HLTH220 || SEXUALITY IN A DIVERSE SOCIETY

Central premise of studying human sexuality

Sexuality embeds itself in all aspects of life, is viewed from multiple perspectives, and is surrounded by taboos, fears, prejudices, and hypocrisy, linked with intimacy and pleasure as well as shame, guilt, and discomfort.

Term currently used instead of "abnormal"

"Atypical"; current usage also speaks of "sexual nonconformists" rather than labeling people or behaviors abnormal. (course context)

Idealistically “normal” Behavior

Taking an ideal norm, individuals who use this approach measure all deviations against perfection. They may try to model their behavior after Christ or Gandhi, for example. Using idealized behaviors as norms can easily lead to feelings of guilt

Subjectively normal

According to this definition, normalcy is any behavior that is similar to one’s own. Though most of us use this definition, few of us will acknowledge it.

Clinically normal

The clinical standard uses scientific data about health and illness to make judgements

Statistically normal

Behaviors that are more common are normal; less common ones are abnormal. However, the fact that a behavior is not widely practiced does not make it abnormal except in the statistical sense

Typical

The preferred neutral term for what is common or usual, carrying no moral judgment. (course context)

Abnormal

An older judgment-laden label now replaced by "atypical"; only coercion, harm to self or others, or personal distress make a behavior problematic under current standards.

Sexual nonconformist

A person whose sexual interests or behaviors depart from the majority pattern, without implying pathology. (course context)

Sexual variation

Sexual variety and diversity, best understood as different sexual activities on a continuum from never to always.

Do "deviant" activities exist in most of us to some degree?

Yes; exhibitionism, voyeurism, and fetishism are engaged in by most people to some degree.

Psychological standards for harmful sexual behavior

Current standards center on coercion, potential harm to oneself or others, and personal distress.

Harmful sexual behaviors

Behaviors that harm the self (masturbatory asphyxia) or others (rape, child molestation, obscene phone calls).

Sexual interests

Incitements or inclinations to act sexually; culture molds and shapes them.

Most powerful factor shaping how we feel and behave sexually

Culture, especially the mass media, which presents myriad images of what it means to be sexual.

What social context do media provide about sex?

Media communicate which behaviors are appropriate, with whom, and why; what is NOT portrayed may be as important as what is.

Does mass media objectively inform, or entertain and profit?

Its primary purpose is financial profit; success rests on presenting information as entertainment, in marked contrast to scholarly research.

FCC and broadcast decency

The FCC is not clear about what is permissible, and decency standards are looser between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Common critique of music videos and video games

Music videos have objectified and degraded women by focusing strictly on their sexuality; video games often promote sexist and violent attitudes toward women.

Films and romance

Love in dramas and comedies is often stereotypical and idealized; increased movie viewing correlates with idealized expectations about romance and intimacy.

Self-objectification

Evaluating oneself based on appearance.

Sexualization

A form of sexism that narrows the frame of a person's worth and value.

Does a steady diet of sexual content increase or decrease body satisfaction?

It tends to decrease it; idealized media images promote social comparison and self-objectification.

Queerbaiting

Media whose creators integrate homoeroticism to lure same-sex and liberal audiences but never fully include actual representation.

Sexting

Sending or receiving suggestive or explicit texts, photos, or video messages; used for self-expression and education but raises privacy concerns since messages can be trafficked to others.

Cyberbullying

Using digital media to harass, threaten, or repeatedly humiliate another person. (course context)

Ghosting

Ending a relationship or communication abruptly by cutting off all contact without explanation. (course context)

Catfishing

Creating a false online identity to deceive others, often in romantic or dating contexts. (course context)

Online social networks and sexuality

The internet lets users obtain and distribute sexual information, display identities including sexual orientation, find dating and sexual-health sites (some with bad information), and encounter "relationship drama."

What can excess porn viewing lead to?

Some individuals experience distress and problems with sexual functioning or relationships linked to porn consumption.

Sexuality across cultures: the Mehinaku example

What we see as "natural" may be viewed as unnatural elsewhere; kissing is unnatural to the Mehinaku of the Amazon, showing that culture molds sexual interests.

Mangaia of Polynesia

They emphasize both the pleasurable and procreative aspects of sex at a young age.

New Guinean Dani

To the Dani, sex is a relatively unimportant aspect of life.

