person, and is considered to be a private matter of personal preference, many people have experienced negative backlash and harsh criticism due to their individual likings. In general, sexual orientation is defined as: a person 's sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. While the definition seems to be straightforward and concise, the subject of sexual orientation encompasses much more than just the intensity of emotional and erotic attraction and response to members of the opposite sex, the same sex, or both
in our society we are given strict guidlines of what a man and a femal should behave like. no matter where we go we are first judged by our gender and secoundly our race. some people believe that sexual confusion or gender role confusion are diorders that people have from birth, which is true, but at times these behaviors come from tramatic or negative experiances. for a child or indivual person to become confused aboul there sexual role in society they experiencesome form or belittle ment based on their divergent behavior toward the strict gudlines of sexuality. our society has stressed out the idea that the ideal girl should not be powerful, aggressive or strong, and the ideal boys should not have a petite physique, play with dolls or engage
Over the years there has been many debates and experiments to try to come to the conclusion of whether sexual orientaion is biologically based or choice. Sexual orientation is a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to men, women or both sexes. Sexual orientation is defined in terms of relationships with others since their identity is based off of their attractions. Sexual orientation can be noted through behaviors such as holding hands or kissing, sharing goals and values, mutual support, and ongoing commitments. Sexual orientation can be broken down into three categories heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual. While this break down may seem very black and white, there are
Sexual orientation is one of the four components of sexuality and is distinguished by an enduring, emotional, romantic,
Throughout history, definitions of sexuality within a culture are created and then changed time after time. During these changes, we have seen the impact and power one individual or group can have over others. In the Late Nineteenth Century into the Early Twentieth Century, we see multiple groups of people and or authorities taking control over the idea of sex and how they believe society is being impacted by sex. At this point in time, society had groups of people who believed they had the power to control how society as whole viewed and acted upon sex. Those particular groups and ideas changed many lives and the overall definition of sexuality within that culture.
Upon entering this course, my understanding of human sexuality was decent; I was aware of certain aspects of sexuality such as being straight, gay, lesbian, queer, transgender, etc. Nevertheless, I did not realize how expansive sexuality is; it never occurred to me that sexual health, prostitution, marriage, rape, sex trafficking, divorce, families, etc., all fell under the umbrella of human sexuality. Books and essays such as Renee Hill’s Walk Together and David Shneer’s “Out of School” showcased the multiple facets of human sexuality and how terms like queer are not directly related to homosexuality. While sexuality and homosexuality are linked, frequently, people mistake them as being synonymous; before entering this class, I was searching for a definition of sexuality, and often in the thesaurus section of dictionary websites homosexuality and or sexual orientation was considered a synonym of sexuality. Formerly, I too would have agreed they were the same, however, after taking this course, I concluded that homosexuality is just one topic in the broad discussion of sexuality. My understanding of sexuality now is that it