Chp. 6b: Sexuality Across the Life Course

From birth

• talk early and often - important to teach (being comfortable answering questions)

• naming body parts (teaching correct terms for sexual body parts - don’t want to imply they’re shameful)

• touch (skin-to-skin contact: teaching pleasure of touch)

Developmentally appropriate sex education: Ages 2-5

• using correct terms for anatomy

• learning about consent

• privacy/when it’s appropriate to be naked

Developmentally appropriate sex education: Ages 6-8

• masturbation (very common - redirect behaviors)

• teaching what sex is

• teaching what porn is

• puberty (very important at this age)

Developmentally appropriate sex education: Ages 9-12

• sexualization - how they/world around them experiences their bodies

• sexual scripts

• sexual orientation

Developmentally appropriate sex education: Ages 13-18

• effective contraception - have this conversation before becoming sexually active

Kids/adolescents and masturbation

• some evidence of fetuses touching genital in-utero

• very common/not harmful - with young kids, best thing to do is distract them but don’t react negativity

Kids/adolescents and pornography

• pornography: printed or visual material containing explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate erotic feelings

• average age of first exposure is 12

• younger exposure = greater risk factors (i.e., higher likelihood of addiction, sexual aggression, skewed attitudes about gender roles, unrealistic expectations, etc.)

• as a parent - have open communication so that kid is more likely to come to you if they see it early

Adolescents and sex

• average age of sexual debut: 17

• youth are currently less likely to have sex in high school than in previous years

• at this age, people have sex for a lot of different reasons (i.e., intimacy w/ partners, peer pressure, “getting it over with”, etc.)

Adolescents and sexual orientation

• self-identifying - median age of 14 knowing their identity before adulthood

• coming out to others - youth are coming out earlier than ever

• having a supportive family or another support system is life-saving (more support = lower rates of self-harm)

Sexuality across the life course: young adults

• often viewed as time when many are having lots of sex w/ few people or lots of sex w/ a lot of people

• BUT trends over past decade are finding that it is more common for people under 35 to not have sex

• most people in US have sex before they marry

• college students report having at least one hook-up during college

• masturbation

• pornography

Orgasm gap

• heterosexual relationships - females tend to experience orgasm less frequently than men

Why?

• female orgasm isn’t required to have babies

• females haven’t been the highlight of sex studies until recently

• each individual female has unique genital nerve pattern - stimulation is different

• man women need other stimulation (breast, labia, clitoris)

Sexuality across the life course: adults

• sexual responsiveness peak is different for males and females (males - late teens, early 20s & women - 30s or 40s)

• desire differences are normal

• couples differ in sexual frequency (gay couples have sex most often)

• sex frequency typically decreases across life course

Sexuality across the life course: older adults

• likelihood of sexual activity decreases w/ age

• with age, sexuality activity often changes, decrease focus on penile-vaginal intercourse for heterosexual couples (result of bodily changes)

Sexual dysfunction: desire disorders

• low sexual interest or desire

• causes distress

• hypoactive sexual desire disorder

• low sex drive/interest

Sexual dysfunction: arousal disorders

• physical inability to become sexually aroused

• females: arousal/lubrication difficulties

• males: erectile dysfunction (have or maintain one)

Sexual dysfunction: orgasm disorders

• orgasm not present or not happening at preferred time

• orgasmic dysfunction - inability to attain orgasm

• males - premature or delayed ejaculation

Sexual dysfunction: pain disorders

• physical discomfort and pain during sexual activity

• females - dyspareunia (painful intercourse)

2 types of sexual desire

• spontaneous desire: want/desire just pops up spontaneously

• responsive desire: want/desire happens in response to arousal

Dual control method

Sexual excitation system

• encourages sexual desire, interest, or arousal

• romantic behaviors, partner touch, sexual material in media

Sexual inhibition system

• things that turn us off or away from sexual desire, interest, or arousal

• stress, negative feelings about self or body, feeling of being unwanted or use

Keys to healthy sexuality

• consent

• learn about and know yourself, your body, your preferences, etc. and your partner (communicate)

• having non-sexual physical affection is just as important as sex

• mutual initiation - both people can and do initiate sex

• focus on intimacy - sex is about getting closer to one another