INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EQUATOR

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS
COURSE NOTES

COURSE TITLE : HUMAN SEXUALITY AND HEALTH PRINCIPLES

Lecturer: Evans motari /75666578

INTRODUCTION

Sexuality may be experienced and expressed in a variety of ways, including thoughts,

fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, practices, roles, and
relationships.
These may manifest themselves in biological, physical, emotional, social, or spiritual
aspects. The biological and physical aspects of sexuality largely concern the human
reproductive functions,
· Including the human sexual-response cycle and the basic biological drive that
exists in all species.
· Emotional aspects of sexuality include bonds between individuals that are
expressed through profound feelings or physical manifestations of love, trust,
and care.
· Social aspects deal with the effects of human society on one’s sexuality,
· While spirituality concerns an individual’s spiritual connection with others
through sexuality.
Sexuality is as old as mankind and interest in sexual activity is very much related to
the onset of puberty and the period of schooling.
Interest in sexual activity typically increases when an individual reaches puberty.
Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained
widespread support, there is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial
causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males. Hypothesized
social causes are supported by only weak evidence, distorted by numerous
confounding factors. This is further supported by cross-cultural evidence, because
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cultures that are very tolerant of homosexuality do not have significantly higher rates
of it.

Note that, as age increases, human life undergoes changes in several aspects and
the sexual function is considered one of the issues that undergo such changes. To
mean it is fundamental for satisfaction and general quality of life.

• Definition
Human sexuality is the expression of sexual sensation and related intimacy between
human beings.
ü Psychologically, sexuality is the means to express the fullness of love
between a man and a woman.
ü Biologically, is the means through winch a child is conceived and the prony is
passed on to the next generation. Sexuality involves the body, mind, and spirit.

• FUNCTION OF HUMAN SEXUALITY

Ø Sexuality is an integral part of being human. Love, affection, and sexual

intimacy contribute to healthy relationships and individual well-being.
Ø It contributes for the reproduction of human beings from bloodline to another.

• Difference between Sexuality, Sex and Gender

1. Sexuality

Sexuality refers to a person’s capacity for sexual feelings and their emotional and
sexual attraction to a particular sex (male or female). Sexuality or sexual orientation
is typically divided into four categories:
(i) Heterosexuality, the attraction to individuals of the opposite sex;
(ii) Homosexuality, the attraction to individuals of one’s own sex;
(iii) Bisexuality, the attraction to individuals of either sex; and
(iv) Asexuality, no attraction to either sex.

According to current scientific understanding, individuals are usually aware of their

sexual orientation between middle childhood and early adolescence (American

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Psychological Association, 2008).
They do not have to participate in sexual activity to be aware of these emotional,
romantic, and physical attractions; people can be celibate and still recognize their
sexual orientation.
(a) Homosexual women (also referred to as lesbians),
(b) Homosexual men (also referred to as gays), and
(c) Bisexuals of both genders may have very different experiences of discovering and
accepting their sexual orientation.
At the point of puberty, some may be able to claim their sexual orientations. While
others may be unready or unwilling to make their homosexuality or bisexuality known.
(APA, 2008).

2. Sex

In general terms, sex refers to the biological differences between males and females,
such as the genitalia and genetic differences. It is also considered as the gender.

3. Gender

Gender tends to denote the social and cultural role of each sex within a given
society.

The organization of society is profoundly gendered, meaning that the natural

distinction between male and female, and the attribution of different qualities
to each, underlies institutional structures from the family, to the occupational
structure, to the division between public and private, to access to power and beyond.

Ø Children learn at a young age that there are distinct expectations for boys and
girls. Cross- cultural studies reveal that children are aware of gender roles by
age two or three. At four or five, most children are firmly entrenched in
culturally appropriate gender roles (Kane, 1996).
Ø Children acquire these roles through socialization, a process in which people
learn to behave in a particular way as dictated by societal values, beliefs, and
attitudes.

