Sexual Behavior - Assignment Example

Human Sexuality Human Sexuality Question Sexual surveys have an importance of examining sexual behavior changes and attitudes as well as give a revelation of diversified aspects of sexual health as an aspect of lifelong wellbeing. Apart from examining the sexual behaviors, sexual surveys serves an important role in aiding the study of HIV/AIDs study because it gives a relationship between sexual behaviors and the spread of the virus. An example of a sexual survey is one carried out by the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB). The expansive survey was on sexual behavior and the use of condom, which is critical for the Medical ad public Professionals (Nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu, 2014). NSSHB found that most of U.S. adults who have sex for the first time always repeat the behavior. Additionally, the survey reported diversified behaviors and partner types when it came to the use of condoms. However, adults aged over 40 indicated that they have the lowest rates of condom use (Nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu, 2014). The survey revealed that adults aged over 40 years should be subjected to more education to prevent risks of contracting STIs. Question #2 Various opinions are given regarding whether or not all males in the United States should be circumcised. Arbitrating from the scientific findings on a possible reduction of STIs infection for circumcised men, all males in the United States should be circumcised. Despite there being no evidence of the correction between HIV infection and circumcision of males in U.S., studies indicate HIV infection probability is substantially reduced by the ritual. It has been scientifically proven that the foreskin in an adult is useless (Hirshberg, 2009). Hunting and Gleason (2012) further indicate that male circumcision does not affect sexual satisfaction for the males and pediatricians find it more preferably for the boys to be circumcised. Remarkably, circumcision has other health benefits particularly to older males because when they develop bladder and prostate gland problems, the foreskin too develops some difficulties during the surgery process. Conditions such as balanitis, urinary tract infections can be prevented through circumcision. Consequently, all males in the U.S. should be circumcised following the possibility of reducing probable health conditions and owing to the fact that the foreskin is of no use to a male after three months of gestation. Question #3 Human sexuality is among the research areas where there are shocking revelations, not only to the researcher, but also to the subjects. Despite of the great step that Masters and Johnson took to unveil the mystery surrounding sex, I would have not volunteered to be one of the subjects in their research because of the impact it would have on my personality and the society’s norms. Psychologically, sex and its consequences have different long-term effects to an individual predominantly on the morality. According to a video by Maier (2009), the subjects for the subjects would masturbate and have sexual intercourse in front of the research team, which would have been a key concern to me because it was against the social norms and cultures. The research had profound psychological harms to the subjects such as reduction in self-respect, discomfort, stress, and guilt, which would eventually affect late relationship as well as marriage. The research is significant in the field of psychology and biology because it give insights into understanding the mechanism of sex in the body. Masters and Johnson revealed women’s sexuality from a psychological perspective (Masters & Johnson, 2010). The research gives a base to researchers in studying the psychological that occur during arousal prior to sex. Biologically, the research gives the stages of arousal, which are explained in terms of changes in the body organs in response to sexual arousal. Question #4 People have a legal right to have medical procedures to assist them in having newborns. There is no policy or law restricts an individual who has passed his/her natural ability of reproduction from having a newborn. However, people aged above 50 should not be allowed to be medically assisted to reproduce following the ethical and factual questions the technological procedures raise. A number of technological assistance exist such as, Oocyte donations, use of new drugs, single intracytoplasmic sperm injection, egg freezing, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) (Caplan & Patrizio, 2010). IVF is a process that involves joining female’s egg and a male’s sperm inside a laboratory dish. Oocyte donation is a process that involves a donation of a female’s egg that is implanted into the uterus of an infertile woman. Legally, the move would have an impact on the bill of human rights that give a person reproduce. The society perceives medical advancements in assisting old age to reproduce as an immoral act because there is an ideal age of having children that is naturally marked by infertility at older age. Old aged parents are prone to socioeconomic challenges; hence, placing the life of