Sexuality Vocabulary

Gender: the way people perceive maleness or femaleness Gender role: the accepted behaviors, thoughts and emotions of a specific gender based upon views by society or culture Stereotype: exaggerated belief that can be positive or negative but generalizes without allowing for differences Sexism: discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of the opposite sex Infatuation: feelings of intense attraction to another person Emotional Intimacy: refers to the openness, sharing affection, and trust that can develop in a close relationship Abstinence: act of practice of refraining from, or not having, sexual intercourse Dating Violence: pattern of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse that occurs in a dating relationship

Physical Abuse: intentionally causing physical harm to another person Emotional Abuse: nonphysical mistreatment of a person Sexual Abuse: forcing a person to engage in any unwanted sexual behavior Rape: a type of assault in which one person forces another to have sexual relations Date Rape: a rape that occurs during a date Statutory Rape: having sex with someone under the age of consent Incest: sex between people who are too closely related to marry Pedophilia: mental disorder in which a person has a sexual attraction to children Sexual Harassment: any uninvited and unwelcome sexual remark or sexual advance

Contraception: the use of any accepted method to intentionally prevent pregnancy Effectiveness: the likelihood that using a method of contraception will prevent pregnancy Failure Rate: percentage of women who become pregnant using a particular contraception method during one year’s time Spermicide: chemical agent that kills sperm Sterilization: use of surgery or other procedure to make a person permanently incapable of reproduction