hsci

• Essentialism


  For any phenomenon (e.g., sexual phenomenon) there are a set of attributes that are necessary for its identity and function • The attributes are: natural, inevitable, & biologically determined • A set of fixed traits that occur globally and are constant over time • Underlying "true forms" with discontinuity between different forms, rather than continuous variation
• Social constructionism


  Reality is socially constructed and the meanings we prescribe can be observed via language • Culture & surroundings shape the meaning & understanding of identities and experiences • Beliefs are socially determined and vary across culture and time
• Media has strong influence on the formation of our identities and norms • Shapes how we think in terms of gender, class, and race • Norms about sexuality • What is normal • How we should behave (and shouldn't behave) • What we should desire (or shouldn't desire)
• Sexual scripts


  What is expected. there is a certain order to how things go, talk then kiss then sex or whatever
• The pizza metaphor is potentially less harmful than the more common baseball metaphor
• Psychodynamic Theory


  Personality develops as the result of successful (or unsuccessful) transition through specific psychosexual stages. Parents have important role in managing children's drives (sexual and aggressive) in early years for healthy development
• Psychosexual stages


  • Oral
  • Anal
  • Phallic
  • Latent
  • Genital
• Classical Conditioning


  Pavlov's dogs. discovered that pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus will, over time, result in a conditioned response
• Classical Conditioning (application)


  Can be used to help extinguish an unwanted fetish. The client gets aroused by a fetish --> They are made to smell ammonia salt capsules --> They make them nauseous --> The fetish gets associated with nausea instead of pleasure
• Operant Conditioning


  An individual's behaviour is modified by its consequences or the reinforcement that they receive. An individual who encounters reinforcement when engaging in a certain behaviour (an operant) is more likely to repeat that behaviour in the future and is less likely to when encountering punishment.
• Operant Conditioning


  • Giving a treat after doing homework will encourage the individual to continue doing their homework. On the other side, lets say every time the kid tries to do their laundry their mom bitches at them about how they do laundry too much, then they won't want to do their laundry anymore.
• Social Learning Theory


  We can learn simply by observation
• Social Exchange Theory


  Maximize rewards and minimize costs in any type of relationship
• Genetic Theory: Hormone production, Reproductive cycles, Ovulation, Sexual orientation (some evidence; identical/fraternal twin studies/adoptive siblings; chromosomal studies), Gender identity, Genetic disorders
• Natural selection


  More likely to survive and reproduce
• Intra vs. Intersexual competition/selection

  Intra is between one gender, for example two male deer battling for a mate. Inter is between two genders, for example that blue bird doing its dance and decorating its nest nicely to attract the female bird.
• Making a million kids and providing little/no care for them, hoping at least one will survive. Making one kid and giving it support and resources to survive.
• Women are better at not having sex, men want to have it
• Sociological theory


  Importance of social institutions such as religion, family, and law in regulation of sexuality. Institutions and societal structures determine how sexuality is defined, expressed, and regulated within a certain culture or community.
• Social script theory


  Based on the idea that our social interactions tend to follow, or are at least heavily influenced by, predefined, culturally recognizable sequences of behaviours. Traditional sexual script (TSS): suggests that there are specific sequences of behaviours, based on societal beliefs and values, that individuals consider appropriate for particular sexual situations.
• Ecological model


  How personal, relationship, and environmental factors interact and influence an individual and each other.
• Feminist theory


  Based on idea that society has been shaped around the desires of heterosexual men fostering gender inequality. Most examine the inequalities of men's/women's relationships and their effects on women's sexuality. "Typical" sexual behaviour is an agenda reflecting male privilege. E.g. focus on vaginal intercourse and male pleasure.
• Queer theory


  Challenges all notions of gender, sexual orientation, and sexual behaviour as social constructs and not fixed and categorical.
• Anatomy beliefs from the Middle Ages: Sudden physical movement can jar the internal penis outward & turn a female into a male.
• Sexual differentiation during development

  1. Both the testes and the ovaries are derived from the same gonadal primordium

  2. There are two sets of ducts, the Wolffian duct (male) and the Mullerian duct (female)

  3. In the absence of hormonal stimulation, the gonadal primordium will develop into ovaries and the Mullerian ducts will develop into the fallopian tubes, uterus, and vagina. the Wolffian duct regresses.

  4. In males, the gonadal primordium begins to secrete testosterone and AntiMullerian Hormone (AMH)

  5. Female ducts are strong, without any hormones they will win out, and the person will develop ovaries & stuff. to become a male, you need AntiMullerian Hormone to fight the Mullerian Ducts.

  6. Testosterone stimulates the development of the Wolffian ducts, which subsequently differentiate into the vas deferens, epididymis and seminal vesicles
• To make a man

  1. Testosterone is converted into dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by the enzyme 5αreductase

  2. DHT influences the development of the external genitalia

  3. The genital tubercle becomes the penis

  4. The genital folds become the shaft of the penis

  5. The genital swellings become the scrotum

  6. Without DHT, the external genitalia are feminized

  7. The genital tubercle becomes the clitoris

  8. The genital folds become the labia minora

  9. The genital swelling becomes the labia majora
• Primary Sexual Characteristics


  Sex organs themselves, along with all their associated ducts and glands. Females: vagina, uterus (internal); clitoris, labia (external). Males: corpus cavernosum, prostate (internal); phallus, scrotum (external).
• Secondary Sexual Characteristics


  Structures which enhance reproduction, but are not necessarily required. Tends to develop at puberty. Female: breasts. Male: facial hair. Both: pubic hair.
• Female sexual anatomy (external)

  • Mons pubis
  • Perineum
  • Labia majora
  • Vulvar vestibule
  • Vaginal opening
  • Clitoris
  • Pubic hair
  • Labia minora
  • Urethral opening
• Clitoris


  About 10cm long, 1.5cm visible
• Hymen


  Some females may be born without one
• Female sexual anatomy (internal)

  • Vagina
  • Vestibular bulbs
  • Cervix
  • Ovaries
  • Bartholin glands
  • Skene's glands (Paraurethral glands)
  • Uterus
  • Fallopian tubes
• Vaginal layers


  • Vaginal mucosa (soft and moist): Maintains a healthy vaginal environment (moisture and slightly acidic) via secretions, Lubrication during sexual arousal (10-30 seconds after sexual stimulation!)
  • Middle/muscular layer: Muscles contract during sex and during orgasm
  • Fibrous layer: Inflexible, Keeps vagina in place in pelvis
• The prevalence of female ejaculation or squirting ranges from 10% to 54% according to self-reports
• Bartholin glands


  May secrete before orgasm (more vaginal lubrication)
• 1. SPOT


  Deep in vaginal opening, right around the cervix. part of the fornix?
• Fertilization usually occurs in the infundibulum, the part of the fallopian tube closest to the ovary
• About 30 per cent of men are circumcised
• Penis anatomy


  Smooth muscles make up the penis. 3 cylindrical spongy bodies: Corpora cavernosa are two cylinders (on each side of penis) that pulls tight when filled with blood and stiffens the penis, Corpus spongiosum is a cylinder that remains soft and spongy during an erection and forms the glans too, The urethra runs through it.
• Endocrine system


  Collection of glands that secrete hormones in order to regulate metabolism, growth and development, sexual function, reproduction, sleep, mood, etc.