Chapter 10 Sex, Gender, and Sexuality

biological sex

the physical aspects of a person’s sex

XX sex chromosomes

the genetic material that determines one aspect of the biological sex of a person as female

XY sex chromosomes

the genetic material that determines one aspect of the biological sex of a person as male

testes

the male gonads 9sex glands); they release the sex hormones and produce the cells that males use for sexual reproduction, called sperm

ovaries

the female gonads (sex glands); they release the sex hormones and produce the cells that females use for sexual reproduction, called eggs

estrogens

a class of hormones, including estradiol, that are more prevalent in females; they are associated with the development of the secondary and primary sex characteristics and with sexual behavior

androgens

a class of hormones, including testosterone, that are more prevalent in males; they are associated with the development of the secondary and primary sex characteristics and with sexual behavior

menarche

a primary sex characteristic in females; a girl’s first menstrual period, which signals the ability to reproduce sexually

spermarche

a primary sex characteristic in males; a boy’s first production of mature sperm, which signals the ability to reproduce sexually

intersexuality

when a person experiences conflicting or ambiguous aspects of biological sex

gender

the social, cultural, and psychological aspects of masculinity and femineity

gender schemas

a person’s cognitive structures that organize information about gender into categories, which include gender roles and gender identity

gender stereotypes

common beliefs about people of particular genders, based on similarities across many people’s gender schemas

gender roles

the positions, characteristics, and interests that are typical or expected for males or for females in a particular culture; this social information is stored in each person’s gender schemas

gender role socialization

the idea that people learn culture-specific expectations about gender roles passively, through exposure to social information in the environment

gender identity

the thoughts and feelings that make up one’s own sense of being male or female. This cognitive information is stored in each person’s gender schemas

cognitive development theory

The idea that each individual develops a gender identity by actively processing thoughts and feelings about gender

transgender

when a person’s gender identity and/or gender expression contradicts the person’s biological sex

gender dysphoria

a psychological disorder characterized by enduring significant distress about one’s assigned gender

sexual orientation

the nature of a person’s enduring sexual, emotional, and/or romantic attraction to other people

heterosexual

a sexual orientation where a person is sexually, emotionally, and/or romantically attracted to people of another sex

homosexual

a sexual orientation where a person is sexually, emotionally, and/or romantically attracted to people of the same sex

bisexual

a sexual orientation where a person is sexually, emotionally, and/or romantically attracted to people of the same sex and people of another sex

asexual

a sexual orientation where a person does not experience sexual attraction but may experience emotional and/or romantic attraction

desire

a person’s psychological experience of wanting to engage in sexual activity

sexual response cycle

a four-stage pattern of physiological and psychological responses during sex; the four stages are experienced differently by men than by women

paraphilia

unchanging sexual interest, arousal, and/or behavior associated with an object, type of person, and/or situation not usually associated with sex

sexual dysfunction

a significant and enduring problem in sexual functioning or pleasure (specifically related to desire, arousal, orgasm, and/or sexual pain)

Adolescent girls are more likely to engage in sexual intercourse if they have

A. a smaller hippocampus.

B. higher levels of estradiol.

C. a smaller hypothalamus.

D. higher levels of testosterone.

D. higher levels of testosterone.

estradiol

a steriod hormone and the primary form of estrogen in humans.

• plays a crucial role in the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics

What happens when testosterone levels increase in both males and females?

During puberty, testosterone levels increase in both boys and girls, and this rise is associated with the development of sexual desire and behavior.

As Moira enters puberty, her body is undergoing several changes. Some of them include developing fat tissue in her breasts, greater definition of her waist, and the growth of hair in her armpits and genitals. These are all examples of

A. secondary sex characteristics.

B. primary sex characteristics.

C. menarche.

D. spermarche.

A. secondary sex characteristics.

Farrah is a 24-year-old woman who has never had a sexual encounter. She does not feel sexually interested in others, though she does have romantic feelings toward certain people. Her lack of interest in sex is not a problem for her, and she does not feel that "life without sex" is a big deal. Farrah would be best described as

A. asexual.

B. transgender.

C. bisexual.

D. lesbian.

A. asexual

In one study of almost 4,000 pairs of twins in Finland, it was found that genetic factors account for about 40 percent of male twins' homosexual behavior. The results of this study suggest that __________ factors contribute to sexual orientation.

