1. Introduction to the
Study of Human
Sexuality
WARNING: THIS MATERIAL INCLUDES SEXUALLY EXPLICIT IMAGES/WORDS
AND IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE VIEWED BY YOUNGER PEOPLE. IF SO, PROPER
GUIDANCE IS ADVISED!
2. Why Study Sexuality?
Some students have parents who provide an education in terms of
sexuality, while others never spoke of it
Some schools offer sex education as a course while other learn via the
media or through their own peers
Our family of origin is the one who largely influences us
We also learn from our romantic partners, friends, religion, society, and etc.
Current Issues:
Same-Sex Marriage Legalization
CoEd Dorms
Sexually Transmitted Infections/Diseases
3. What is Sexuality?
Human sexuality is grounded in biological functioning, emerging in each
of us as we develop, and is expressed by cultures through rules about
sexual contact, attitudes about moral and immoral sexuality, habits of
sexual behavior, patterns of relations between the sexes, and more.
It is studied by sexologists
4. The Impact of Media
Television
Magazines
Advertisements
Pornographic Pictures/Videos
5. History of Sexuality
Our ancestors were quadrupeds
Phallus- symbol of sex and potency; associated with aggression
Upright posture of breasts
Because more body area is in contact in face-to-face intercourse than in
rear entry, the entire sensual aspect on intercourse was enhanced,
manipulation of the breasts became possible (the breasts are sexual
organs only in humans), and the female clitoris was much more easily
stimulated.
6. History of Sexuality: Ancient Egypt
Egyptians condemned adultery among women
Egyptian women had the right to divorce a husband,
but not among Hebrew women
Circumcision
Temple Prostitutes: Women in ancient cultures who
would have sex with worshippers at pagan temples to
provide money for the temple or to worship the gods.
7. History of Sexuality: Hebrews
The Hebrew bible contained explicit rules
about sexual behavior
Tales of sexual misconduct:
Adultery
Homosexuality
Sex within family members
Incest
Sexual Betrayal
Sex outside of marriage
Sexual jealousy
Tales of marital love
The Hebrew Bible sees the marital union and
its sexual nature as an expression of love and
affection, as a man and woman “become one
flesh.”
8. History of Sexuality: Greeks
Sexually Permissive
Bestiality: sex with animals
Can be seen in some stories and myths
Aphrodite: goddess of sexual intercourse
Eros: god of love; son of Aphrodite
Pederasty: postpubescent males having a
sexual intercourse with adult
Mentor and Student relationship
Man’s nonsexual love for another man was
seen as the ideal love, superior to the
sexual love for women.
Platonic- friendships without a sexual
element
9. History of Sexuality: Romans
Permissive on bisexual and homosexual
behaviors
Marriage and sexual relations were means of
improving one’s economic and social status
Wives encourages husbands to have slaves
for sexual release
10. History of Sexuality: India
Karma
Patriarchal
Female infanticide
Marriage is an economic and religious obligation
Kamasutra appeared around 400 B.C
Discussed the nature of love
Naming and classifying things, especially through the
size of the penis and vagina
Recommends women to learn on how to please their
husbands
Sex should be a passionate activity, it may include
scratching, biting, and blows to the back accompanied
by a variety of animal noises
11. History of Sexuality: China
Interdependence of all things, unified in Tao
Yin (women’s essence) and Yang (male’s semen)
Sexual instruction and manuals are openly available in
early Chinese societies’
Heterosexual intercourse should be prolonged as
possible without male ejaculation.
Same-sex intercourse is not discouraged but male
homosexuality was viewed as a waste of spem
Sexual devices were common
Practice of Polygamy
12. History of Sexuality: Early Christianity
Formalized with the teachings of St. Paul
Jesus was silent but seems to be liberal
about it.
men should be held to the same standards
as women on issues of adultery, divorce,
and remarriage
“Let he who is without sin cast the first
stone.”
Celibacy
Chastity as a virtue
Non-procreative sex is a sin
Cognitive dissonance occurs among
people
13. History of Sexuality: Middle Ages
Increase of Church’s influence
The Church became strict during the 13th
Century.
1215- Confession
Woman as a place of purity
Woman as a model of virtue
Entremetteuse- teaches young men the ways of
love who was said to know the secrets of
restoring potency, virginity, and concocting
positions
Ascetism- the practice of a lifestyle that rejects
sensual pleasures such as drinking alcohol,
eating rich food, or engaging in sex.
