UTS: SEXUAL SELF P1

• Ancient Greece


  • Penis is the symbol of fertility and the male body was greatly admired
  • Wives were objects to be possessed
  • Women have no legal and political rights, not even allowed to read and write
  • Only function is to bear children
• The Protestant Reformation


  • Sexuality is a natural part of life and that priests should be allowed to marry and have families
  • Sexual intimacy is to strengthen the bond between husband and wife and not just for procreation
• 20th century


  • Separation between the church and state reduced the influence of the church over sexual matters and morals
  • Pregnancy was controlled by natural and artificial contraception
  • Increased incidence of sexually transmitted diseases because of risky sexual activities
  • Rise of feminism (employment, home life)
  • Overtime, it led to today's view of what is considered sexually normal
• Biological perspectives of sexuality

  • It is the brain that initializes and organizes sexual behavior
  • Sexual reproduction starts with the body being prepared (secondary sex characteristics)
• Secondary sex characteristics - male


  • Lower voice
  • Hair growth (chest, face, underarms, arms, legs, pubic area)
  • Increase in muscle size
  • Oily skin and pores enlarge
• Secondary sex characteristics - female


  • Breasts
  • Hair growth (underarms, pubic area)
  • Hip widens
  • Oily skin and pores enlarge
• Primary sex characteristics - male


  • Testes
  • Penis
  • Scrotum
  • Seminal vesicles and prostate glands
• Chromosomes


  • Human beings have 23 pairs of chromosomes (threadlike structures composed of genes)
  • 22 pairs are called autosomes
  • 23rd pair (sex chromosomes) determines the sex
  • Female - xx, Male - xy
• Sociobiological/Evolutionary perspectives of sexuality


  • Natural selection - process by which organisms that are best suited for their environment are most likely to survive
  • Traits that lead to reproductive advantage tend to be passed on and maladaptive traits are lost
  • Physical attraction is the starting point
  • Beauty is an evolutionary standard used to attract best male or best female
  • Women with big breasts produce more milk and ensures offspring's survival
  • Men with broad shoulders and muscles ensure safety and security for offspring
  • Survival is the goal but the kind of life the offspring will pass on to the next generation is also important
• Psychological perspectives of sexuality


  • Sexuality involves emotions
  • Freud's sex instinct (pleasure principle of the ID, EGO, SUPEREGO)
  • Erogenous zones - areas of pleasure in the body
  • 5 psychosexual stages of development: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital
• Religious perspectives of sexuality

  • Judaism - marital sex is blessed by God and is pleasurable for both man and woman, sexual connection is an opportunity for spirituality
  • Islam - family is important, celibacy within marriage is prohibited, Muslim men are allowed to have up to 4 wives while women must have only 1 husband, extramarital sex is penalized
  • Taoism (China) - sex is natural and healthy, sexual union is a way to balance male and female energy
  • Hinduism - sexuality is seen as a spiritual force, ritual of lovemaking is celebrating and transcending the physical
  • Roman Catholic - marriage is purely for intercourse and procreation, homosexual orientation is not sinful but homosexual acts are immoral and sinful, opposes use of birth control and abortion is prohibited