Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Sexual orientation, social identity, etc
Biological factors influencing sexual orientation
Is homosexuality genetic
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Sexual orientation, social identity, etc
People have different opinions and ideas about normal or abnormal sexual behaviors. Sex is common all over the world, and all people are interested in it. The most common disorders are homosexuality, sexual dysfunctions, and sexual deviation. The only reason why these disorders are considered unusual is due to the norm established by society, but they are not necessarily abnormal.
Sexual orientation describes patterns of sexual and romantic attraction towards someone else. It is said that one pole attracts the other, but in this case, it does not work like that. There is little information on why a person’s sexual orientation might be deviated from what is normal. Research shows that this issue may be due to the role of genes, the environment, hormones, the way a person is raised, or simply because of the brain itself. According to Sigmund Freud, all human beings are bisexual, but they become heterosexual or homosexual because of the experiences they live with their parents and other people. There is no empirical evidence that homosexuality is a mental illness, so all there is left to say is that homosexuality is simply a matter of choice rather than an abnormality due to brain dysfunction.
Sexual dysfunction affects both men and women at any given age. This can be caused by emotional or physical problems. It may be because of lack of trust between lovers, psychological problems, depression, among other things. Sexual dysfunction is very common in people with anxiety disorders, because this can lead to further problems such as avoidance of intercourse due to fear of embarrassment. It is not only limited to psychological problems, but it can also be due to ingestion of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or controlled drugs to treat other dis...
... middle of paper ...
... of both counseling and medication. The patient attends sex therapy and implements self-help measures, and takes medications for any physiological problems they might have. However, if they are independently taken, they can benefit each other without any further treatment. There are many different ways to help patients, but these two are proven the best there are for treating sexual disorders.
Works Cited
"Sexual Dysfunction Causes." Sexual Dysfunction Causes. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Herek, Gregory M. "Homosexuality and Mental Health." Homosexuality and Mental Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
"Contents of The American Journal of Psychiatry." Psychological Medicine 17.04 (1987): 1035. Print.
"Paraphilias and Mental Health." WebMD. WebMD, 18 Jan. 0000. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
"Treatment for Sexual Problems." Http://www.apa.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
First, it is important to distinguish the difference between sexuality and sensuality. When some people think of sexuality, the brain automatically thinks orgasms and penetration. But, when we think about sensuality, all of the senses become engaged. Touch, taste, smell, and feel can all become a form of foreplay. When you take foreplay or sensuality out of the equation, “couples have no way of intimately connecting unless they have sex” (Markman et al., 2010, p.272). This can introduce pressure to the sexual relationship which will also allow room for anxiety. “Numerous studies suggest that anxiety is the key inhibiting factor to arousal” (Markman et al., 2010, p. 277). There are two types of anxiety - performance anxiety and conflict. When a person is focusing soley on his or her performance, Markman et al., (2010) suggests that it puts “emotional distance between you and your partner. This kind of detachment can lead to the most common sexual problems that people experience” (p. 277). A few of these problems are difficulty having an orgasm, lack of erection or arousal, and pre-ejaculation. Conflict is the other source for anxiety. When a couple is arguing all the time and having trouble getting along, the desire for intimacy is lost. “It is important that you agree to keep problems and disagreements off-limits when you are being sensual or making love” (Markman et al., 2010, p. 278). If your partner has a complete lack of interest in sex, it can be a side effect of a hidden issue. It can be a stressful time at work, he or she could be depressed, drinking, or suffering from another type of illness that affect one’s sex drive. Try to figure out if it is health related, and if it is not, then look more at the
This study is about whether there is a correlation between physical and sexual abuse in adolescents becoming homosexual. Throughout past research there has been no direct correlation in stating is does cause adolescents to become homosexual. The event of someone changing their sexual identity is when they gone through some traumatic situation in their life. The tests we ran for this study are The Life Experience Questionnaire, The Lesbian Internalized Homophobic Scale, and The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire. This study is done to prove there is a correlation between physical and sexual abuse equaling homosexuality.
Sexual dysfunction can be defined as the inability to partake in or enjoy sexual relationship with one's partner as a result of underlying physical and/or psychological factors (Hoel, 1998). Physical attributions play a large part in both males and females and their ability to perform and enjoy sex. Males encounter several normal changes as they become older. A decrease in the hormone testosterone is very common amongst males with increasing age. Testosterone is beneficial because it gives a decrease in body fat, an increase in energy, including sexual energy, and an increase in lean muscle. These factors are important for physical attraction one has for another, definitely improving the outcome of sexual arousal. The size and firmness of the testicles may be reduced because of this decrease as well. The sexual response phase also changes with age. During the beginning of sex, an older man may experience a delay in his erection and when erect, the penis may not be as firm as when younger. ...
This site gives a brief overview of some of the biological aspects of sexual disorders.
