Essay about Sexual Behavior

While sexual education is mandatory in almost all secondary schools across Australia, the level of depth at which it is taught varies throughout every school. Many highly important areas of sex ed, such as learning about consent, contraceptive options and violence in relationships, are less commonly taught in high school, with puberty typically being the prime topic taught in PDHPE lessons instead. But when we look at the increase in things such as sexual assault, sexual violence, Sexually Transmitted Infections and teenage pregnancy among today’s youth, we must wonder why such imperative subjects to educate teenagers on are discussed so minimally.

In this time period, there are many different disorders and illnesses that go unnoticed, and unknown. Society creates stereotypes about illnesses such as obsessive compulsive disorder, clinical Depression, and many other mental afflictions. Another that seems to remain controversial and misunderstood is sexual compulsive behaviors. Many see it as an excuse to act a certain way, or think a certain way; in reality it is a serious mental disorder that can cause devastating effects on the people that are consumed by them and the people who are around them. Something that is however, known about sexual compulsive behaviors is that there are certain things that can emotionally damage a person and cause them to have these behaviors. The three

Shaping my sexual behavior was generally influenced by my mom. I learned to be dependent on men and use safe sex through media. Gender sex roles also placed me to be secretive with my sex life and nurturing. My body image makes me insecure when it comes to intimacy. There were no specific sexual guidelines that my family made me follow. I was raised in a family where I was able to explore and have my own opinions about sexual situations. Not having guidelines or a path made me lost and confused once I obtained sexual behaviors. My experiences from friends, my mom, religion, and media influenced the development of my sexuality.

I think it is safe to say that no two words elicit more feelings of concern, anxiety, and anger in parents, and stirs up more controversy and debate than the words “sexual education”. This especially true with the implementation of the new, revised sexual education curriculum in Ontario schools. Consequently, this controversy has strongly divided individuals, families, and organizations between those who approved of and those who opposed and protested against school-based programs that providee sexual health education to children. But why so much opposition? This is due to the significant changes made to the sexual education curriculum and the sensitive nature of the topics being taught to children regarding sexuality as a whole, changes which are seen as both radical and “even more explicit and more age-inappropriate than before…” (“Ontario’s Radical,” n.d.).

excludes the very word from it entirely. The DSM V instead gives guidelines for behaviors that

The paraphilia that I choose to dicuss is transvestic fetishism which has two parts for the diagnosis they are a) over a period of at least 6 months, in a heterosexual male, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving cross-dressing and b) the fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. There mey be an increased risk for sexual acting out for example, subjects have accidentally died when they were engaged in autoerotic asphyxia, which is a high risk paraphilic behavior based on self-induced cerebral anoxia by hanging or suffocation during masturbation. In one study results indicated that 36 men and 5 women ever having experienced sexual arousal from actual cross-dressing behavior, results suggest that sexual arousal to cross-dressing is rare, but could be associated with potentially criminal paraphilic sexual behavior such as voyeuristic and exhibitionistic acts, and there was a non-significant trend suggesting that childhood sexual victimization was related to transvestic fetishism.

3. These occur in response to stressful life events. 4. Unsuccessful attempt to control or reduce the sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors. 5. Engage in sexual behaviors without regard of risk for physical or emotional harm to self or others. 6. Clinically significant personal distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning due to sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors. 7. These are not due to any physiological effects of drugs or medication. 8. The diagnosis should be accompanied by the specific type of sexual activity: masturbation, pornography, sexual behavior with consenting adults, cybersex, telephone sex, strip clubs, other.” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Pedophilia is characterized as a sexual fondness for and activity with children. Pedophilia is a form of paraphilia (deviant sexual behavior). Pedophiles partake in acts that include fondling with a child's genitals, having sexual intercourse with and exploitation of children through prostitution or pornographic materials (Pedophilia, 2008). According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in order to be diagnosed as a pedophile one must experience intense sexual arousal from prepubescent children over a period of six months. In addition to the sexual arousal the person must have acted on the urges and as a result experience extreme distress or impairment in important areas of functioning

"Hypersexual Disorder" failed to be included in the appendix of the DSM-V (APA, 2012). This was mainly due to the risks associated with pathologising normal behaviours, and the potential forensic implications associated with such a diagnosis (Kafka, 2010). However, both the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine recognise that a disorder exists in which sexual behaviour is addictive (World Health Organisation, 2007; American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2011)

Over time, the addict usually has to increase the addictive behavior to achieve the constant same results. But unlike drugs, alcohol and gambling, those substances or activities have no necessary relationship to human survival. Anybody can go through life without ever sipping a drink or playing a slot machine, but sexual activity is different. Human sexuality is a natural impulse in our biological system and even a necessary habit for human survival. According to the internet article “What is Sexual Addiction” by Michael Herkov, Ph.D. He states that “Although some people are celibate some not by choice, while others choose celibacy for cultural or religious reasons healthy humans have a strong desire for sex. In fact, lack of interest or low interest in sex can indicate a medical problem or psychiatric illness.”(Herkov,

IPV does not just happen to females, it happened to males as well. Male-to-female IPV is more common than female-to-male IPV. Sexual IPV ranges from experiences of coercion to unwanted sexual activity to more severe forms such as rape. Almost 21% of women have experienced sexual IPV. These women who have experienced sexual IPV have poor sexual, psychological, and physical health. Researcher suggests the sexual IPV is much more than a sexual function and comprises substance abuse, psychosocial distress, anxiety, depression, and suicide (). These women also are at risk for mental health issues and relationship problems. Based on research, exposures to sexual coercion, threats of violence, and physical violence co-occur in women. A study was conducted

Paraphilia is known as a condition characterized by abnormal sexual desires, typically involving extreme or dangerous activities. Brannon defines Paraphilic Disorder as any intense and persistent sexual interest other than sexual interest in genital stimulation or preparatory fondling with phenotypically normal, physically mature, consenting human partners. (2013) Although many types of Paraphilias have been identified, DSM-5 has categorized the disorder into eight specific types: Voyeuristic disorder, Exhibitionistic disorder, Frotteuristic disorder, Sexual masochism disorder, Sexual sadism disorder, Pedophilic disorder, Fetishistic disorder, Transvestic disorder. (2013)

Everyday in America, more people become addicted to sex. According to the National Association of Sexual Addiction Problems, “1 out of 17 people are addicted to sex.” Many people become addicted to it and do not even know it. “Sexual addiction is a progressive intimacy disorder characterized by compulsive sexual

Just as other interpersonal themes, sexual themes in film are often depictions of sexual themes that exist in real life relationships. For this very reason, it is very easy for a person to compare his relationships with that of a relationship shown in media or film. Some relationships are total train wrecks from the start while others are not necessarily ideal, but healthy. Although not seen very often, ideal couples in film are attributed with characteristics that are seen by society as desirable; youthful, attractive people who are hyper-sexual and affectionate. As cliché as it sounds, sometimes relationships are simply “complicated”. Such is the case in the film It’s Complicated.

“Never before in history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent (and obscene material been so easily accessible by so many minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions” (qtd in “Pornography and Child Sexual Abuse”). The problem addressed in the quote by the U.S. Department of Justice is pornography, a 10 billion dollar industry, has made its way from discreet taboo to something that is today considered acceptable and even common. With the internet being such a common tool, it is no surprise that there is easy access to sexually explicit material. The widespread accessibility and usage of pornography has changed people’s outlook on the normality of watching such sexually explicit material, and