A. both environmental and biological

B. biological

C. neither environmental nor biological

D. environmental

B. biological

Jordon finds that when he goes to high school each day he is far more attracted to the athletes on the football and baseball team than he is to the cheerleaders. In fact, he has never been sexually interested in a female. Jordan's sexual attraction to other males reflects his sexual

A. orientation.

B. identity.

C. schema.

D. response cycle.

A. orientation.

Maria and Brenda have been dating for 2 months, and they both have the psychological experience of wanting to have sex together. In this situation, both Brenda and Maria are experiencing

A. resolution.

B. desire.

C. plateau.

D. excitement.

B. desire.

Research finds that men tend to be more physically aggressive than women. This might be caused by hormones, as well as by differences in the __________ and __________ in the brain.

A. amygdala; hippocampus

B. amygdala; prefrontal cortex

C. hypothalamus; prefrontal cortex

D. hypothalamus; hippocampus

B. amygdala; prefrontal cortex

Shenae understands herself to be female based on social, cultural, and psychological information from her world. In this case Shenae's sense of being female is her

A. gender.

B. gender type.

C. sex.

D. sexual orientation.

A. gender.

The idea that each individual develops a gender identity by actively processing thoughts and feelings about gender is called __________ development theory.

A. sex

B. gender role

C. cognitive

D. schema

C. cognitive

The pair of sex chromosomes passed from a parent to a child that determines the child's biological sex is the __________ pair.

A. 16th

B. 23rd

C. 2nd

D. 9th

B. 23rd

Vontez becomes sexually aroused when his wife handcuffs him and calls him horrible names. Vontez may be experiencing a type of paraphilia called

A. sexual sadism.

B. transvestism.

C. frotteurism.

D. sexual masochism.

D. sexual masochism

Sexual Sadism

getting sexual pleasure from hurting or humiliating someone else

Transvestism

Getting sexual excitement from wearing clothes typically worn by the opposite gender

Frotteurism

Getting sexual pleasure from rubbing against someone who hasn’t given permission, usually in public places

sexual masochism

getting sexual pleasure from being hurt, humiliated, or controlled

When Nik was born, it was hard to determine the baby's biological sex because there were conflicts between the sex chromosomes and how the genitals looked. The term that refers to this condition is 

A. homosexuality.

B. transsexuality.

C. intersexuality.

D. androgyny.

C. intersexuality.

When watching a baseball game with his friends, 7-year-old Keith sees a player get injured on a rough play and says, "I wonder if he is crying!" His friend answers, "I don't think so. Guys are tough. They don't cry!" Keith is currently learning about how males act through gender role

A. socialization.

B. identification.

C. stereotyping.

D. schematizing.

A. socialization.

While she is taking the trash out one night, Mallory's son Benji looks up at her and asks, "Why are you doing that, Mommy? Only men are supposed to take out the trash!" The cognitive structure that helps Benji organize information about females and males is called a gender

A. identity.

B. stereotype.

C. schema.

D. fixation.

C. schema.

Yuli and Ahmed are very excited at the birth of their first child, and they are both thrilled when the doctor tells them, "It's a boy!" The doctor is referring to their son's

A. psychological sex.

B. biological sex.

C. gender role.

D. gender schema.

B. biological sex.

Michelle is a doctor who has just delivered a newborn. She sees that the baby has a vagina, not a penis, and announces, “It’s a girl!” Michelle is using the appearance of the baby’s genitals to infer the

baby’s _____.

A. gender identity

B. sexual motivation

C. sexual orientation

D. biological aspects of sex

D. biological aspects of sex

Daniel is an adult with XXY chromosomes. He was assigned the sex of male at birth. Yet during

puberty his voice never deepened, and he does not have chest or facial hair. He has breasts. Given

this information regarding Daniel’s genetics and his ______ sex characteristics, Daniel may have the

DSD called ______.

A. primary; Klinefelter syndrome

B. primary; congenital adrenal hyperplasia

C. secondary; Klinefelter syndrome

D. secondary; congenital adrenal hyperplasia

C. secondary; Klinefelter syndrome

what are the biological aspects of sex?

sex chromosomes, sex glands, secondary sex characteristics, primary sex characteristics, and brains

Klinefelter Syndrome (KS)

a genetic condition that affects males who are born with an extra X chromosome.