Victorian Era

White, middle-class Victorian Americans believed any sexual desire in women was the desire to have children, while men had raging sexual appetites.

Ancient Greece

Among the ancient Greeks, same-sex relationships between men represented the highest form of love.

Two-Spirit

In Native American tradition, a cross-gendered person who expressed gender in dress and work roles but not sexual behaviors; considered a third gender among the Zuni.

Androphilia

Sexual attraction to and arousal by adult males.

Gynephilia

Sexual attraction to and arousal by adult females.

Homosexuality (gay)

Emotional and sexual attraction to individuals of the same sex or gender; commonly called gay, and some identify as queer.

Sambian lesson on sexual orientation

Among Sambian males of New Guinea, sexual orientation is very malleable, showing culture's role in shaping it.

Bisexuality

Emotional and sexual attraction to both men and women.

Asexuality

Low or no sexual attraction.

Heteroflexible

A mostly heterosexual person who experiences occasional same-sex attraction or behavior. (course context)

Transvestism

Wearing clothing of the other sex, typically for expression or arousal, without implying a different gender identity. (course context)

Ambiguous genitalia

Genitals at birth that are not clearly male or female, usually related to intersex conditions. (course context)

Voyeurism

Sexual arousal from watching others who are nude or engaging in sexual behavior, without their knowledge. (course context)

Fetishism

Sexual arousal focused on an object or body part rather than on the person. (course context)

Exhibitionism

Sexual arousal or gratification from exposing one's genitals to unsuspecting strangers. (course context)

Sexual intelligence

Four dimensions: self-understanding of one's own sexuality, interpersonal sexual skills, scientific knowledge about sex, and consideration of the cultural context of sexuality. (course context)

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes, applied to sexuality to explain sexual thoughts, feelings, and actions. (course context)

Psychophysiology

The study of the physiological bases of psychological processes, including measuring genital and autonomic responses during sexual arousal. (course context)

Values

Deeply held beliefs about what is right, good, or worthwhile that guide personal sexual judgments and behavior. (course context)

Critical thinking

Evaluating claims with logic and evidence, recognizing opinion, bias, and fallacy, rather than accepting assertions uncritically. (course context)

Ethnographic studies

In-depth field studies in which researchers immerse themselves in a culture to describe its sexual customs and meanings in context. (course context)

What is the IRB? What does it do? Who does it protect?

The Institutional Review Board reviews research proposals to ensure ethical treatment of human subjects (informed consent, anonymity, protection from harm); it protects research participants. (course context)

Informed consent

Full disclosure to an individual of the purpose, potential risks, and benefits of participating in a research project; participants may withdraw without penalty.

Alfred Kinsey's major contributions

Published over 18,000 face-to-face interviews (the Kinsey Reports, 1948 and 1953); discovered extraordinary diversity in sexual behavior, reevaluated masturbation, found many people had sex with both sexes, and rejected the normal/abnormal dichotomy.

Kinsey Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale

Rates individuals on a continuum of sexual expression based on other-sex and/or same-sex behaviors and psychosexual reactions such as sex dreams and fantasies.

What does Kinsey's 0 delineate? The top of the scale?

0 = exclusively other-sex (heterosexual) behavior and reactions; the exclusively same-sex (homosexual) end is the highest rating (6 in most editions, sometimes taught as 7). (course context)

Masters and Johnson's major findings (at least two)

Human Sexual Response (1966) showed male and female sexual responses are physiologically very similar; Human Sexual Inadequacy (1970) revolutionized sex therapy through behavioral therapy.

How did Masters and Johnson conduct their studies? What instruments?

Systematic laboratory observation of human sexual response, measuring physiology with devices such as the penile strain gauge and the vaginal plethysmograph. (course context)

Clinical research: what is a clinic? Who is a clinician?

Clinical research is in-depth examination of an individual or group seeking assistance with psychological or medical problems; descriptive only, with the limitation of emphasizing pathological behavior. A clinic is the treatment facility and a clinician the professional delivering care. (course context)

What groups are currently attacking the value of sex research?

Politicians and conservative groups have attacked sex research topics (even HIV prevention), limiting funding.

Objectivity

Observation of things as they exist in reality, as opposed to our feelings or beliefs about them.

Opinion

An unsubstantiated belief or conclusion, often reflecting personal values or biases.