14. History of Sexuality: Islam
Satr al-’awra – covering the private parts of the
body
Muhammad tried to preserve the rights of
women
Women in Islamic lands are subjugated to men
Koran likens wives to fields that men should
cultivate as frequently as they want.
Harems- secluded areas of a woman’s rich
husband in order to learn how to become self-
sufficient in the absence of men
Eunuchs- guards the women who might want
to sleep with the sultan
15. History of Sexuality: Renaissance
A shift in intellectual and artistic thought from God to
humans
Women were having advancements
1532- debates on women
Women are peaceful, chaste, refined, and faithful
17th Century witchcraft trials
16. History of Sexuality: Reformation
Martin Luther King challenged Papal authority; allowed divorce
John Calvin – women were not just reproductive vessels but men’s partners in all things
17. History of Sexuality: Enlightenment
Sexual pleasure is natural and desirable
Rise in premarital sex and illegitimate
birth
1730 – Sodomite panic in Netherlands
Napoleon eased laws against
homosexuality
1860- French male prostitution
18. History of Sexuality: Victorian Era
Prosperity in England
Conservative sexual attitudes
Pornography, Extramarital affairs, and prostitution
were common
Male Chivalry
Women does not talk about sex, even to a doctor
Sexuality is repressed
19. History of Sexuality: Puritan Ethic
Puritans – a religious group who tried to set up a
biblically based society in the New World
Community is responsible for upholding morality
Sexuality was good and proper within marriage
Non-missionary sex style position
Sexual intercourse during menstruation
Lack of women
Freer sexuality
Bundling – young couples were allowed to share a
bed as long as they are clothed, wrapped in
sheets/bags, or had a wooden bundling board
Premarital pregnancy as an indication of quick
marriage
20. History of Sexuality: Liberalization of
Sex
People began to openly discuss
1/3 of all brides in some parts of New England were pregnant
1720 – prostitution was rare
Late 18th Century – brothels were attacked
Contraception were already available
Decline in birth rate
21. History of Sex: Slavery
Indentured Servants - A person who is bound by
requirements to work for another person for a
specified time in exchange for payment of travel
and living expenses.
1670 – slaves were common in the South
Anti-miscegenation laws forbids sexuality,
marriage, or breeding among members of
different races.
Whites accused African slaves of having loose
morals
22. History of Sexuality: 19th Century
1820s Free Love Movement - love, not marriage,
should be the prerequisite to sexual relations.
Mormons practiced polygamy
Close of 19th Century – medical model of sexuality
Anthony Comstock outlawed obscenity
23. History of Sexuality: 20th Century
Social Hygiene Movement
Began in 1905
Curious mixture of liberal and traditional methods
Anti-premarital sex
Masturbation can harm
Sex Education Movement
Sexology
Scientific advances in understanding human sexuality
The work of these sexologists helped to demystify sex and make it more respectable to publicly
discuss the sexual behaviors and problems of real people.
Sexual Revolutions
Reich believed in sexually liberated society
1953 – Playboy began under Hugh Hefner
Helen Gurley Brown - Cosmopolitan
Changes in sexual morality and sexual behavior that occurred throughout the Western world during
the 1960s and 1970s
24. History of Sexuality: 20th Century
Feminism
Women’s suffrage movement
Margaret Sanger influenced women’s sexuality
Katharine Dexter McCormick – Birth Control League
Planned Parenthood
Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) showed
that women were not granted an identity of their own
but were considered the objects of men’s wishes and
anxieties.
Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963) stated
that educated, bright women felt trapped in the role of
housewife and wanted careers to have happier, more
fulfilled lives
Kate Millett’s Sexual Politics (1969) which was written
during the Vietnam War stated that patriarchy bred
violence and forced to renounce men everything that is
feminine in them. Rape was seen as an act of
aggression aimed at controlling women
25. History of Sexuality: 20th Century
World War II was challenging for
homosexuals
Homosexuals were portrayed as perverts,
lurking in schools and on street corners ready
to pounce on unsuspecting youth, and many
were thrown out of work or imprisoned in
jails and mental hospitals.
1951- Mattachine Society was founded by
Harry Hay
1955 – Daughters of Bilitis was founded by 4
lesbian couples in San Francisco
1969 – police raided Stonewall
1973 – homosexuality was removed from the
DSM
1990 – Queer Theory
Former US President Barack Obama’s
legalizagion of Same-Sex Marriage