The issue of homosexuality has been hotly debated since 1960 and scientific discipline, biology, has begun to ask the fundamental question about homosexuality. However, a few years ago, the issue was discussed mostly by people in the social sciences. Psychologists, such as Freud, studied homosexuals extensively and were coming up with an explanation for their "abnormal" behavior. All of the explanations that these people created linked homosexuality to experiences that homosexual have while growing up. Generally speaking, people in the world of psychology believed that homosexuality could be explained by a person's environment. However, in the past four or five years, the subject of homosexuality has gradually moved into the world of biology. Studies have been done recently are coming up with a genetic explanation for sexual preference. The fact that many of the scientists involved into researches of this sort are gays and Chandler Burr, scientist of genetics and biology as well, which explains a lot about the issue, that homosexual people are interested and curious about their “abnormal” nature themselves. It may also serve as an evidence that homosexuality is not the personal choice and also says about the moral competence of sexual minority people. The very term "sexual orientation," which in the 1980s replaced "sexual preference," asserts the deeply rooted nature of sexual desire and love. It implies biology again.
Medicalization describes the shift in authority concerning abnormal human conditions. Quirks previously seen as by-products of maturation began to see heavy examination and were classified under medical terms. As a result, the past few decades have seen an obscene number of compulsions and disorders deemed medical conditions, further exacerbating the unnecessary institutionalization of many harmless irregularities. This string coincides with the growing popularity of sex addiction and the debate over its inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The mere thought of such a neurotic desire potentially joining the DSM alongside major mental and learning disorders epitomizes the depths to which society has sunk in recognition of truly straining abnormalities. The medicalization of sex addiction demonstrates the lengths at which medical authority will go to inject another fabricated disease into the blood of society.
What controls a human's sexual orientation? The long-standing debate of nature versus nurture can be extended to explaining human sexual orientation. Is it biological or environmental? The biological explanation has been gaining popularity amongst the scientific community although it is only based on speculations. It is argued that sexual orientation is linked to factors that occur during sexual differentiation. The prenatal exposure to androgens and their affect on the development of the human brain play a pivotal role in sexual orientation (2). Heredity is also part of the debate. Does biology merely provide the slate of neural circuitry upon which sexual orientation is inscribed? Do biological factors directly wire the brain so that it will support a particular orientation? Or do biological factors influence sexual orientation only indirectly?
There is very little research that has been done in the past on the mental health of LGBT individuals. In 1997 the federal center for Mental Health Services called for information to be compiled on the topic (Lucksted 3). Most of the information came from small publications, grass root information and self-reporting and even this information was incomplete because of the lesser reporting on people of the transgender and bisexual communities. This older report shows what the state of affairs was in ...
Since the 1800's, psychiatrists and psychologists have concluded that homosexuality is a mental disorder. They have believed it is brought about by misguided upbringing and their social environments. For instance, it was believed that if the child was lacking a male - figure in the home, he would most likely be gay. Or that child abuse can lead to lesbianism when the special needs of a little girl are denied, ignored, or exploited and the future womanhood of the child is in risk. However, inconsistencies in the research subjects' abuse records ruled these theories out. And if this were the case, then why is homosexuality present in different cultures? Some believed homosexuality was caused by a difference in brain structure. In 1991, Simon LeVay published research stating that sexual orientation may be the result of differing brain structures. The hypothalamus, a region in the brain that governs sexual behavior, was the structure that LeVay was pointing as the structure at fault. In his studies of the hypothalamus, he found that in homosexual men, the hypothalamus was smaller than that of heterosexual men. Instead, it was the size of the female hypothalamus, consequently explaining their sexual tendencies.
”There are numerous theories about the origins of a person's sexual orientation…orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factor …there are probably many reasons for a person's sexual orientation and the reasons may be different for different people.” (“Sexual Orientation & Homosexuality”)
McCabe, M.P. (2005). The role of performance anxiety in the development and maintenance of sexual dysfunction in men and women. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(4), 379-388.
What are fetishes, and what causes them? This is a fundamental question that to this day has no definite answer. Sexual deviance is a topic that has long roused public interest and drawn attention. Sexual deviance has numerous subcategories, ranging from extremities such as incest and pedophilia, to sexual expression such as cross-dressing and fetishism. Fetishism, a sub category of sexual deviance, is one that is expressed by a large proportion of the population, but is rarely understood.
Homosexuality, when I think of this word and look at all the controversy over who people are supposed to love or who they have sex with, is crazy. This topic has been going on since the 1800's. When I was doing research for this paper I was surprised about how much people are against homosexual couples. Though history there have been a lot of psychologists who thought that homosexuality was a disease or and illness that could be cured, there were also the psychologists who thought that it was not a bad thing to be homosexual.
...uch a key impact, it is important that when an issue does arise to take action. All of the sexual dysfunctions can be treated by going through sex therapy. This is where they can talk out their issues that could be causing the sexual dysfunctions and also it can give them ideas and tips to use to enhance the sexual relationship. (Nevid & Ruthus, 2005).
Homosexuality, and alternative sexualities, is a topic within biological psychology that has received widespread media attention in recent years. Many conservative politicians and individuals argue that sexuality, particularly sexual attraction, is a choice, while many gay-rights activists and supporters argue that an individual cannot choose to be gay or straight. The argument that sexual orientation, or attraction to one gender over another, is not a choice suggests that there may be an innate biological cause for human sexual orientation. Research in this area has been approached in many ways, including examination of sexual behavior in other species, brain imaging of homosexual versus heterosexual humans, twin studies, familial studies, gene linkage studies, and self-report of subjective experience. Research in this area of biological psychology has the ability to dismiss controversy and improve the social and cultural human experience of those who identify with an alternative sexuality. Many authors and researchers have explored this topic and developed hypotheses and conclusions about the cause of alternative sexuality, particularly homosexuality.