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Sexology
Lecture 1: Introduction
- Psychological Theories: psycho-analyses, learning theories and cognitive theories
- Evolutionary Theories males and females face different adaptive probs in short term mating and
in long term
- Critical Theories:
- Sociological Theories:
Definition of Sexuality: Central aspect of human being throughout life and encompasses sex,
gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, eroticism (what turns you on), pleasure, intimacy
and reproduction.
Meanings and Functions of Sex:
* Relationship: bonding, intimacy, confirmation of being human
* Recreation: pleasure, sexual arousal, relaxation, stress reduction, pain reduction, soporific
(inducing sleep), dealing with emotions
* Procreation: fertility
Sexual health: a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality.
(not lacking disease). Also, the ability to sexually adapt and self-manage in the face of life’s
physical, psycho and social challenges.
Bio-psycho-social model of sexuality
Context (social): norms and values, relationship aspects, communication, religion
Psyche: body image, anxiety, depression, self image, infertility and a child wish
Bio: oncological illnesses, chronic illness, chronic pain, fatigue, bladder problems, post
menopausal, medication (SSRI), nerves, hormones
Sexuality has time and culture specific issues: values and norms influence how people view
sexuality.
History of Sexuality
- Tissot (1766): Onanism, a treatment upon the disorders produced by masturbation
- Heiman & LoPiccolo (1988): Directed masturbation, an effective treatment for lifelong female
orgasmic disorder
- Sigmund Freud: the first person to make the transition of sexuality into a more scientific study.
‘‘Libido is something that rises from inside not environment, it’s the desire to have sex, it is similar
to hunger drive.’’
‘‘It is an instinct distinguished from a stimulus, it cannot be ignored, it is a constant force’’
‘‘It is like a stream it rises and you have to release and relax it. You don’t have to have sex, you
can use that force for other nice things’’.
Drive Model: You have sex because you like it.
Freud’s stages of development:
1. Pre-genital stages: oral, anal and phallic/oedipal stages (2-5 years)
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2. Latency stages (6-12 years): not into sexuality. Why? Social learning, going to school and
having rules —> youngsters don’t show sexual behavior openly anymore.
3. Genital stages (12 years onwards): preoccupation on genitals, more masturbation.
‘‘Sexual pleasure is transferred to the clitoris to the vagina’’
‘‘A healthy woman experiences a vaginal orgasm’’
‘‘If a woman can only achieve clitoral orgasm, it shows internal psyche problems’’
- Marie Bonaparte: Years of psychoanalysis, cannot have vaginal orgasm
She measured people’s distance between urethra and clitoris.
She did the procedure of moving of clitoris, ofc didn’t work.
Early 1900’s: mainly German psychiatrists
- Krafft-Ebing: classification of perversions (paraphilia, …)
- Bloch: Methods and insights of sexology must correspond with insights of natural and cultural
sciences.
- Hirschfeld: He had Institute of Sexology for research, prevention, assistance and counseling
centre.
Themes in the first 30 years of the 20th Century:
Clinical methodology
Need for research
Problems should be healed by physicians.
After WW2: leading role for the US
- Alfred Kinsey: Institute for Sex Research (1947).
Course on marriage (for students who were married or contemplating marriage) —> it wasn’t
common to talk about sexuality in classes.
Interviews about sexual behavior (11,000)
- John Money (1950-1976): study of development of gender identity in children.
‘Man and Woman, Boy and Girl’
Nature nurture controversy:
Twins (boys) were circumcised: one of them the operation went wrong.
This boy was then reconstructed as a girl for several years was raised as a girl.
Was intended to provide ultimate proof that nurture is the essential factor in your gender identity.
- Masters and Johnson (1960-1970s)
First psychophysiological laboratory research
Focused on human sexual response cycle: excitement -> plateau -> orgasm -> resolution
Basis for a new behavioral therapy approach to sexual problems: ‘sensate focus’ and with
partner:
3 steps: non-genital touching, touching with genitals, coitus position and movement.
