Human Sexuality

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Human Sexuality Gender

• Chapter 11
• Introductory Psychology
• Dr. Greg Cook

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Opening comments . . .

• Sex, gender, and sexuality are deeply personal
  issues, and most people have strong feelings
  about them.
• Sex and gender are the most central aspects of
  identity for most people. When babies are born,
  the first thing we say is its a boy! or its
  a girl!
• We gather ideas about sex, gender, and sexuality
  as we grow up, and we tend to think of them as
  natural and almost absolute. Are they?
• Consider the Mosuo culture in SW China (chapter
  opening story). Do their practices seem natural?

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Sex versus Gender

• Sex biological male/female
• Gender psychological, sociological
• masculine feminine

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Biological Sex

• At conception
• XX female
• XY male

Karyotype a picture of chromosomes
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Bipotential gonads differentiate

• Prenatal weeks 1-6 primitive gonads are
  bipotential.
• Week 7, the Sry gene on only the Y chromosome
  causes gonads to form into male testes.
• The default is that the gonads form ovaries by
  12 weeks. We are all female by default.

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Hormone effects begin

• As the male testes form, they secrete ANDROGENS
  (male sex hormones).
• Androgens cause the male penis, testes, scrotum
  to form.
• In the absence of androgens, the ovaries, uterus,
  vagina will form.
• Androgens also masculinize brain development.

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Atypical sexual development Causes

• Chromosome defects
• XXY (Klinefelter syndrome in males),
• XO (Turner syndrome in females), others . . .
• Gene defects Sry gene not active in XY
  individuals or attached to X chromosome in XX
  individuals.
• Hormonal problems androgen not produced (XY),
  androgen produced or introduced (XX). Varying
  degrees . . .
• Teratogens environmental toxins disrupt sexual
  differentiation.

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Atypical sexual development Conditions

• Intersex have some structures of both sexes
• Hermaphodite have both ovarian and testicular
  tissue, genitalia may be ambiguous (or not)
• Sex Assignment psychological, sometimes surgical
• Visit the Intersex Society of North America at
  http//www.isna.org/
• Visit Sexinfo at UC-Santa Barbara at
  http//www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/?articleNWSm

Photo from http//www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/?articl
eNWSm
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Psychological Gender

• Gender roles cultural expectations (stereotypes)
  about male and female behaviors
• masculine gender roles
• feminine gender roles
• Gender identity a personal sense of being male
  or female a core part of our self-identity
• gender identity is a matter of degree (varies
  by individual)
• Transgendered gender identity is opposite of
  biological sex
• Transsexual person living the gender opposite of
  their biological sex (in dress, behavior, etc.)
• Sex reassignment involves surgery, hormone
  treatments, counseling

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One dimension, or two?

• Terman Miles one dimension
• Feminine
  Masculine
• Sandra Bem two dimensions
• Femininity
• Low High
• Masculinity
• Low High
• Androgyny high in both femininity masculinity

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Theories of Gender Development

• Freuds Psychoanalytic Theory
• Identification with same-sex parent
• Learning Theory
• Imitation operant conditioning
• Gender Schema Theory
• We categorize information into M/F schemas, and
  schemas guide our behaviors and expectations
• Evolutionary Theory
• Differing M/F roles serve adaptive functions in
  mating and survival of the species (male
  assertiveness female attractiveness?)

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The Sexual Revolution

• Alfred Kinsey, Indiana University, surveys about
  sex
• Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948)
• Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953)
• Improved Methods of Contraception
• Sexual Revolution of the 1960s
• Women entering the workforce, more equality in
  gender roles (not equality yet!)

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Gender Differences in Sex Attitudes

• Men
• think about sex more (every day M 70, W
  33)
• emphasize physical aspects of sex
• more permissive of casual sex
• visual cues more important
• arousal is more immediate
• Women
• emphasize romance and relationship
• less permissive of casual sex
• touch and emotional cues more important
• arousal is more gradual
• Gender differences seem to be decreasing

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Sexual Response CycleResearch of William
Masters Virgina Johnson

• Four phases of the sexual response
• Excitement
• Plateau
• Orgasm
• Resolution (with refractory period)
• Sexual response also varies by
• Hormones
• Psychological factors (love, caring, emotion)
• Fantasy, external stimuli

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Sexual Orientations

• Heterosexual attracted to opposite sex
• Homosexual attracted to same sex
• Bisexual attracted to both sexes
• Survey results vary, but generally find that
  about
• 3-5 of men and
• 2-3 of women
• report being homosexual.

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Determinants of Sexual Orientation

• Hormones
• Prenatal exposure to synthetic estrogen linked to
  lesbianism
• Prenatal androgen exposure linked to sexual
  orientation (high masculinity low femininity)
• Brain structure
• Differences in brain structure (e.g.,
  hypothalamus) have been reported, but we dont
  know if they are the cause or the effect of
  sexual orientation (purely correlational)
• Genetics
• Concordance rates for homosexuality are higher
  for identical than for fraternal twins.
  Heritability estimated at .50.
• Childhood or early experiences
• Most homosexuals report feeling different at a
  very young age
• Heterosexual Assumption is not valid most
  homosexuals were attracted first to same sex, and
  they did not convert to homosexuality only
  after having failed or unsatisfying heterosexual
  relationships.
• Choice?

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Normality vs. Disorder

• Until 1973, the American Psychiatric Association
  listed homosexuality as a mental disorder.
• Since 1973, homosexuality is not considered as
  disorder.
• Gender Identity Disorder (dissatisfaction with
  your sex or sexual orientation) is listed and
  treated.
• Read more at www.mhsanctuary.com/gender/dsm.htm
  

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Keeping it real . . .

• Healthy relationships
• Date rape and sexual violence
• Information session
• Tonight 7 pm Extra credit (5 pts)