Term
| What are some psychological factors that influence sexuality? |
|
Definition
| Body image, self-esteem, sexual schemas, guilt/shame, fear/anxiety, issues of control, trauma |
|
|
Term
| What is intersexuality (today called disorders of sexual development)? |
|
Definition
| The rare case in which someone has some mixture of male and female anatomy |
|
|
Term
| Explain the distinctions between true hermaphrodites, male pseudohermaphrodites, and female pseudohermaphrodites. |
|
Definition
True hermaphrodites have both testicular and ovarian tissue
Male pseudohermaphrodites have no ovaries, but testicles and some female genital structures
Female pseudohermaphrodites have no testicles, but may have a penis/enlarged clitoris (or other male genital structures, but I can't imagine what that would be) |
|
|
Term
| How do people deal with intersexual children? |
|
Definition
Some cultures don't "fix" it but identify the individual as a third gender
Western cultures usually implement hormonal/surgical treatments in the child's infancy, where the parent must decide if this is going to be a boy or a girl. These days, parents are advised to wait a bit before making these changes |
|
|
Term
| Do you remember the famous case study that shows that gender assignment is not entirely social? |
|
Definition
| When a young boy's penis was accidentally destroyed during circumcision, doctors suggested to remove his testicles and give him hormone treatments to raise him as a girl. Regardless, he always felt like a boy, wanting to play with the boys and standing up to urinate. At age 14, he was told what happened, and he transitioned back into a male. By 25, he had breasts removed, a penis reconstructed, and was married to a woman |
|
|
Term
| What is the distinction between gender identity, gender role, and sexual differentiation? |
|
Definition
Gender identity is a private, inner-self view of one's gender
Gender role is a public, outward expression of one's gender
Sexual differentiation is the process of development into a specific gender (gender usually develops 12 weeks after conception) |
|
|
Term
| What are the culture generalizations of masculinity and femininity? |
|
Definition
| Men are assertive, women are nurturing |
|
|
Term
| What have experiments with rats shown about gender behavior? |
|
Definition
| Castrated male rats behaved like females and testosterone-injected female rats behaved like males. This suggests that sexuality is not necessarily set from birth |
|
|
Term
| Describe sexual self-schemas |
|
Definition
Sexual self-schemas are cognitive generalizations about one's sexuality (things people tell themselves to the point where they believe them to be true)
They are developed from past experiences and function in current experiences, influencing sexual behavior and the way the person interprets the things people say about sexuality |
|
|
Term
| What three sexual schemas do WOMEN usually fall into? |
|
Definition
Passionate/romantic
Open/direct
Embarrassed/conservative |
|
|
Term
| What three positive sexual schemas do MEN usually fall into? |
|
Definition
Passionate/loving
Powerful/aggressive
Open-minded/liberal |
|
|
Term
| What are two things a person may mean when using the term "sexual orientation"? |
|
Definition
Sexual orientation can be based on what gender the person is attracted to.
A broader, more recent definition describes it as based on an individual's pattern of sexual and romantic desire, behavior, and identity |
|
|
Term
| What is the distinction between transgender and transsexual? |
|
Definition
Transgenders spiritually and emotionally identify as the opposite of their biological gender
Transsexuals are people who are undergoing or have undergone a physical transformation to a different biological gender |
|
|
Term
| What does the variability hypothesis say? |
|
Definition
| That there is more variability in males than females. Females are more alike one another than males are. |
|
|
Term
| What is queer/questioning? |
|
Definition
| Questioning or Queer is another term for a homosexual male. It used to be a derogatory term, but is now embraced as a positive term |
|
|
Term
| What is the intersexual orientation? |
|
Definition
| Intersexual refers to someone with hermaphroditic traits (they have both genders) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Asexual refers to someone with no sexual desire or identity at all |
|
|
Term
| What is polygamous/polyamorous? |
|
Definition
| It refers to someone who prefers having multiple marriages/sexual partners at once. Not really an orientation so much as a personal preference |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Kinks refer to sexual attraction to certain actions or objects (i.e. BDSM). Not really a sexual orientation so much as a personal preference |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| You identify as having no gender |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| You identify as having two genders |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| You identify as having three genders |
|
|
Term
| What is pangender/polygender? |
|
Definition
| You identify as more than one gender (bigender and trigender fall under this) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Your sense of personal identity and gender roles does not correspond with your birth sex |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| You identify as the gender you are born with |
|
|
Term
| What is gender apathetic? |
|
Definition
| What it sounds like. You identify as not having an opinion towards your own gender |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| You feel as if you are one part of a defined gender and one or more parts of an undefined gender |
|
|
Term
| What is Freud's theory on homosexuality? |
|
Definition
Two things. First, Freud says that "humans are polymorphously perverse" - in other words, we are born sexually attracted to lots of different things.
