PSYCH 225 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Human Sexual Activity, Havelock Ellis, Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek
Chapter 1: Sexuality in Perspective
• Sex and gender
o Sex in this book will be for sexual anatomy or sexual behavior and gender will refer to being male
or femalex
o Biologists define sexual behavior as- any behavior that increases the likelihood of gametic union
(sperm and egg union)
▪ Some define it as the act which leads to orgasm
o Sexual behavior- a behavior that produces arousal and increases the chance of orgasm
• The history of understanding sexuality: religion and science
• Religion
o Until 100 years ago religion is how we got our information about sex
o Heterosexuals were developed in the greek culture by separating a creature that was half male and
half female
o Homosexuals came from splitting of a male male or female-female creature
o Christians believed that wet dreams was from intercourse with tiny spiritual creatures called incubi
and succubi
o Different religions and cultures have different understandings of human sexuality
• Science
o Dutch scientist, Anton van Leeuwenhoek, discovered sperm
o Oskar Hertwig, observed the actual fertilization of the egg and sperm in sea urchins
o Viennese physician sigmund freud discussed in detail the psychological aspects of human
sexulaity, first big break
o Norms of sexuality when these first people did research was very rigid & oppressive
o Henry Havelock Ellis- physician in Victorian england, compiled vast collections of info on sexuality,
believed that women are sexual creature like men
▪ Forerunner of modern sex research
o Richard von Krafft-Ebing- special in pathological sexuality
▪ Made the term- pedophilia, heterosexuality & homosexiality
o German, Mangus Hirschfeld
▪ Founded the first sex research institute and administered the first large scale sex survey
▪ Created transvestite
o The scientific study of sex has not emerged as a separate unified academic discipline like biology
or psychology or sociology, rather it tends to be interdisciplinary
• The media
o Mass media today plays the same role that religion did in previous centuries
o Americans views of sexuality are more likely to be influenced by
o Cultivation- refers to the notion that people begin to think that what they see on television and in
other media really represent the mainstream of what happens in our culture
o Agenda setting- when news reporters select what to report and what to ignore, in the news as a
whole and within a specific story what to emphasize
o Social learning- a theory we will take up in detail in the chapter “theoretical perspectives on
sexuality”
▪ What we see on the media are models that we imitate, maybe without even realizing it
▪ More you watch sexual stuff the more likely you are going to have sex before those who
did not
o Internet is a powerful mass media influence
o Experts think that there is a greater online safety to youth now than in the past
• Cross cultural perspectives on sexuality
o Culture- refers to traditional ideas and values transmitted to members of the group by symbols
o Ethnocentrism-tends to influence our understanding of human sexual behavior
o There are wide variations in sexual behavior and attitudes from one culture to the next
o incest taboos- are nearly universal across cultures, intercourse between blood relatives is
prohibited
▪ Rape, same thing
• Variation in sexual techniques
o Kissing is the most common in our culture and others in sexual techniques
▪ Some cultures kissing is unknown
o Cunninlingus is the mouth stimulation of the feamel genitals, common in our society, but not in
others
o In some societies inflicting pain is part of the sexual technique
o Frequency of intercourse between couples varies with societies
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o Few societies encourage the action of sexual interocurse at certaint times
• Masturbation
o Masturbation- sexual self-stimulation of the genitals to produce sexual arousal
▪ Varies across cultures, some tolerate/encourage it while others condemn it
▪ Almost all societies condemn it at a certain age
o Female masturbation occurs in society as well
• Premarital and extramarital sex
o In some cultures boys and girls participate in a wide range of sexual experience before puberty and
in other this doesn't happen until you are 30-40 years old
o In the Egyptian city of SIwa a girls clitoris is removed at 7-8 to decrease sexual arousal excitement
▪ Sex before marriage is to bring shame on the family
o Most places will allow males to have sex before females
• Sex with same-gender partners
o Homosexuality exists in various cultures
▪ Some societies completely disapprove same gender sex while others tolerate it
o 2 rules
▪ 1. No matter how a particular society treats homosexuality, the behavior always occurs in
at least some individuals that is, same gender sexuality is found universally in all societies
• Nearly universal ex: tribe who didn't know what it was
▪ 2. Same gender sexual behavior is never the predominant form of sexual behavior for
adults in any of the societies studied
• Your preference of partners can shift
• Standards of attractiveness
o In all human societies physical characteristics play an important role in determining whom one
chooses as a sex partner
▪ What is considered attractive can vary considerably from culture to culture
o Some it is the shape and color of the eyes, some shape of ears, some heart, genitals, some
elongated labia majora, plump women, skinny women,
▪ A standard rule: a poor complexion is unattractive
• Social-class and ethnic group variations in the united states
o In america our attractions are similar but subcultural variations can be classified as social class and
ethnic differences
• Social class and sex
o College graduates are 22% more likely to use the pill than high school graduates
o Social class and sexuality exert a mutual influence on each other
o Could a sexuality influences their social class not the other way around?