As we grow, we learn how to behave from those around us. In this socialization
process, children are introduced to certain roles that are typically linked to their

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biological sex.
Ø The term gender role refers to society’s concept of how men and women are
expected to act and how they should behave. These roles are based on norms,
or standards, created by society.
Ø Family is the first agent of socialization. There is considerable evidence that
parents socialize sons and daughters differently. Generally speaking, girls
are given more latitude to step outside of their prescribed gender role
(Adams, 2004). However, differential socialization typically results in greater
privileges afforded to boys. For instance, sons are allowed more autonomy
and independence at an earlier age than daughters.
Ø They may be given fewer restrictions on appropriate clothing, dating habits, or
curfew. Sons are also often free from performing domestic duties such as
cleaning or cooking, and other household tasks that are considered feminine.
Daughters are limited by their expectation to be passive, nurturing, and
generally obedient, and to assume many of the domestic responsibilities.

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 CHAPTER 1.
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

Primary health care promotes health and wellness and seeks to prevent injuries
and illness.
Ø It’s about more than delivering health care services.
Ø It’s about creating the conditions that help people to become and stay
healthy and well
Ø It’s also about extending the reach of health care providers into communities.
Making sure that primary care services are available, affordable and provided equally
to all individuals irrespective of their gender, age, ethnicity or location.
Ø We believe that access to comprehensive, compassionate, family and
community-centered health care is the right of all individuals regardless of
their ability to pay.
Ø Healthcare services play an important role in advising and helping you to
prevent illness and maintain good health.

• PERSONAL HYGIENE

The first place to start with your personal hygiene routine is your hands. We use our
hands constantly during the day,
(i) touching many different surfaces,
(ii) shaking hands with people, eating our meals,
(iii) typing on the laptop or using a common telephone at work,
(iv) Even playing at school.
Naturally, our hands are the biggest carriers of germs.

One of the quickest and simplest ways to ensure that your family is safe from illness
is to practice good hand hygiene.

Good personal hygiene is important for both health and social reasons.
(a) It entails keeping your body clean so as to stop the spread of germs and illness.
(b) Your personal hygiene benefits your own health and impacts the lives of those
around you, too.

• SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES

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Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) usually pass from one person to another
through sexual contact. Most are fairly common, and effective treatment is available
especially in the early stages. STIs can affect anyone, regardless of the individual’s
sexual orientation or hygiene standards. But many STIs can spread through non
penetrative sexual activity.

Talking of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), it has other routes of transmission

apart from sexual activities. For example, it can spread through the use of
(i) Unsterilized drug needles. HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system. It
makes a person more prone to certain other infections. People with HIV also
have a of contracting other STIs. Without treatment, this susceptibility to
infection worsens and may lead to life threatening complications.

Once a person has HIV, the virus will be present in their bodily fluids,
(ii) including semen,
(iii) blood,
(iv) breast milk, and
(v) Vaginal and rectal fluids.
If these fluids enter another person’s body, that person can also contract HIV.

This can happen through sexual contact, sharing needles, contact with broken skin,
giving birth, and breastfeeding.

Treatment can reduce the amount of the virus present in the body to an
undetectable level. This means that the amount of the virus within the blood is so
small that blood tests cannot detect it. It also means that it cannot spread to other
people.

A person with undetectable HIV must continue to follow their treatment plan exactly
as the doctor prescribes to keep virus levels low.

• PREVENTION
Insurance of best hygiene everywhere you are, especially
toilets Talk to your partner(s) about preventing STIs before
having sex. Make sure your partner(s) has been tested and
treated for STIs

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Avoid sexual contact if you or your partners have symptoms of an STI, have been
exposed to an STI or are being treated for an STI
Discuss using protection, such as condoms, dental dam barriers and other barriers,
like drugs.

• SEXUAL DISORDERS AND SEX THERAPY

Sexual disorders, such as erectile disorder in men, and orgasmic disorder in women,
cause much psychological stress, both to the person with the disorder and to his or
her partner. These disorders are also a primary reason that couples seek counseling.
A sexual disorder (or sexual dysfunction) is a problem with sexual response that
causes a person psychological distress. Sexual dysfunction generally refers to a
difficulty experienced during any stage of a normal sexual activity.
There are a number of causes of erectile dysfunction including drugs and alcohol,
age, fatigue, certain medications, medical problems (diabetes, cardiovascular
disorders) and psychological factors (stress, anxiety).
Men with erectile dysfunction should be evaluated medically to determine any
physiological factors in erection problems.

The goal of couple’s therapy is to address interpersonal issues in the relationship.

