Psychology of sexuality
Julie van Immerseel
By: Maerten Prins
Lecture 1 – April 16 – Introduction
▪ Biological aspects
▪ Psychological aspects
▪ Social and cultural aspects
▪ Physiology
▪ Sexual behaviour
▪ Thinking about sex
▪ Historical development
▪ Cultural differences
Sex – computer metaphor
Hardware - biology
Operating system - evolution
Software - social environment and culture
Helpdesk - sexologist
Computers get older …
Human sexuality
What is sex? And why do we do it?
1
,Your associations with the word sex (N=153)
Positive associations
In line with Dutch research: at age 25, 81% of Dutch youngsters has sexual experience:
90% of young women and 94% of young men say they enjoy sex.
But what is sex?
Wikipedia: human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in
which humans experience and express their sexuality.
Oxford dictionary: sex = sexual activity, including specifically sexual intercourse; sexuality = sexual
activity
Yourdictionary: sex = any function or behaviour involved with reproduction.
Go ask Alice: sex = the birds and the bees. Getting it on.
World health organisation
“sexual health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality”
So: body, mind and social environment
“sexuality is influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, political,
cultural, legal, historical, religious and spiritual factors”
So: body, mind, social environment, culture, religion
→ sex is complex!
Biopsychosocial model
2
,How do people have sex?
- Not
o Asexuality = there is a lack of desire to have sex with other people. There is no sexual
disorder.
o Voluntary celibacy (complete or partial). Complete is also when you don’t
masturbate. The reason could be moral (e.g. until marriage) or religious.
o Involuntary celibacy (incel; short for involuntary celibates). When you get separated
from your partner, e.g. military. Or when your partner loses interest in sex, you/your
partner is in hospital.
Incel = members of an online subculture, who define themselves as unable to find
themselves a romantic/sexual partner, despite desiring one. Usually white,
heterosexual boys. Their online discussions are full of anger and racism. There is
often an entitlement to sex; you have the right to have sex, is what they think. When
they can’t have sex, they turn violent in more extreme cases.
- Solitary sexual behaviour
o Sexual fantasies. This is healthy sexual behaviour, even when you have fantasies
about rape.
o Masturbation. “Don’t know masturbation: it’s sex with someone I love” – Woody
Allen in the movie Annie Hall
Not in all cultures, this is the fact.
Danger about sexual arousal: when you get sexually aroused, there are more and
more things that turn you on. The perception of what is sexually attractive changes.
- Partnered sexual behaviours
o Kissing. It is not socially accepted worldwide; half of the cultures think it is not okay.
Evolutionary aspect: it might be a way of selecting a partner.
3
, o Touching (tribadism = rubbing the genitals against each other; mostly done by
women).
o Oral sex (fellatio (penis)/cunnilingus (vagina)). More frequent among young people,
higher educated and white people.
o Anal sex (intercourse or anilingus). More frequent among young people, higher
educated and white people. 1
o Vaginal intercourse (coitus)
Sex is only sex when it is consensual. When one of the partners doesn’t consent, it is rape or child
abuse.
How do people have coitus?
Four basic positions (most popular/best known)
There is more than coitus, but is it sex?
Baseball metaphor.
How do heterosexual people define having sex?
4