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

a group of inherited disorders affecting the adrenal glands, which produce hormones like cortisol, aldosterone, and androgens (male sex hormones)

Tara and her mother prefer to take baths, whereas her father and brother prefer to take showers. As a

result, Tara has mentally categorized baths as “girl things” and showers as “boy things.” This

organization of knowledge about what is feminine and what is masculine is part of Tara’s gender

______.

A. orientation

B. identity

C. dysphoria

D. schemas

D. schemas

One day, Andre, a 4-year-old boy, plays dress-up by wearing his sister’s princess gown. Andre’s best

friend, Manny, comes over to visit Andre. Manny is wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Andre looks at

Manny’s clothes and quickly takes off the dress to put on jeans and a T-shirt. In this example, Andre

is learning about gender roles in his culture through ______.

A. gender role socialization

B. cognitive development theory

C. non-binary gender schemas

D. gender expression

A. gender role socialization

Courtney identifies as male when she puts on rocker clothes, puts her hair in a bun, plugs in her bass

guitar, and plays heavy metal songs with the guys in her band. However, she identifies as female

when she lets her hair down and wears a dress to her job at a day care center. Based on this

information, Courtney is most likely to self-describe as ______.

A. being cisgender

B. being transgender

C. having a non-binary gender

D. having a lesbian sexual orientation

C. having a non-binary gender

Derek is sexually attracted to women, and all of his romantic relationships have been with women.

He finds some men very attractive, though, and often fantasizes about having sex with these men.

Based on this information, Derek’s sexual orientation is best described as ______.

A. gay

B. straight

C. lesbian

D. bisexual

D. bisexual

You and a friend are debating how sexual orientation develops in people. You correctly tell your

friend, “According to the best scientific evidence, sexual orientation is ______.”

A. determined by one specific gene

B. influenced by how parents treat their children

C. related to potential biological contributors, especially genes and hormones

D. a direct result of community values and how these are communicated to children

C. related to potential biological contributors, especially genes and hormones

Maya, a woman, and Owen, a man, are in excellent health and are highly motivated to have sex with

each other. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Owen will experience increased blood flow to his genitals in the excitement phase.

B. Maya will always have an orgasm.

C. Owen will not enter the resolution phase of the sexual response cycle.

D. Maya will never have multiple orgasms before entering the refractory period of the sexual

response cycle.

A. Owen will experience increased blood flow to his genitals in the excitement phase.

Rachel, an 18-year-old woman, has frequent sexual thoughts and desires. In response, she commonly

engages in sexual behavior. Rachel’s motivation for sexual activity is most likely influenced by her

having ______ levels of androgens and _____ levels of estrogens.

A. lower; higher

B. higher; lower

C. lower; lower

D. higher; higher

D. higher; higher

Which of the following people could be described as experiencing a sexual dysfunction?

A. Ruma is upset and worried because she has pain in her vagina during sexual intercourse with

her husband that requires them to stop.

B. Dylan never feels any sexual attraction to his girlfriends, but he enjoys being in romantic

relationships that do not include sex.

C. Logan experiences such strong sexual arousal from women’s feet that he tells his girlfriend

that he wants to lick her feet during sex.

D. Elle’s friends often use apps to find hookups for brief sexual encounters, but Elle has no desire

to engage in casual sex.

A. Ruma is upset and worried because she has pain in her vagina during sexual intercourse with

her husband that requires them to stop.

What are the stages of the four-stage pattern of sexual response?

excitement, plateau. orgasm, resolution

Excitement

• What happens: The body starts getting ready for sex.

• In men: The penis becomes erect.

• In women: The vagina becomes lubricated, and the clitoris swells.

Plateau

• What happens: A high level of arousal is maintained before orgasm.

• In men: The penis stays erect; testicles may draw up.

• In women: The outer part of the vagina swells; the clitoris becomes very sensitive.

Orgasm

• What happens: A peak of sexual pleasure with muscle contractions.

• In men: Usually involves ejaculation of semen.

• In women: Rhythmic contractions of the vaginal muscles; may or may not reach orgasm.

Resolution

• What happens: The body slowly returns to a normal, relaxed state.

• In men: Enter a refractory period — a time when they cannot have another orgasm for a while.

• In women: Often no refractory period, so they may be able to have multiple orgasms.