Common interpersonal conflicts include relationship conflicts; extra-marital affairs;
current physical, verbal or sexual abuse; sexual libido; desire or practices different
from partner; poor sexual communication. In couple’s therapy, partners focus on
resolving relationship issues, resolving conflicts and enhancing the relationship.
Communication is also a key aspect of couples counseling. Communication training
helps couples learn how to talk to one another, demonstrate empathy, resolve
differences with respect for each other's feelings, express anger in a positive way,
and demonstrate affection. Couples are also helped to learn to reserve time for
activities together.

CHAPTER 2.
SEXUALITY ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

Each person’s understanding and definitions of and experience with sexuality is

unique and
Will evolve as we move through different ages and stages
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throughout life.
A. CHILDHOOD
The early childhood years are marked by an increased interest in the environment
as well as an increase in sexual exploration. As children become more social beings,
their sexual interactions expand from self-focused activities, such as genital
stimulation and masturbation, to other-focused activities. By interacting socially,
children begin to what is socially acceptable and to learn privacy boundaries.
The early childhood years are marked by an increased interest in the environment
as well as an increase in sexual exploration. As children become more social beings,
their sexual interactions expand from self-focused activities, such as genital
stimulation and masturbation, to other-focused activities. By interacting socially,
children begin to what is socially acceptable and to learn privacy boundaries.
Children also seem to understand the idea that people marry those of another
gender, and “ playing house ” is common. By about age four, girls may become
intensely attached to their fathers and boys to their mothers

B. A D O L E S C E N C E
Adolescence is indisputably the time in which sexual maturation, interest and
experience surge. This increased interest is caused by continued focus and
awareness of body changes and rising hormone levels. There is also the cultural
expectation that teens begin to prepare for more adult roles through dating and
some degree of more intimate contact, which may or may not be sexual intercourse.

According to the Kinsey data 1998, there is a rise in masturbation in boys between
the ages of
13 and 15, with about 85-90% of young men between these ages reporting
masturbation. At about this age boys actually masturbate to orgasm. The Kinsey
studies also found that although some girls also began to masturbate at that age,
only about 20%.

C. ADULTHOOD
During adulthood, peoples choose to enter into intimate or sexual relationships or to
remain uncoupled. The U.S. government defines marriage as a social union or
contract between people that creates kinship. Marital relationships involve many

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components: legal, social, spiritual, economic and sexual. The institution of marriage
predates recorded history, and has primarily been defined as a partnership between
two people of the opposite gender.

D. FERTILITY
Age affects the fertility of men and
women.
Age is the single biggest factor affecting a woman’s chance to conceive and have a
healthy baby. A woman’s fertility starts to reduce in her early 30s, and more so
after the age of 35. The risks of pregnancy complications increase as women age.

1. SEXUALITY WITHIN MARRIAGE

In the context of a happy marriage, lovemaking is entirely healthy and ethical,

expressing and reinforcing the profound moral commitment between spouses who
are sharing their lives together. Sex is a deep encounter of heart and body. It is both
instinctual and transcendent, mundane yet miraculous. Sex symbolizes the couple's
desire for oneness, as neither the heart nor the genitals can find fulfillment without
the beloved. Therefore, sex finds its deepest satisfaction within the discipline of
marriage.

Sex within marriage fulfills several important

roles:

(i) Sex strengthens the bond between husband and wife in all aspects of their
lives
(ii) Sex expresses love and affection and fosters emotional intimacy
(iii) Sex reinforces the exclusivity of the relationship
(iv) Sex symbolizes mutual submission and dedication to the higher
purpose of the marriage
(v) Sex helps heal conflicts and mend rifts
(vi) Sex reduces anxiety and releases tension
(vii) Sex leads to children who are wanted and treasured by both parents

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.

The sexual act is fraught with responsibility to the children it may create. Restricting
sexuality to marriage creates the most secure foundation for the care of children.
The monogamous bond of husband and wife provides a unique relationship that
supports the resulting family. Two parents united in the common goal of
parenting their children can ensure that their lineage is secure, healthy, and
prosperous.
When parents are not monogamous, the family structure is less clear, and the
children experience a variety of adults with varying degrees of commitment to their
future. Research is unequivocal that children raised by cohabiting or single adults do
not fare as well as those raised by parents who maintain sexual fidelity.

2. SEX OUTSIDE THE MARRIAGE

Severing of the link between sex and marriage comes at the expense of traditional
norms of marriage and family. Yet, today, some ethicists regard sex is a morally
appropriate activity as long as there is some degree of love and affection. They
would classify as immoral only sex that is loveless or meaningless.

