2. Sexuality is a state of being, a
way of experiencing and giving
pleasure to ourselves and
others.

3. Understanding
the social and
personal
influences on
on our
sexuality can
help us claim
our right to
pleasure
Examples of
influences:
• Government
policies
• Religion
• Media images
• Violence
• Stereotypes
SOCIAL INFLUENCES

4. WOMEN GROWING UP
• Females learn at a young age to
that we are supposed to make
ourselves beautiful and sexy in
order to become objects of boys
desire; but not to enjoy our
bodies or have desires
ourselves.
• Fears are often instilled in
females‟ minds by a culture that
sees sexuality as dangerous and
dirty
“ Particularly for girls, there is pressure
coming from two opposite ends: the
pressure to „lose it‟ and the pressure to lose
it „in the right way. I don‟t think guys feel

5. STEREOTYPES
• Media images and messages often reinforce
stereotypes about sexuality.
• Racism, which often limits representations of color,
exacerbates such as stereotypes.
• Stereotypes can also arise from sexism and general
fear of difference.

6. COMMON STEREOTYPES
• Lesbians- aggressive man-haters
• Bisexuals- promiscuous, because they refuse to
be boxed into an either-or definition of sexual
attraction
• Trans people- confused, hypersexual or
deceitful
• Those open with sexuality and sexual desires-
„sluts‟

7. • We often see
ourselves through
the eyes of others
• Popular images
lessen respect for
individual
uniqueness and
cause harsh
personal
judgment
• Acceptance that
comes from
within can be the
most satisfying
• Getting to where
we can block out
the damaging
messages frees
us to love
ourselves and
patterns more
freely
BODY IMAGE

8. POWER
Power differences often play out in sex. Though a
partner may not acknowledge or even feel that there
is a power differential, such privileges can surface in
sex, resulting in the following responses..
• Feeling that you should have sex when your partner wants
to, whether you're in the mood or not.
• Feeling that you should have orgasms to validate your
partner
• Feeling that you shouldn't use protection if it interferes
with your partners pleasure (leaving you unprotected from
STI‟s)
• Either feeling that you should take care of birth control,
that you shouldn't‟t use birth control at all if your partner
doesn't‟t want you to

9. • Many women
experience or witness
abuse, most often
from men, but also
from women.
• Childhood sexual
abuse, rape, sexual
harassment,
homophobic attacks,
and battering in the
home can affect an
individuals sexual life.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

10. Celibacy- choosing not
to marry, or more
common today,
choosing not to have
sex with a partner for
a certain period of
time
Some couples choose
celibacy together to
strengthen other
aspects of their
relationship
Asexuality- lack of interest
in sex experienced by
about one percent of
people
This is a sexual
orientation, not a
dysfunction
Asexuals are still able to
have intimate
relationships
CELIBACY AND ASEXUALITY