Bias

A personal leaning or inclination that reflects a prejudice in favor of or against a person, group, or thing compared to another.

Value judgment

An evaluation based on moral or ethical standards rather than objective ones; it implies how a person ought to behave and cannot be empirically validated, unlike objective statements.

Stereotype

A set of simplistic, rigidly held, overgeneralized beliefs, often negative; a type of schema we use to organize knowledge.

Schema

A way in which we organize knowledge in our thought processes.

Fallacy

An error in reasoning that affects our understanding of a subject.

Egocentric fallacy

The mistaken belief that our own personal experience and values are generally held by others.

Ethnocentric fallacy (ethnocentrism)

The belief that our own group or culture is innately superior to others; results in stereotyping other cultures as "primitive" or "inferior."

Phallic fallacy

The mistaken idea that a man's penis size is related to his body build; size is determined by heredity, and erection makes sizes more uniform. (course context)

Scientific method

The method by which a hypothesis is formed from impartially gathered data and tested empirically.

Induction

Drawing a general conclusion from specific facts.

Sexologists

Sex researchers, who use the same methodology as other social scientists but are constrained by unique ethical concerns and taboos.

Random sample

A sample collected in an unbiased way, with selection of each member based solely on chance.

Representative sample

A small group representing the larger group in age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and so on.

Biased sample

A sample that is not representative of the larger group; most sex-research samples rely on self-selected volunteers or students.

Survey research

Use of questionnaires or interviews to gather information; fast and inexpensive, but people may be poor reporters of their own sexual behavior.

Observational research

A researcher observes and makes systematic notes about behaviors without manipulating them; observing sexual behavior without consent raises serious ethical issues.

Participant observation

The researcher participates in the behaviors being studied, raising questions of objectivity and ethical responsibility.

Experimental research

Systematic manipulation of individuals or the environment to learn the effects of such manipulation on behavior.

Independent vs. dependent variables

Independent variables are factors the experimenter can manipulate or change; dependent variables are factors likely to be affected by changes in the independent variable.

Correlational studies

Studies that measure two or more naturally occurring variables to determine their relationship to each other.

Plethysmographs

Devices attached to the genitals to measure physiological response; they do not necessarily assess sexual desire or arousal.

Strain gauge

A penile plethysmograph that measures penis circumference and volume.

Three themes of the "modernist" sex researchers

Sexual expression is essential to well-being; broadening the range of legitimate sexual activity including homosexuality; female sexuality is the equal of male sexuality.

Krafft-Ebing

Published Psychopathia Sexualis (1886), case histories of fetishists, sadists, masochists, and homosexuals; attributed variation to "hereditary taint" and masturbation but documented an immense range of behaviors.

Ulrichs and Kertbeny

Ulrichs developed the first scientific theory about homosexuality; Kertbeny created the terms "heterosexuality" and "homosexuality."

Havelock Ellis

The earliest important modern sexual theorist; challenged the view that masturbation was abnormal, documented women's sexual desire, and asserted a wide range of behaviors was normal.

Freud

Explored the unconscious to understand neuroses; proposed repression; his work is now mostly of historical interest to mainstream sex researchers.

Freud's five psychosexual stages

Oral (birth to 1), anal (1 to 3), phallic (3 to 5, Oedipal and Electra complexes), latency (impulses inactive), genital (puberty, interest in intercourse).

Hirschfeld and Hooker

Hirschfeld defended transgender people and homosexual rights; Hooker demonstrated that homosexuality itself is not a psychological disorder.

Michel Foucault

Argued sexuality is rooted in society, not nature; explored how society creates social ideas that further the established order.

Feminism

A movement toward equality for women and men, and understanding the female experience in cultural and historical context.

Social construction of gender asymmetry

The development of social categories such as masculinity, femininity, heterosexuality, and homosexuality.

Feminist scholarship principles

Gender is significant in all social life; the female sexual experience has been devalued; power is critical in male-female relationships; ethnic and cultural diversity must be addressed.

Use and abuse of research findings

Media oversimplify, distort, or report contradicted results; concerns about the replicability of social science research have increased (Sakaluk, 2016).

NHSLS (1994)

Found Americans are generally sexually exclusive, have sex about once a week, and are fairly traditional; orgasms are the rule for men but the exception for women; extramarital sex is the exception.