Outside of marriage, people have sex for many reasons, not all
including love:

(i) Less satisfaction within his/ her own partner

(ii) For recreation, with no commitment intended
(iii) Expressing passionate feelings of liking someone, feelings that are of the
moment with no commitment intended
(iv) Expressing love and intimacy and commitment to a relationship, but
keeping open the possibility of ending it in the future
(v) In exchange for material benefits
(vi) To produce a child, in an arrangement where one or both parents is not
obligated to be its parent.
The Sexual Revolution legitimated promiscuity, which is rampant in today's youth
culture of hook-ups, whereby people get together for sex with no expectation of a
romantic relationship. More common is the practice of serial monogamy: a series of
exclusive relationships characterized by intimacy and romance that last for some
time. Nevertheless, the term serial monogamy is more often more descriptive than
prescriptive, in that those involved did not plan to have subsequent relationships
while involved in each monogamous partnership.
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 3. CONSEQUENCES OF
UNCOMMITTED SEX

The aftermath to a broken romance or a series of casual hook-ups can lead to years

of regret: That sick, used feeling of having given a precious part of myself to so

many and for nothing, still aches. I never imagined I'd pay so dearly and for so long.

Such experiences are all too common. People who choose to practice casual sex are
likely to face health issues, experience psychological harm, have more difficulties in
subsequent relationships with others, and cause spiritual damage to their eternal soul

• The chances of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), including

HIV, increase with the number of partners one has. Thus, monogamy is a safer
option.

• Pregnancy is a potential (often intended) consequence of sexual activity.

It is a common outcome even when birth control is used. For a young woman
not involved in a committed relationship, the months of pregnancy, childbirth,
and rearing of a child can interrupt her education and derail her dreams for a
promising career, leaving her with the prospect of years of struggle as a single
mother. She may choose to have an abortion, but that carries health risks and
can leave psychological scars.

• Regret, guilt, and shame are the common aftermath of uncommitted sex.
Several surveys suggest that half of sexually experienced students report
tremendous guilt as part of the aftermath. Some causes for shame include,
for a woman: giving herself to an unworthy relationship, violating her parents
trust, a ruined reputation, and loss of self-worth. A man might feel guilt over
having discarded a partner and witnessing her heartbreak

• Loss of self-respect is a common outcome of non-marital sex with multiple

partners.
Whether sex is a matter of making conquests or negotiating favors, using
another or being used, it comes at the cost of feeling valued as a person who
is uniquely loved. When sexual utility is the criterion for attention, there is
always the underlying anxiety that someone else will perform better or look
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 more attractive.

• Sexual addiction is a pattern of behavior when people use sex as an easy

escape from the challenges and responsibilities of life. Sex is a powerful
distraction away from the important tasks that adolescents need to complete
on the way to personal maturity and gaining career skills, and can thus hinder
personal growth.

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 • Sex can damage relationships in several ways. When a friendship becomes
sexual it changes, sometimes derailing a warm and caring relationship that
could have been a good basis for marriage. On the other hand, a sexual
relationship can trap people who otherwise would not care for each other.
Sexual expectations can consume all the energy in a relationship, interfering
with communication and the development of other shared interests that could
sustain the relationship and help it grow.

CHAPTER 3.

IMPLICATIONS OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

Human physiology imposes constraints on reproductive behavior. For example,

humans become capable of reproduction only at puberty, and women do not
bear children following menopause. Social and cultural contexts, by affecting
health, also can affect the timing of puberty and menopause as physiological limits
on reproduction. Health limitations in adulthood, also systematically related to social
position, can have further systematic effects on sexual behavior. All of these
physiological dimensions of reproductive health are affected by social
organization, custom and standards of living, so that health serves as a
conduit for transmitting such social variations into consequences for
sexual behavior.

1. Health Limitations on Sexual Activity

In addition to direct effects on the ability to conceive and reproduce, other
aspects of health can influence reproduction by affecting the desire and/or
ability of men and women to engage in sexual activity. Adverse h e a l t h
conditions c a n i m p a i r s e x u a l function during the reproductive ages, and can
be arranged in several broad categories: age effects, disease and disability as
limitations on sexual activity, behavioral complications, and consequences of
medical and pharmacological treatment.

a. Age
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effects
Age-related variations in sexual activity have long been described, but the
extent to which such patterns actually result from physiological processes
intrinsically linked to aging of human organisms remains poorly understood.
Most proximate features of sexual activity, including erectile dysfunction in men,
vaginal dryness in women and many other aspects of sexual functioning, have
been shown in a vast research literature become increasingly serious
problems with increasing age.

