LESSON 7 - SEXUAL SELF

• Sexual Selfhood

  • Defined as how one thinks of himself or herself as a sexual individual
• Ancient Greek

  • Men assume the dominant role. Their symbol, the penis, is viewed as the symbol of fertility. 
  • Women were considered as objects to be possessed. 
  • Women were forbidden to own property and had no legal rights.
• The Middle Ages

  • The Church decreed that all sexual acts that do not lead to procreation were considered evil.
  •  Women were labeled either as a temptress or a woman of virtue.
• Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century

  • Movements were initiated against the Catholic church.
  • Protestantism believed that sexuality is a natural part of life that priests should be able to marry.
  • Sexual intimacy strengthens the bond between the couple.
• 17th & 18th Century

  • The Puritans rallied for a religious, moral and societal reformation.
  • Premarital sex was considered immoral.
  • Puritans rallied to abhor premarital sex and promote sex after marriage.
• Victorian Era

  • 1837-1901
  • Homosexuality and prostitution were considered to be threats to social order.
  • Freud Psychoanalytic Theory became famous.
  • It was believed that women should not enjoy sexual intercourse.
  • Ejaculating for more than once a month weakens the man.
  • Mentioning buttocks and breasts are an uncomfortable thing to do.
• BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF HUMAN SEXUALITY

  • Brain is the reason for forming sexual behavior by the process of reproduction. Human beings are created; there are changes in both primary and secondary sexual changes at the start of puberty.
  • On the 16th to 18th weeks of pregnancy, genders of the baby can be physically noted and this baby will be developed when intercourse happens and fertilization takes place.
• PRIMARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS: sexual organs present at birth and directly involved in human reproduction.
• SECONDARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS: sexual organs and traits that develop at puberty and are indirectly involved in human reproduction.
• SUMMARY OF CHANGES IN SECONDARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS

  • MALE:
  • Voice becomes lower
  • Hair growth on chest, face, underarms, legs, and pubic area.
  • Increase in muscle size
  • Skin becomes oily & pores enlarge
• SUMMARY OF CHANGES IN SECONDARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS

  • FEMALE:
  • Breast enlarge
  • Hair growth in under arms and pubic area.
  • Hip widens
  • Skin becomes oily & pores enlarge
• EMOTIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF HUMAN SEXUALITY

  • Beauty is more than just a cultural standard. It is primarily an evolutionary standard for attracting the best partner.
  • Preference for females with large breast and males with broad shoulders instinctively for genetic survival  
• PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF HUMAN SEXUALITY

  • Gender Roles: Cultural behavioral expectations for males or females. 
  • Gender Typing: Process by which people learn gender roles. 
  • Gender Identity: Sense of being male or female (influenced by both biology and environment).
• THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SIDE OF HUMAN SEXUALITY

  • Gender
  • Biological Influences
  • Environmental Influences
  • Culture
• Gender: Is defined as the psychological aspects of being masculine or feminine and is influenced by culture, personality, and self-identity.
• Biological Influences: Sexual characteristics of the genitals, hormonal differences, and possible differences in brain structure and processing. 
• Environmental Influences: Parental influences and cultural expectations to adhere to gender roles. 
• Culture: Individualistic/ non-traditional versus collectivistic/ traditional role adaptation. 
• THE HUMAN SEXUAL RESPONSE CYCLE

  1. Desire Phase
  2. Arousal Phase
  3. Plateau Phase
  4. Orgasm Phase
  5. Resolution Phase
• Desire Phase – Sexual urges occur in response to sexual cues or fantasies.
• Arousal Phase – A subjective sense of sexual pressure and physiological signs of sexual arousal: in males, penile tumescence (Increase flow of blood into the penis); in females, Vasocongestion (blood pools in the pelvic area) leading to vaginal lubrication and breast tumescence (erect nipples).
• Plateau Phase – Brief period occurs before orgasm.
• Orgasm Phase – In males, feelings of the inevitability of ejaculation, followed by ejaculation; in females, contractions of the walls of the lower third of the vagina.
• Resolution Phase – Decrease and arousal occurs after orgasm (particularly in men).
• THREE PHASES OF ROMANTIC LOVE

  • Lust Phase - intense craving for sexual contact.
  • Attraction Phase - couples are infatuated and pursue a relationship.
  • Attachment Phase - long-term bond between partners characterized by feelings of security, comfort and emotional union.
• JOHN LEE STYLES OF LOVE

  • Eros: sexual and emotional
  • Agape: altruistic and selfless love
  • Stroge: love – related friendship
  • Ludus: love is just a game
  • Mania: obsessive and possessive
  • Pragma: practical lovers
• ROBERT STERNBERG TRIANGULAR OF LOVE

  • Intimacy (Liking)
  • Commitment (Empty Love)
  • Passion (Infatuation)
  • Intimacy + Passion = Romantic Love
  • Intimacy + Commitment = Companionate Love
  • Passion + Commitment = Fatuous Love
  • Intimacy + Passion + Commitment = Consummate Love
• SEXUALITY

  • Pleasure
  • Orientation
  • Beliefs
  • Attitudes
  • Fantasies
  • Identity
  • Personality 
  • Biology
  • Body Image
• PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

  • As we come to understand the beauty of the physical self, it is also proper to learn to understand the sexual self. As psychoanalytic states that physical body is the core of human experience as a form of construction of self and personality.
• FREUD

  • Presented The Psychosexual stages of Development to fully understand the concept of sex. According to him, there are four stages namely: 
  • Oral
  • Anal
  • Phallic
  • Latency
  • Genital 
• ORAL STAGE (AGES 0-1)

  • In most infants, pleasure comes from the stimulation of the mouth. 
• ANAL STAGE (AGES 1-3)

  • Attention turns to the process of elimination. 
  • Child can gain approval or express aggression by letting go or holding on. 
  • (anal retentive vs. anal expulsive)
• PHALLIC STAGE (AGES 3-6)

  • It is the awakening of sexuality. 
  • Concept of the “Oedipus Complex - attachment of the child to the parent of the opposite sex, accompanied by envious and aggressive feelings toward the parent of the same sex” 
  • Concept of the “Electra Complex - a young girl's attraction to the parent of the opposite sex during the phallic stage” 
• LATENCY STAGE (AGES 6 - PUBERTY)

  • Psychosexual development is dormant. Same sex friendships and play occur here. 
  • Pleasure is gained through same-sex peer friendship. 
• GENITAL STAGE (PUBERTY ONWARDS)

  • Realization of full adult sexuality occurs here; sexual urges awaken.
  • Pleasure is gained through sexual intercourse with non-relatives.
  • If certain issues are not resolved at the appropriate stage, fixations can occur. A fixation is a persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage. Until this conflict is resolved, the individual will remain "stuck" in this stage
• UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

  • Human sexual behavior is complex and complicated, thus, it is not at all different from other species. At puberty, two (2) sexual changes happen: 
  • Primary Sex Characteristics
  • Secondary Sex Characteristics. 

  
• PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF SEXUAL EXCITEMENT

  • EROGENOUS ZONES - These are part of the body that particularly sensitive to touch, pressure and vibration which contributes to sexual arousal. (hot spots)
• PHASES OF SEXUAL RESPONSE

  • AROUSAL PHASE  
  • PLATEAU PHASE 
  • ORGASM PHASE 
  • RESOLUTION PHASE 
• • AROUSAL PHASE
  • Is the subjective sense of sexual pleasure. The physiological sign in males is penile tumescence (erection) and vasocongestion to females leads to vaginal lubrication and nipple erection.
• • PLATEAU PHASE 
  • A brief period before the orgasm. It is the body’s preparation for orgasm.