Second, Freud believes homosexuality arises from problems in the phallic stage, particularly in problems with identifying with the opposite gender parent. If the opposite gender parent is distant or absent, the child won't have a chance to identify with the parent, which will leave the Oedipal/Electra complex unresolved |
|
|
Term
| What did Jung have to say about sexual orientation? |
|
Definition
| We are all androgenous, possessing both masculine and feminine traits |
|
|
Term
| What are the anima and animus? And what is the theory on homosexuality related to it? |
|
Definition
Anima is the feminine side of a male.
Animus is the masculine side of a female.
The theory is that homosexuality comes from identifying too much to the anima (for males) or the animus (for females) in infancy. |
|
|
Term
| Name some theories on what causes homosexuality |
|
Definition
Family dynamics:
A boy raised by a distant father and an overbearing mother will become gay (not a very valid theory)
The fetus could've been exposed to excessive hormone levels in utero (too much testosterone for girls, too much estrogen for boys)
Gay people's brains may be different from straight people's brains, specifically in the limbic system or hypothalamus (nobody believes these studies anymore)
Evolutionary theory:
It's a random mutation or adaptation as a result of the process of evolution, where evolution tries a lot of different things and sees what sticks |
|
|
Term
| What is the biopsychosocial theory of sexual orientation? |
|
Definition
| Sexual orientation comes from biological predispositions that are influenced by environmental factors |
|
|
Term
| Explain the Exotic Becomes Erotic theory of homosexuality |
|
Definition
Sexual orientation depends a lot on the child's temperament (a mostly biological factor), whether the child is aggressive or passive, a cryer or unemotional, etc.
From there, the child behaves in gender nonconforming ways. A boy may play with girls and do more girly things
Then the child feels different from peers and is treated differently.
Later in life, the person becomes interested in gay people, a new, exotic, exciting sort of lifestyle
This goes from something interesting and exotic to something erotic |
|
|
Term
| According to Kinsey's scale, how many people are homosexual? What are some more recent estimates? |
|
Definition
Kinsey's scale says 10% of males are exclusively homosexual for at least 3 years, while 3% of females are
More recent estimates say that 2.8-7.8% of men are nonheterosexual, while 1.4-6.8% of women are nonheterosexual |
|
|
Term
| How does prejudice against sexual orientation relate to prejudice against race and religion? |
|
Definition
| It is far more hated against than race or religion. Legal penalties for homosexual behavior still exist in some countries. Sexual minorities are more likely to be victims of bullying or violence than other people |
|
|
Term
| What is the official term for pornography? |
|
Definition
| Sexually stimulating material |
|
|
Term
| What are some estimates on how widely used pornography is? |
|
Definition
| According to estimates, 40 million people view porn on a regular basis. 90% of college-age males have used porn, while 30% of college-age females have. 50% of college-age men use pornography on a regular basis while 3% of college-age women do. The prevalence/incidence of pornography is very difficult to measure, so these estimates may not reflect the entire reality |
|
|
Term
| What are some arguments people use to support porn use? |
|
Definition
- It's a healthy way to explore your sexuality
- Couples occasionally watching porn together may have an enhanced sex life
- It's less risky than practicing risky sexual behavior in real life; people will do porn instead of paying prostitutes who could give them STDs
- It reduces sexual violence, providing an outlet for violent sexual urges |
|
|
Term
| Is addiction a danger in porn use? |
|
Definition
Most porn use does not result in diagnosable addiction - in fact, the DSM-5 does not record porn addiction (or sex addiction) as an official diagnosis. Only 10-15% of porn users become legitimately addicted, the same ratio as people who become addicted to video games or coffee, etc.
However, porn use does usually become compulsive and difficult to shake. People who view porn compulsively will continue to do so even in risky situations |
|
|
Term
| Does porn lead to changes in the brain? |
|
Definition
| Yes, but it does not DAMAGE it, as popular belief would have it. It just CHANGES it. Porn creates a habituation response in the brain, meaning the brain becomes less responsive to repeated stimuli. Therefore, the porn user requires more and more new sexual stimulus to become aroused |
|
|
Term
| What are some risks in how porn affects behavior towards other people? |
|
Definition
It encourages violence and objectification
Porn increases the risk of violence, especially towards women, as a lot of porn involves violence. It doesn't always result in violence, but most men who view porn have violence-condoning attitudes towards women.
