Human Sexuality essays

The Controversies & Evolution that surround Human Sexuality

To begin this topic regarding human sexuality, I will be diving into the controversies within the field itself. I will be covering basic concepts such as, human sexuality, societies stance on the topic and general research that portray the topic in the way it should be.

Age-Related Sexual Behavior

Among the research that has been conducted by psychologists that study human sexuality, it has been made known that little effort has been put into age-related sexual behavior Gray et al. (2019). Whether they differ in terms of sex, age, and calculating any patterns in between those biological factors Gray et al. (2019). Early research amongst age-related sexual patterns mostly covered those who were at their reproductive ages Gray et al. (2019) It is good that they are studying age-related sexual behavior among those in their reproductive ages. But it seems like to have a better understanding of this in human sexuality, they need to extend the ages to see how humans evolve during and after their reproductive years. Which leads to the next part, the researchers decided to make the study go even further than those within their reproductive years, they studied individuals over the age of 20+ to a little over 89+ Gray et al. (2019). They found that sexual behavior and desire changed over the years according to the conducted research. Which makes sense especially since the research shows sexual decline the older a person got. Especially women over the age of 45 Gray et al. (2019) stated, ‘Older women were most likely single because there was a lower frequency with sex, loss, divorce etc. with their husbands.’ Which is also known as senescence according to Gray et al. (2019).

Controversial Research

It is not a surprise that the topic of Human Sexuality is a controversial one. There have been countless research done in which there are mixed feelings within the topic. The first research we will talk about was one conducted by Alfred Kinsey. Alfred Kinsey was an American Biologist. He is also known as the father of the sexual revolution. His research talked about Sexual behavior within the human female. His findings particularly sparked controversy because he was talking in-depth on how a woman’s sexual response occurs. Especially since the book he published was in 1953 and it was the first of its kind as said by Lehmiller (2017). Even after Kinsey’s research, many psychologists have been diving within the research of human sexuality. The one thing that has yet to change for sure is the reaction of society in general (Lehmiller 2017). The bad thing about the reaction of society is that when it reveals what people do, it conflicts with their assumptions Lehmiller (2017). The research ultimately fails because the crowd’s reaction to the truth means that they will harm the researcher’s findings, meaning everything will be ignored or altered Lehmiller (2017). Which seems to be the only downside when it comes to the reaction of the crowd, and very unfortunate for the research itself.

Do Personality Traits Have an Influence on Sexuality?

Sexual activity is an important part of human well-being and satisfaction in terms of having a relationship. To back this up, Allen & Walter (2018) states that sexual activity helps satisfy the relationship and even reduce the risk of a disease that may be chronic. In most countries whether they are developed or not, unsafe sex is on the top of the list when it comes to transmitting a disease Allen & Walter (2018). Now find a link between the big 5 personalities they officially conducted a study by using meta-analysis. What this does is it shows empirical research that can potentially find the association of both personalities and human sexuality Allen & Walter (2018). And to top it off they used gender and sex as biological factors, I stated above, to find the methodological difference with well-estimated risks as said by Allen & Walter (2018). The big-five personality traits that humans obtain as said by Allen & Walter (2018), are ‘neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and finally conscientiousness’ (p. 1082). There may be some controversy with the traits as they are not significantly nor adequately representable for everyone. It kind of is like the zodiac signs, some may be aware of them, but some may disagree. Once they have finalized the research they found that all of the personality traits had either a positive or a negative correlation Allen & Walter (2018). For example, neuroticism having a negative correlation to emotions of sadness, and depression Allen & Walter (2018). Extraversion had a positive correlation to high sexual activity and so on. Homosexuality was correlated to openness, and had a negative correlation to openness was homophobia Allen & Walter (2018). It seems like the studies show a correlation to the big-five personality traits.

Controversies Associated with Female Sexuality

Some controversies that women face today with their sexuality is directly associated with their sexual desires and response Chivers & Brotto (2017). There are many misconceptions about female sexuality and response as it is. Considering we live in a time where the media is probably one of the most powerful ways to interpret and/or misinterpret meaning. Furthermore, let’s look at the controversies that women face today according to their sexuality. It all starts with assumptions, the first assumption talked about within this research was that women need a source to become aroused Chivers & Brotto (2017). That is a current example of four that have caused controversy due to sociocultural ignorance today Chivers & Brotto (2017). What this research does is that it disproves all of the assumptions created by society or even by the media or even psychologists who are studying female sexual response. In my opinion, it is always good to be accurate and precise with research. Research like this can be delicate, but they for sure covered almost everything within the topic of female sexuality assumptions.

Controversies and Evolution of Sexuality

I see a pattern in terms of how human sexuality has come from and where it is now. The reason why this topic is controversial is that people may alter, make assumptions, ignore what the researchers have to say. When they do this, they may misinform others by molding precise information into something that fits within a biased mind. From my interpretation on reading the articles, I can see that people are either uncomfortable, scared of what the truth upholds, but in reality, if there is anything more important it would be the researchers because they are the ones who know what they are doing. It is rather disappointing seeing how hard psychologists and psychiatrists work hard and not get the reactions they deserve, but then again society and the media do that all the time.