Sexual Self

Sex,
Sexuality, and
Gender
Sexual Self
The self as a Sexual being
• Sexuality is one of the primary drives behind everyone’s
feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
• It affects all aspects of the human person and, it especially
concerns affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate,
and in a more general way, the aptitude for forming bonds
with others.
• Further, it shapes the brain and body to be pleasure-seeking.
• However, despite the known importance of the sexual self in
connection to the totality of the self, many people consider
this topic as taboo.
Biology as Sexual behavior
• Sexual behavior appears to occur naturally without much
prompting on the part of others.
• Sexual behavior of nonhuman animals is influenced by
several genetically controlled factors. For example, the
presence of certain hormones in the blood affects animal
behavior
• By comparison, human sexual behavior is more
complicated, although the underlying biology is not all that
different from that of related species.
In males, for example, the testes begin to secrete
androgens, male sex hormones, at puberty
Androgens also increase the sex drive and not only

produce secondary sex characteristics, such as the
growth of body hair and a deepening of the voice.
Men as sexual
being Men are capable of (and interested in) sexual
activities without any regard to biological cycles
because the level of androgen production by the
testes is relatively constant.
Given the proper stimuli leading to arousal, at any
time, male sexual behavior can occur.
Women illustrate a different pattern.
The two ovaries begin to produce estrogens, female sex hormones,

when they reach maturity at puberty. The production of hormones
follows a cyclical pattern and is not produced consistently.
Women are
The greatest output occurs during ovulation, when an egg is
different released from the ovaries, making the chances of fertilization by a
sperm cell highest. The period around ovulation is the only time the
female is receptive to sex in nonhumans, while the people are
different.
Women are receptive to sex throughout their cycles, although there

are variations in reported sex drive.
In addition, although the difference may be
the result of society’s discouragement of
overt displays of female sexuality rather
than of inborn differences between men and
women, some evidence proposes that males
have a stronger sex drive than females do.
Hormones and
Society
Men think about sex more than women:
while 54% of men report thinking about sex
every day, only 19% of women report
thinking about it daily
It takes more than hormones to cause and produce sexual
behavior, though biological factors “prime” people for sex. The
occurrence of a partner who supplies arousing stimuli leads to
sexual activity in animals.
Humans are significantly more adaptable; not only other

people but nearly any object, sight, smell, sound, or other
stimuli can lead to sexual excitement.
Sexual behavior Because of prior associations, people may be turned on

sexually by the smell of perfume or the sound of a favorite
song hummed softly in their ears.
The reaction to a specific, potentially arousing stimulus, as we

shall see, is highly individual—what turns one person on may
do just the opposite for another.
Physiological Aspects of Sexual
Excitement
• In a sense, you would be right if you were to argue that the major human sex organ is the
brain. Much of what is considered sexually arousing in our society has little or nothing to
do with our genitals; instead, it is related to external stimuli that, through a process of
learning, have come to be labeled as erotic or sexually stimulating.
• For example, there are no areas of the body that, when touched, will automatically
produce sexual arousal.
• Areas of the body that have an unusually rich group of nerve receptors are particularly
sensitive, not just to sexual touch but to any kind of touch, are called erogenous zones.
• The information sent to the brain by the nerve cells is essentially the same as that sent
when a sexual partner touches that spot when a physician touches a breast or a penis.
What differs is the interpretation given to the touch. Sexual arousal is likely only when a
certain part of the body is touched in what people define as a sexual manner and when a
person is receptive to sexual activity
There is a good deal of agreement within a society or culture
about what usually represents an erotic stimulus, although
people can learn to respond sexually to almost any stimulus.
Breast size is frequently the standard by which female appeal
is measured in many Western societies, but in many other
cultures, breast size is irrelevant.
Sexual fantasies also play a significant role in people’s lives.

People often have fantasies of a sexual nature during their
Sexual every day, nonsexual activities. Furthermore, during sexual
intercourse, most people fantasize about sex. These fantasies
Attraction often include having sex with someone other than one’s
partner of the present moment.
Although men appear to fantasize about sex more than

women do, men’s and women’s fantasies differ little from
each other in terms of content or quantity. But both men and
women wish they engaged in more oral sex, had vaginal
intercourse more frequently than they actually do, and kissed
more.
We all contribute to some basic
aspects of sexual responsiveness,
although the kinds of stimuli that
create sexual arousal are, to some
degree, unique to everyone.
Phases of
Sexual
Sexual responses go after a regular
Response pattern consisting of four phases:
excitement, plateau, orgasm, and
resolution, based on their studies
about behavior in carefully
controlled laboratory settings
Excitement - The first phase can last from just a few minutes
to more than an hour; an arousing stimulus begins a
sequence that prepares the genitals for sexual intercourse.
The penis becomes erect when blood flows into it in males.
The clitoris swells because of an increase in the blood supply
to that area, and the vagina becomes lubricated in a female.
Phases of
A “sex flush,” a red rash that typically spreads over the chest
and throat, may also experience by women.
Sexual
Response Plateau - The second phase is where the body’s preparation
for orgasm. During this stage, as the penis and clitoris swell
with blood, the maximum level of sexual arousal is attained.
Women’s heartbeat and blood pressure rise, breathing rate
increases, and breasts and vaginas expand. As the body
prepares itself for the next stage, muscle tension becomes
greater.
Orgasm - it is hard to explain the feeling of orgasm beyond
saying that it is an intense, highly pleasurable experience;
the biological events that accompany the feeling are fairly
straight forward. Rhythmic muscular contractions occur in
the genitals every eight-tenths of a second when the orgasm
stage is reached. The contractions expel semen, a fluid
containing sperm, from the penis—a process known as
ejaculation in males. Breathing and heart rates reach their
Phases of maximum for women and men
Sexual
Response Resolution - After orgasm, people move into the last phase
of sexual arousal. The body returns to its resting state,
reversing the changes brought about by arousal. The blood
pressure, breathing, and heart rate go back to normal; the
genitals resume their unaroused size and shape.

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Sex,

Androgens also increase the sex drive and not only

The two ovaries begin to produce estrogens, female sex hormones,

Women are receptive to sex throughout their cycles, although there

Humans are significantly more adaptable; not only other

Sexual behavior Because of prior associations, people may be turned on

The reaction to a specific, potentially arousing stimulus, as we

Sexual fantasies also play a significant role in people’s lives.

Although men appear to fantasize about sex more than

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