Human sexuality  

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:"[[Human sexuality]] is, quite apart from [[Christian repression]]s, a highly [[questionable]] phenomenon, and belongs, at least potentially, among the [[extreme]] rather than the ordinary experiences of humanity. Tamed as it may be, sexuality remains one of the [[demon]]ic forces in human [[consciousness]] - pushing us at intervals close to [[taboo]] and [[dangerous]] [[desire]]s, which range from the [[impulse]] to commit sudden arbitrary [[violence]] upon another person to the voluptuous yearning for the [[extinction]] of one's consciousness, for [[death]] itself." --[[Susan Sontag]] in the ''[[Pornographic Imagination|The Pornographic Imagination]]'' :"[[Human sexuality]] is, quite apart from [[Christian repression]]s, a highly [[questionable]] phenomenon, and belongs, at least potentially, among the [[extreme]] rather than the ordinary experiences of humanity. Tamed as it may be, sexuality remains one of the [[demon]]ic forces in human [[consciousness]] - pushing us at intervals close to [[taboo]] and [[dangerous]] [[desire]]s, which range from the [[impulse]] to commit sudden arbitrary [[violence]] upon another person to the voluptuous yearning for the [[extinction]] of one's consciousness, for [[death]] itself." --[[Susan Sontag]] in the ''[[Pornographic Imagination|The Pornographic Imagination]]''
-'''[[Human sexuality]]''' comprises a broad range of behavior and processes, including the [[physiology|physiological]], [[psychology|psychological]], [[social]], [[culture|cultural]], [[politics|political]], [[Philosophy|philosophical]], [[ethics|ethical]], [[morality|moral]], [[theology|theological]], [[law|legal]] and [[spirituality|spiritual]] or [[religion|religious]] aspects of sex and [[human sexual behavior]]. +'''[[Human sexuality]]''' comprises a broad range of behavior and processes, including the [[physiology|physiological]], [[psychology|psychological]], [[social]], [[culture|cultural]], [[politics|political]], [[Philosophy|philosophical]], [[ethics|ethical]], [[morality|moral]], [[theology|theological]], [[law|legal]] and [[spirituality|spiritual]] or [[religion|religious]] aspects of sex and [[human sexual behavior]].
 +==Sexuality and love==
 +[[Human sexuality]], besides ensuring biological [[reproduction]], has important social functions: it creates physical intimacy, bonds, and hierarchies among individuals; may be directed to spiritual transcendence (according to some traditions); and in a [[hedonism|hedonistic]] sense to the enjoyment of activity involving sexual gratification. Sexual desire, or [[libido]], is experienced as a bodily urge, often accompanied by strong emotions such as love, [[ecstasy (emotion)|ecstasy]] and jealousy. The extreme importance of sexuality in the human species can be seen in a number of physical features, among them hidden ovulation, the evolution of external scrotum and penis suggesting sperm competition, the absence of an [[Baculum|os penis]], permanent [[secondary sexual characteristics]], the forming of pair bonds based on sexual attraction as a common social structure and sexual ability in females outside of ovulation. These adaptations indicate that the importance of sexuality in humans is on a par with that found in the [[Bonobo]], and that the complex human sexual behaviour has a long [[evolution]]ary history.
 + 
 +Human choices in acting on sexuality are commonly influenced by cultural norms, which vary widely. Restrictions are often determined by religious beliefs or social customs. The pioneering researcher [[Sigmund Freud]] believed that humans are born [[Psychosexual development|polymorphously perverse]], which means that any number of objects could be a source of pleasure. According to Freud, humans then pass through five stages of [[psychosexual development]] (and can fixate on any stage because of various traumas during the process). For [[Alfred Kinsey]], another influential sex researcher, people can fall anywhere along a continuous scale of sexual orientation (with only small minorities fully [[heterosexual]] or [[homosexual]]). Recent studies of neurology and genetics suggest people may be born with a predisposition to one sexual orientation or another.
 +
== See also == == See also ==
*[[History of human sexuality]] *[[History of human sexuality]]

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Fashionable Contrasts (1792) by James Gillray  Human sexuality is part of the human sexuality portal
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Fashionable Contrasts (1792) by James Gillray
Human sexuality is part of the human sexuality portal

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"Sex, as we know, is a heat-seeking missile that forever seeks out the newest medium for its transmission." --(Gerard Van Der Leun, 1993)
"Human sexuality is, quite apart from Christian repressions, a highly questionable phenomenon, and belongs, at least potentially, among the extreme rather than the ordinary experiences of humanity. Tamed as it may be, sexuality remains one of the demonic forces in human consciousness - pushing us at intervals close to taboo and dangerous desires, which range from the impulse to commit sudden arbitrary violence upon another person to the voluptuous yearning for the extinction of one's consciousness, for death itself." --Susan Sontag in the The Pornographic Imagination

Human sexuality comprises a broad range of behavior and processes, including the physiological, psychological, social, cultural, political, philosophical, ethical, moral, theological, legal and spiritual or religious aspects of sex and human sexual behavior.

Sexuality and love

Human sexuality, besides ensuring biological reproduction, has important social functions: it creates physical intimacy, bonds, and hierarchies among individuals; may be directed to spiritual transcendence (according to some traditions); and in a hedonistic sense to the enjoyment of activity involving sexual gratification. Sexual desire, or libido, is experienced as a bodily urge, often accompanied by strong emotions such as love, ecstasy and jealousy. The extreme importance of sexuality in the human species can be seen in a number of physical features, among them hidden ovulation, the evolution of external scrotum and penis suggesting sperm competition, the absence of an os penis, permanent secondary sexual characteristics, the forming of pair bonds based on sexual attraction as a common social structure and sexual ability in females outside of ovulation. These adaptations indicate that the importance of sexuality in humans is on a par with that found in the Bonobo, and that the complex human sexual behaviour has a long evolutionary history.

Human choices in acting on sexuality are commonly influenced by cultural norms, which vary widely. Restrictions are often determined by religious beliefs or social customs. The pioneering researcher Sigmund Freud believed that humans are born polymorphously perverse, which means that any number of objects could be a source of pleasure. According to Freud, humans then pass through five stages of psychosexual development (and can fixate on any stage because of various traumas during the process). For Alfred Kinsey, another influential sex researcher, people can fall anywhere along a continuous scale of sexual orientation (with only small minorities fully heterosexual or homosexual). Recent studies of neurology and genetics suggest people may be born with a predisposition to one sexual orientation or another.

See also




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