PSYCO405 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1-3: Premarital Sex, Donald Marshall, Jr., Mangaia
21 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Chapters 1, 2, and 3
→
textbook and in class notes
CHAPTER 1 – WHAT IS HUMAN SEXUALITY
• Messinger (1993) the Inis Beag people
o Did not believe that it was normal for women to experience orgasm.
o Women who found sex and orgasm pleasurable were looked upon as deviant
individuals.
o Premarital sex was all but unknown on Inis Beag.
• The American anthropologist Donald Marshall completed research in the Cook Islands
during the 1950s and spent a year living on Mangaia.
o Had a relatively sex positive culture.
o Young boys and girls were encouraged to get in touch with their sexuality
through sexual play and masturbation.
o Young boys and girls received sexual lessons
o Important for men to give their women pleasure – to orgasm was not just
expected, it was a piiple soue of a as o sese of seual pleasue.
• Sex is a natural function, and our sexuality can be influenced by biological factors, how
we voluntarily express our sexuality is a matter of personal choice.
• In addition to our biology and our capacity for individual decision making, the
expression of our sexuality is also inevitably influenced by the social context in which we
live.
• Many aspects of human sexuality are viewed as moral issues, involving questions of
right and wrong.
o Issues such as premarital and extramarital sex, contraception, and abortion, for
example, are often subject to moral debate.
o No single value system defines us all – we vary immensely world wide
o All have varying opinions and values, and therefore different sexual beliefs/ideas
• Gender roles in our culture also has a profound influence on us
• At its ost asi leel, se poides phsial pleasue. Its a fu atiit that a be
enjoyed alone or with others
• leaig aout oes seual likes ad dislikes though eperimentation can lead to
sexual self-actualization, a state in which a person is comfortable with his or her
sexuality.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Oral–geital se: slightl oe of the studets lassified this ehaiou as haig se if
the couple was same sexed than if it was opposite sexed
• Most students defined as sex were penile–vaginal intercourse and penile–anal
intercourse. Only about one-fifth defined oral–genital contact as sex, and even fewer
(10%) defined the touching of genitals leading to orgasm as sex. Interestingly, there was
a slight increase in the percentage of students who defined each behaviour as sex if it
resulted in orgasm.
• The studets defiitio of loss of igiit as oe ao tha thei defiitio of
haig se. A small percentage indicated that orgasm had to be experienced with
penile–vaginal intercourse for it to count as loss of virginity.
• The values of immigrants often differ from those of people born in Canada
• When it comes to sexuality, there are many cultural variations
• → in 1991 University of Guelph student Gwen Jacob removed her shirt and exposed her
breasts – she was arrested – argued that if men had the right to go topless then so did
she - in 1996 the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the conviction and made it legal
• The birth rate in Canada is lower than that in the United States especially for women in
their 20s
• Teenage pregnancy rate is almost twice as high in the USA vs. Canada
• 49% of Canadians and 40% of Americans, complete post-secondary education
• When it comes to sexuality, Canadians are somewhat more liberal than Americans. For
example, more Canadians (80%) than Americans (64%) are accepting of premarital sex
(Bibby, 2006). Angus Reid (2010b) polls have found that more Canadians (61%) than
Americans (36%) are accepting of same-sex marriage.
• A key cultural belief in Kenya is that once puberty is reached, the male sex drive requires
release and the female is ready for sex. There is also the belief that delaying the age of
engaging in sex has negative consequences. If the male waits to a later age to
experience sex, it is believed he may lose the capacity to impregnate his wife and
become unable to produce children. Females are concerned that if inter course is
delayed to a later age, their vaginas will become blocked, leaving them unable to engage
in sex. Both boys and girls feel pressure from peer groups to engage in sex at a young
age. Haig iteouse is efeed to as plaig se. Bos assue gils ae easil
available for sex. A girl may indicate an interest in a particular boy by acting in a sexu ally
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
suggestive manner, such as by opening her legs when he looks at her. The actual
initiation of a sexual relationship, however, begins with the male.
• In Kenya, the sexual encounter generally consists of a brief episode of inter course.
Sexual pleasure for the girl is not expected. Rather, sex is seen as something to finish
quickly. The objective is to satisfy a basic need for the male. This is an exchange process
whereby girls provide sex to obtain material goods.
• United States Congress have voted to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on
education programs that teach abstinence from sex but do not teach contraceptive
methods to adolescents.
• In 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world to legalize same sex marriage.
• Canadian society is pluralistic with respect to sexuality: we embrace a wide range of
sexual attitudes and values. Some are liberal, some are conservative. While we have
evolved considerably with regard to the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
people, there is still a plurality of views about sexual orientation
• Perhaps one of the defining characteristics of Canadian society is our acceptance of
diversity on many levels, including diversity of opinions and values related to sexuality.
This acceptance gives us the freedom to adhere to our own distinct values and
traditions, while also recognizing that we all have an obligation to respect the rights of
others whose beliefs, perspectives, and behaviours are different from our own.
• Some sexual choices can have negative consequences for individuals and society – all
societies therefore have restrictions on certain kinds of sex-related behaviors, this is
known as Sexual Ethics.
• Restrictions against behaviours such as adultery, incest, or sexual activity between
members of the same sex – also sexual assault
• The ethics of community are based on what is perceived as the greater good for the
community. Although different societies vary widely in terms of which sexual behaviours
they consider acceptable, they all find some behaviours unethical and intolerable.
• John Stuart Mill proposed an ethical system based on utilitarianism – the view that
moral conduct is based on that which will bring about the greatest good for the greatest
number – and causes the least harm
• The ethics of autonomy values the rights and freedoms of individuals. People are
allowed to satisfy their own sexual needs, as long as they do not impede the rights of
others. The belief that same-sex relationships are acceptable because they cause no
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