Two weeks in the Institute, daily sessions; always in couples, sometimes with surrogate partners
for the men
- Helen Singer Kaplan:
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Addition of the clinically concept of ‘desire phase’: addition -> excitement -> plateau -> orgasm -
> resolution.
American Psychiatric Associations (1974) DSM-3
Homosexuality is no longer a ‘mental disorder’
- 58% in favor removal, 38% against removal, 4% abstentions
- HIV and AIDS in early 1980s
- Lonnie Barbach:
Self-help books, group therapy for women with orgasm problems (preorgasmic)
- Bernie Zilbergeld:
Self-help book: Male Sexuality (1978), groups for men with sexual dysfunctions. Talked about
sexual myths of men: Men are always ready and willing to have sex. Once a man is aroused, he
loses his self-control and is no longer responsible for is actions. The bigger the penis, more
pleasure.
- Susan Brownmiller (1975):
Talked about rape and sex, opened safe houses for rape victims.
- Shere Hite (1976):
Interviews with women who didn’t have orgasms, relief for women.
Sexual scripting Theory 1973 till 2000:
- Gagnon and Simon: Sexual Conduct: The social sources of human sexuality (1973).
‘‘Sexual behavior is a social role behavior generated by culturally determined scripts. A script is a
scenario that defines a situation as sexual, designates the actors and specifies their roles.’’
A script has 2 dimensions:
1. A interpersonal dimension through which people interact sexually.
2. An intrapsychic dimension, through which a person has a psychological interpretation of
sexuality, a schema, and strives for specific sexual behavior (love map)
Evolutionary psychology, Sexual Strategy Theory, Buss
Divided into short and long term strategies.
Adaptive psychological mechanisms relevant to sexuality are particular and numerous.
Results: ambiguous, not repeated
Sexual Motivation: The book ‘Why Humans Have Sex’: The book showed there aren’t many
differences among why females and males want to have sex.
John Bancroft
The Dual Control Model:
Central Excitatory Mechanisms —> Sexual Response <— Central Inhibitory Mechanism
Psycho-social & physical factors Psycho-social & physical factors
(stimulating factors) (inhibiting factors)
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Role of Mass Media: 3 influences
1. Cultivation: people begin to think what they see on television and other media represent the
mainstream of what happens in our culture
2. Agenda setting: reporters select what they report and ignore and what they emphasize
3. Social learning: people learn about sex and gender in part by imitation and identification
Increasing influence of the biomedical approach to sexuality (1998-present):
Medicalisation of treatment of sexual dysfunctions (Viagra)
Increasing focus on psychophysiological processes and neurophysiology
Lecture 2.A: Anatomy and Physiology of the Male
Sexual Response
Sex is healthy, many things can go wrong.
Sexual problems can lead to psychological problems and relational problems. If you have
relational or psychological problems it can lead to sexual problems.
1. Anatomy of the Male Reproductive System
Gonads = testes —> most important part. They are in scrotum. The ejaculation comes out from
the penis, it is put inside the vagina to reach the eggs.
Scrotum:
- Sac of skin and superficial fascia that hangs outside —> Outside because it needs the
temperature of 37 Celsius. (The external positioning keeps the testes 2 C lower than core body
temperature)
- Helps the balls hang loose for colder and
tucked inside to be warmer.
- Wall of the scrotum:
In red —> fibers, muscle of dartos
Muscle of Dartos—> Thin layer of muscle,
contractions help pull in the testes (to regulate
the temperature). It is trainable, but causes
wrinkling of the skin.
Under these muscles —> testes
Testis scrotum —> like an egg
Epididymis —> where the sperm is stored for a short time
Spermatic cord
Testes:
- Each testis is an oval structure about 5 cm long and 3 cm in diameter
- 250 lobules (yellow part) in each testis. 1-4 seminiferous tubules converge to form a tubule,
which leads into the rete testis. Then transported into epididymis.
- Sertoli celss help in the process of spermatogenesis.
- Sperm cells are made in tubules.