Porn also objectifies people, reducing them from people with souls to mere body parts. This adds to the risk of violence, as it's much easier to treat someone violently when you see them as just body parts |
|
|
Term
| What is the average age for when someone sees porn for the first time? |
|
Definition
| The average age for boys is 11. Since it's an average, that means kids as young as 8 or 9 are seeing this stuff. It's not surprising, considering the increased level of access kids have today, what with the Internet and personal smartphones. A porn habit could be just an accidental Google search or recommended video away |
|
|
Term
| What are some differences between porn actresses and other women? |
|
Definition
Women report losing their virginity at an average of 17.5 years old and have on average 5 sex partners in their lifetimes.
Porn actresses lose their virginity at an average of 15 years old, and have an average of 75 sex partners in a lifetime |
|
|
Term
| What are some unrealistic expectations promoted by pornography? |
|
Definition
| Porn promotes unrealistic expectations about what is "normal" in terms of the body (especially the genitalia), about the frequency of orgasms for women, about what "typical" sexual behaviors are, and portrays sex as unconnected to the emotional |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An intense and persistent sexual interest that doesn't involve a physically mature, consenting human person |
|
|
Term
| Are paraphilias considered (by the DSM) as diagnosed disorders? |
|
Definition
| Some of them are. A paraphilia isn't considered a diagnosed disorder unless it causes personal life problems (or problems for others) |
|
|
Term
| Is homosexuality considered a paraphilia? |
|
Definition
| It was listed in the DSM as a paraphilia until its removal in 1974 |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
A sexual fixation on a nonliving object, a nongenital part of the body, or a behavior or appearance that is not directly sexual.
Some common fetishes include foot fetish, a fetish for certain clothing (i.e. stilettos), and a fetish for rubber or latex items |
|
|
Term
| What is Transvestic Disorder? |
|
Definition
| It describes a crossdresser. Crossdressers are not always transgender, by the way - they can be totally straight and cisgender, but are still turned on by dressing as the other gender |
|
|
Term
| What are Sexual Masochism Disorder and Sexual Sadism Disorder, and what's the difference between them? |
|
Definition
| Sexual Masochism Disorder describes someone who is aroused by being hurt or humiliated, while Sexual Sadism Disorder describes someone who is aroused by hurting or humiliating others. It's considered okay if it's consensual - otherwise, it's criminal |
|
|
Term
| What is Voyeuristic Disorder? |
|
Definition
| Describes someone who spies on people in a sexual manner and is aroused by this act - a peeping tom |
|
|
Term
| What is Exhibitionistic Disorder? |
|
Definition
| Describes someone who is aroused by exposing their bodies in public |
|
|
Term
| What is Frotteuristic Disorder? |
|
Definition
| Describes someone who compulsively rubs up against strangers in public in a sexual manner |
|
|
Term
| What is Pedophilic Disorder? |
|
Definition
| Describes someone who is sexually aroused by underage persons. This means sex with kids/teens, child abuse, and child pornography |
|
|
Term
| Can paraphilic disorders be treated? |
|
Definition
| They can be treated through therapy, but many are resistant. Pedophilia is especially resistant to treatment |
|
|
Term
| What is the most important factor in modern laws concerning sex? |
|
Definition
The key factor is consent among adults. Age of consent is also an important thing the law focuses on.
Alcohol throws a wrench in the whole question of consent from a legal standpoint, since alcohol lowers inhibitions |
|
|
Term
| What were the earliest sex-related laws like? |
|
Definition
| They were heavily influenced by Judeo-Christian values. The early laws condemned sodomy (oral or anal sex), gay sex, and vibrators as sex crimes |
|
|
Term
| What is the distinction between sexual assault and rape? |
|
Definition
| Rape involves penetration (including non-penile penetration), while sexual assault usually has no penetration |
|
|
Term
| What is the traditional Abrahamic view of sexuality? |
|
Definition
| Sex is reserved for a married man and woman - sex is part of being one flesh |
|
|
Term
| How do Hindu and Buddhist sexual values differ from the Abrahamic religions? |
|
Definition
| Hinduism has fewer restrictions, while Buddhism mostly focuses on warning against sexual misconduct (especially violence and manipulation) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Standards of sexual behavior held by the individual, based on fundamental beliefs. These beliefs come from family, peers, culture, and religion.
It is important to make sure these values are communicated to your sexual partner. It can also be helpful to write these values down |
|
|
Term
| What paraphilic behaviors are illegal? |
|
Definition
Pedophilic behavior is a crime (child abuse, sex with minors, etc)
Viewing child pornography is a crime
Voyeurism (spying on people for sexual arousal) is a crime
Exhibitionism (exposing oneself in public) is a crime
Frotteuristic behavior (rubbing sexually against a stranger in public) is a crime
Although laws vary in different states and countries |
|
|
Term
| How common is child sexual abuse? |
|
Definition
| 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys are victims of sexual abuse, while other studies claim 1 in 10 children are victims |
|
|