▪ Using the pill could allow one to finish their education
o College graduates having a better chance of living with someone and then marriage than non-
college-graduates
▪ The higher the education the more likely marriage will succeed
• Ethnicity and sexuality in the united states
o Cultural and economic conditions can cause variation in different groups
o Keep this in mind when looking at date on ethnic groups
▪ 1. There are ethnic group variations, but there are also ethnic group similarities, sexuality
of these groups are not totally different
▪ 2. Cultural context is the key, sexiuality is understood only by understanding the cultural
heritage + social and economic conditions
o African Americans
▪ Legacies of the same factors influencing the sexuality of Euro-Americans
▪ 3 things that make it different than whites
• African heritage
• Forces that acted upon blacks during slavery
• Current economic and social conditions
▪ There cultures which they originate from or live can contribute as well
▪ Less aa families than whites
o Latinos- latin american heritage
▪ In traditional latin american cultures, gender roles are sharply defined
▪ Machismo or macho- maleness/virility, manliness
▪ Marianismo- motherhood
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▪ Familismo- emphasizes the importance of family, nuclear and extended
o Asian Americans-
▪ Been repressed about sexuality
• 1. Collectivism. Others’ needs especially those of the family should be
considered before one's own
• 2. Conformity to norms: individual should conform to the expectations of the
family and society
• 3. Emotional control- emotions should not openly be expressed
▪ Asian americans are sexual conservatives
o American indians
▪ American indians are portrayed as erotic and sexy in media and books
o Racial Microaggressions- Subtle insults directed at people of color, often done unconsciously
• The significance of cross culture studies
o 1. These studies give us a notion of the enormous variations that exist in human sexual behavior,
and put your own in perspective.
o 2. Provide impressive evidence concerning the importance of culture and learning in the shaping of
our sexual behavior; they show us that human sexual behavior is not completely determined by
biology or drives or instinct
▪ Culture is a major determinant of human sexual behavior
• Cross species perspectives on sexuality
• Masturbation
o Other species masturbate, m & f
o Apes can perform mouth-genital sex on themselves
• Same-gender sexual behavior
o Found in other species too
• Sexual signaling
o Female primates engage in sexual signaling to males; flirting
• Human uniqueness
o As u move up the primate ladder, sexual behavior becomes more hormonal (instinctive) controlled
and then more controlled by the brain
▪ Environmental influences are much more important in shaping primates (especially
human) sexual behavior than they are in other species
o Most female mammals only engage in sexual behavior in heat but humans do anytime
▪ Hormonal vs brain
• The nonsexual uses of sexual beahvior
o When animals prove who is dominant and who is subordinate
o The winner of a fight may symbolize his feat by mounting
o Rape for example for humans
o Or whip out a shlong to frighten someone
o Sex at the end of a fight
• The sexual health perspective
o Sexual health- a social and political movement that is gaining momentum worldwide, broader
concept that involves a vision of positive sexual health not just stds and HIV
▪ Includes physical and mental health
▪ Includes negative and positive rights
• Negative rights- freedom from sexual violence
• Positive rights- freedoms to experience sexual pleasure or to express one's
sexuality with a same gender partner if so pleases
o Sexual rights- basic inalienable rights regarding sexuality both positive and negative, such as rights
to reproductive self-determination and sexual self-expression and freedom from sexual abuse and
violence
▪ Basic idea: all being have certain basic inalienable rights regarding sexuality
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• Sex Research
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