1. Gender and Sexuality

2. Motivation
What specific needs or desires energize and direct behaviors?
What is the difference between gender and sex?
How are gender and sexual behaviors motivated psychologically and physiologically?

3. Some Definitions…
Sex—the physiological category of male or female; sexual intercourse
Gender—cultural, social, and psychological meanings associated with masculinity or femininity
Gender roles—behaviors, attitudes, and personality traits that are designated either masculine or feminine in a given culture
Gender identity—A person’s psychological sense of being male or female
Sexual orientation—direction of a person's emotional and erotic attractions

4. Gender Role Stereotypes
Benevolent sexism
How much do people agree on the characteristics associated with each sex within different cultures?

5. Gender Related Differences
Differences do not mean deficiencies
Three main areas of gender differences
Personality
Cognitive abilities
Sexual attitudes and behaviors

7. Personality Differences
No significant differences between men and women on most characteristics
Women = more nurturing than men
Men = more assertive than women

8. Cognitive Differences
No differences for most cognitive abilities
Verbal, reading, and writing - females
Spatial skills
mentally rotating objects – males
remembering locations of objects - females
Math Skills—males

9. Sexual Attitude/Behavior Differences
Less pronounced since the 1960s..why?
Men: more sexual partners, earlier first intercourse experience, more frequent masturbation

11. Gender Role Development
2-3 years = children can identify themselves and other children as boys or girls
Toddler girls = play more with dolls and ask for help more often
Toddler boys = play more with trucks and wagons, and play more actively
After 3 years = consistent gender differences in preferred toys and activities

12. Social Learning Theory
acquired through the basic processes of learning, including reinforcement, punishment, and modeling

13. Gender Schema Theory
influenced by the formation of schemas, or mental representations, of masculinity and femininity

14. Now let’s try an experiment…
Must be quiet
24 words
Each word will be shown for 3 seconds
After the last word is presented, write down what you can remember in any order

15. Fainting

16. Alligator

17. Punching

18. Alyssa

19. Candace

20. Hurling

21. Bow-tie

22. Doe

23. Jane

24. Suspenders

25. Gorilla

26. Skirt

27. Bull

28. Trousers

29. Butterfly

30. Stilettos

31. Brushing

32. Derek

33. Brian

34. Bikini

35. Phil

36. Blushing

37. Hen

38. Stomping

39. Write!!!

40. Let’s look at the results…
Fainting - F
Alligator - M
Punching - M
Alyssa - F
Candace - F
Hurling - M
Bow-Tie - M
Doe - F
Jane - F
Suspenders - M
Gorilla - M
Skirt - F
Bull - M
Trousers - M
Butterfly - F
Stilettos - F
Brushing - F
Derek - M
Brian - M
Bikini - F
Phil - M
Blushing - F
Hen -F
Punching - M

41. Are gender differences innate or culturally defined?
Social learning theory: acquired through the basic processes of learning, including reinforcement, punishment, and modeling
Gender schema theory: influenced by the formation of schemas, or mental representations, of masculinity and femininity

42. Human Sexual Response Stage 1: Excitement—beginning of sexual arousal
Stage 2: Plateau—increased physical arousal
Stage 3: Orgasm—male ejaculates, female vaginal contractions
Stage 4: Resolution—arousal subsides

45. What motivates sexual behavior?
Behaviors vary systematically in males and females
Early hormone experience plays a prominent role in the development and control of sexually dimorphic behaviors

46. What motivates sexual behavior?
Necessary for the survival of the species but not of the individual
Lower animals motivated by hormonal changes in the female
Higher species less influenced by hormones and more by learning and environmental influences

47. What motivates sexual orienation?
Genetics
Brain structure
Very complex issue
Only humans are exclusively homosexual

48. Some General Findings...
Sexual orientation: early-emerging, ingrained, unchanging
No consistent relationship between orientation and childhood experiences
Controversial findings: possible relationship among prenatal stress, androgens, and the development of brain systems that play a role in sexual attraction

49. Sexual Development
Puberty—stage where an individual reaches sexual maturity and is physically capable of sexual reproduction
Primary sex characteristics—sex organs directly involved in reproduction
Secondary sex characteristics—develop during puberty, not directly involved in reproduction, but distinguish male from female
Adolescent growth spurt—period of accelerated growth during puberty
Menarche—female’s first menstrual period

50. Sexuality in Adulthood
80% of adults report having none or one sexual partner in the past year (marriage factor)
Majority of men ages have sex about seven times per month
Majority of women ages have sex about six times per month
Vaginal intercourse is nearly universal as the most widely practiced sexual activity among heterosexual couples

51. Sexual Disorders and Problems
Sexual dysfunction - consistent disturbance in sexual desire, arousal, or orgasm that causes psychological distress and interpersonal difficulties
41% of women and 31% of men
Low desire and arousal problems common among women
Premature ejaculation and erectile problems common among men
Physiological or psychological problems?

52. Paraphilia
nontraditional sexual behavior depending on an unusual experience, object, or fantasy
Exhibitionism—arousal from exposing one’s genitals to strangers
Fetishism—arousal in response to inanimate objects (shoes, leather)
Frotteurism—arousal from touching or rubbing against a non-consenting person, such as in a bus or subway

53. Gender Identity Disorder
Persistent discomfort about one’s physical gender along with the desire to be a member of the opposite sex
Previously termed “transsexualism”
May undergo hormone treatment or sex-reassignment surgery
GID is NOT the same as homosexuality
In male transsexuals – a nucleus in the forebrain is as small as it is in females
In male homosexuals - it is as large as in male heterosexuals

54. Sexually Transmitted Diseases
STD—any of several infectious diseases transmitted through sexual intercourse or other sexual contact
Of the 12 million cases of STDs diagnosed annually in the US, about 8 million are among people under 25 years of age
Many STDs have mild or no symptoms, yet left untreated can cause serious health problems

55. AIDS Epidemic
AIDS – caused by exchange of bodily fluids containing HIV, which attacks and weakens the immune system
HIV can stay in the body for many years without apparent symptoms
Susceptibility to other diseases
Highest risk groups
Currently no cure but preventable

56. So what have we learned?
What is the difference between gender and sex?
How are gender and sexual behaviors motivated psychologically and physiologically?