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 However, as with many other health complications of increasing age, the extent
to which each specific problem is actually due to physiological aging must be
disentangled from the behavioral and attitudinal shifts that people learn to
expect as part of the aging process. For example, declining physical exercise with
advancing age is regarded in many if not most cultures as normal, constituting a fine
example of what Matilda White Riley meant when she described old age as
enforced deviance. Since lack of physical exercise has been strongly linked to
many health outcomes (including sexual dysfunction) at least some significant part
of what are conventionally measured as aging effects on sexual activity and
libido may in fact be societally-conditioned by-products of socially-sanctioned
age roles.

B. BEHAVIORAL
COMPLICATIONS
Even in the absence of immediate disease or injury, behaviors arising from many of
the above conditions as well as from general lifestyle differences in populations
can exacerbate sexual dysfunction, as in the case of fear of a heart attack that limits
sexual activity for heart disease patients. Smoking offers the well-documented
behavioral effect on sexual health, both directly through its impact on physiological
capacities and processes involved in satisfactory intercourse itself, and
indirectly through health complications in many of the areas reviewed above.
However, over-eating and obesity, other dietary irregularities such as vitamin
deficiencies, alcohol abuse, drug dependence, and sedentary lifestyles that
neglect physical exercise all have been implicated both directly as
impacting sexual function and indirectly as affecting other aspects of health
important for a healthy sex life.

2. SEXUAL BEHAVIOR ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Just as health status, influenced by social context, has important effects on
sexual activity, sexual behavior has direct impacts on reproductive health.
Variations in sexual behavior, influenced in many cases by societal context,
can create or resolve reproductive health problems for both parents and infants.
These problems include adverse birth outcomes for newborn infants, impairment

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of reproductive ability as a result of sexual behavior, and other health
consequences of sexual activity for adults, sometimes even including death from
sexually transmitted infections or violence.

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While a wide range of factors can adversely affect the health of newborn infants
during their particularly vulnerable period of the lifespan, certain factors relate
directly to parental sexual behavior and the reproductive process itself and may
be considered integral elements of reproductive health. These center on the
social conventions that limit and direct sexual activity, including the timing of first
intercourse and conception, the interval between pregnancies, and patterns of
sexual partner selection with special emphasis on the risks entailed in interaction
with multiple partners.
The age at which individuals first engage in sexual intercourse, and in consequence
the age at which women first become pregnant and give birth, have been
linked to health outcomes for women and for their children. Until the recent
rejuvenation of the age of menarche (noted under health effects on sexual
activity, above) age at conception generally had a direct correlation with the
probability of many types of congenital fetal and birth abnormalities. Research
has documented the tendency of congenital chromosomal and other
abnormalities in infants to increase exponentially with the increasing age of
both mothers and fathers independently. Although the effects of maternal age
appear to be greater than the effects of paternal age, both are significant
predictors of such adverse outcomes. In t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i e t i e s
w h e r e r e p r o d u c t i o n i s widely encouraged and begins at an early age for
most or all of the population, evidence.

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 REFERENCES
Weidner W., & Brähler E. (2006).Epidemiology of sexual dysfunction in the male
population. Andrologia. 38(4)115-21.Clayton, AH. & Hamilton D.V. (2010).Female
sexual dysfunction . Psychiatric Clinic of North America, 33, 323-338.
Obstetrics andGynocology. 75(3 Pt 1):433-6.Hatzichristou D., Rosen R.C., Broderick
G., et. al.(2004).Clinical evaluation and management strategyfor sexual dysfunction
in men and women.
Summary of Committee.Journal of Sexual Medicine, 1,49–56Katz, D. and Ross, L.T.
(2002). Private pain. New York; Katz-Tabi Publications Lue, T.F., F. Goldstein.
"Impotence and Infertility. " In Atlas of Clinical Urology.Volume 1. New York: Current
Medicine,
1999.Masters, W.H. & Johnson, V.E. (1966).

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