definitions, dimensions & theoretical perspectives (3122)

World health org → def of sexuality

Central aspect of being human thru life and encompasses sex, gender id / roles, sexual orientation, pleasure, intimacy, reproduction, etc.

6 diff dimensions of human sexuality

Bio, psycho, socio-cultural, emotional, moral/sprirutal/religious, and cognitive

What’s part of the bio dimension of human sexuality?

Sexual response, reproduction/contraception, anatomy, STIs / STBB, puberty, hormones

Sexual response (bio dimension of sexuality)

Desire, erection… physical changes that happen w sex stimulation

Psych dimension of human sexuality

Attraction, trauma, paraphilia, attachment, consent, sexual fantasy/desire (libido), eroticism, body image, orientation / identity

Socio-cultural dimension of human sexuality

Trends/norms, gender roles/traditions, concepts (virginity), peer pressure, stereotypes, laws, rituals

Socio-cultural rituals of sexuality — example:

Sweet sixteen

Emotional dimension of human sexuality

Shame, fear, joy, love, desire, confusion, connection, regret, lust

Desire is within 3 diff dimensions of sexuality

Bio, psycho and emotional

Moral/spiritual/religious dimension of sexuality

Representation of concepts, rules of conduct (what u can/cant do), ur values, rights/rituals

Ex of rules of conduct (moral/spiritual/religious)

Waiting until marriage

Cognitive dimension of human sexuality

Acquired knowledge you get abt sexuality (ex: by taking this class)

Human sexuality is ______

Multidimensional

WEIRD — Eurocentric view in research

Only 5-7% of world is represented in psycho research and journals

Nature

Bio is the determinist — everything abt us is part of nature and determines our behaviour and sexuality

Nurture

Social determinism — product of our environment

Theoretical perspectives of sexuality (5)

Bio, evolutionary, psych, sociological, critical — ON A CONTINUUM!

Genetic theory (bio perspective)

Our genetic makeup / bio markers (hormones, reproductive cycles) influence our sexuality (explains sex behaviours, orientation, dysfunctions, etc)

Twin studies on genetic theory (bio perspective)

Identical twins more likely to have same orientation vs fraternal

Sociobiological theory (evolutionary perspective)

Applies evolutionary theory as basis of social behaviour in animals and humans

Darwin — NATURAL SELECTION (evolutionary perspective)

Human sexual behaviour is motivated by finding adaptive behaviour where the genes would be good to transfer to offspring

Darwin’s natural selection theory — how does a male choose a female?

Based off of bio aspects that make her seem healthy for offspring

Darwin’s natural selection theory — how does a female choose a male?

Based on ability to provide resources

Avuncular theory (Evolutionary perspective)

Rich gay/lesbian aunt/uncle provides resources to sibling’s offspring bc they share DNA → this way offspring will survive and homosexuality “survives”

Psychoanalytic theory (Freud):

Theory of personality w stages of psychosexual erogenous zones — ID = libido (i want sex rn); ego social aspect (I shouldn’t do it here rn); super ego = moral thinking

____ and ____ are fundamental forces of life (Freud)

Sexuality and eroticism

5 stages of psychoanalytic theory (Freud)

Oral, anal, phalique (oedipus complex), latent, genital

Oedipus complex (phalique stage — Freud)

Boy wants mom sexually and sees dad as rival → adopts male gender roles to avoid being castrated → if there’s no issues, he wont be stuck at this stage and will turn out cis and straight

Criticism of psychoanalytic theory (Freud)

Focuses on sex motivation and unconscious in determining behaviour, diff to validate, sexist

What are learning theories (psych perspective)

Explains how human sex behaviour is learned and shaped thru various intrapersonal and interpersonal learning paradigms

4 learning theories (psych perspective)

Classical (Pavlov), operant (rewards/punishments), behavioural mod (classical + operant to change behaviours), and social learning (imitation and identification)

Social exchange theory (psych perspective)

benefits - costs = measures to see if relationship is worth staying in or not

Cognitive theories (psych perspective)

How ppl’s perception, labeling and evals of events influence their sex behaviour (ex: the way a man labels not getting an erection)

Sexual scripts theory (psych perspectives)

Unwritten rules that guide sex behaviour and shape expectations → determine how ppl engage w partners, what’s acceptable, and what roles are taken during intimacy

What are sexual scripts shaped by?

Culture, upbringing, MEDIA, experiences… heteronormative af

Sociological theory (macro) — (socio perspective)

Explains ways how human sexual behaviour is socialized and shaped by norms and expectations defined by sociocultural contexts and social institutions (religion, law, medicine, fam, etc)

Critical perspective is like a _____ side

Sociopolitical

Feminist theory (critical perspectives)

Sexuality as socially constructed and shaped around men’s pleasure (often), gender inequalities, effects women’s sexuality

The feminist theory includes qualitative driven methodology

Talking abt women’s experiences from their own perspectives

Queer theory (critical perspectives)

How diversity and variations in sex, gender and desires are constructed and reject the system of binary categories — it refutes cis heteronormativity

Critical race theory (critical perspectives)

Race as a social construct based on skin and other physical features — key concept here is intersectionality (race/gender/orientation mixed)