the child at risk of being raised up on limited financials from the retirement benefits. Additionally, the medical assistances are experiments that are used directly on humans with little knowledge of the psychological and biological impacts to the parents as sell as the children. Question #5 The outstanding value of male and female orgasms is the encouragement to have sex and make babies as well as emotional satisfaction. Having an organism can make women look younger as it releases growth hormone, which contributes to a good looing skin. Remarkably, women look up to men to reach their rather challenging point of orgasm; hence, strengthens the bond of a love between the male and the female. According to Abramson and Pinkerton (2002), male and female orgasms maximize the utility of sexual behavior as a powerful aspect of interpersonal bonding (p. 87). Female orgasms directly shows a man that he is cable of making pleasurable sex to a woman failure to which it may lead to depression of both parties. Question #6 Human sexual response theories explain the psychological processes and events that are involved during a sexual activity. Three of these theories include Masters and Johnson’s EPOR model, Kaplan’s model of sexual response, and Reed’s Erotic Stimulus Pathway (ESP) model. Masters and Johnson’s theory of sexual response consist of four phase including the excitement phase, plateau phase, orgasmic phase, and the resolution phase while that of Kaplan has three phases that include desire, excitement, and orgasm phase (Miracle, Miracle & Baumeister, 2003). On the other hand, Reed’s ESP theory categorizes sexual response into four phases that consist of both Masters and Johnson’s theory as well as Kaplan’s theory. Reed’s theory phases include seduction, sensation, surrender, and reflection phase. Kaplan’s theory of sexual response identifies desire as a prelude to sexual response while Reed’s and EPOR theory identifies a general pathway to orgasm from the desire to have sex, them the excitement that then leads to orgasm, which stimulates the loss of erection and reflection of the overall sexual event. Question #7 Love is a set of three aspects that include intimacy, passion, and commitment (Sternberg, 1986). However, there are a number of love types that are characterized by various experiences of feelings, attitudes, and states expressed as actions. Robert Sternberg’s triangular theory of love indicates that there are three types of love based on variety of scales, which are intimacy, passion, and commitment. Long lasting love must possess the three elements. Intimacy, passion, and commitment combination forms the strongest aspect of love known as the consummate love with any other combination forming diversified types of love. Friendship is classified as a love that only portrays intimacy. Romantic love is a combines intimacy and passion without commitment by the male and female. Companionate love combines the element of intimacy and commitment, but has no passion. Empty love is characterized by passion and intimacy fading leaving only commitment. However, the scales of love keep on shifting in various stages of a relationship (Sternberg, 1986). Question #8 Alfred Kinsey was one of the most influential American biologists who pioneered the study of sexual behavior (Brown & Fee, 2003). He started the sex institute in Indiana University from where he carried out studies of human sexuality, which helped in ushering new revolution into sexual behaviors and response research. Kinsey published a book, “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male” is Important as it explains sexual behavior partners in males and the heterosexual-homosexual aspect of human sexuality. Question #9 The female reproduction has internal and external anatomical structures that have different functions. These structures and their functions are described as follows. Two ovaries- The ovary is a small almond shaped structure of the female reproductive system and it consists of a connective tissue bed that is filled with follicles, which have developing ova. They house the maturing ova. The ovary has all the four hundred thousand ova at on the 7th month of the fetus development. The ova are made in the yolk sac and migrate to the ovary. A female discharges the ova between the ages of 10-50 years (Diamond, 2007). The ovary houses the ova. Developing Follicle- The developing develops into a larger follicle with more follicular cells for nourishment and connective tissue develops around the follicle. The connective tissue is modified according to the follicular cells, becomes the theca interna, and then is acted on by FHS and LH to produce estrogen. A graafian follicle is formed that approaches the surface of the ovary ad the follicle dissolve leaving room for the ovum to come out in a process known as the ovulation (Diamond, 2007). Fallopian tubes (oviducts) - The fallopian tube has fimbria finger-lie projections at its opening, which engorge with thee blood and grasp the ovary. The tube has simple columnar epithelium with cilia. It provides an ideal environment for fertilization. It also transports the fertilized ovum to the uterus to embed and develops (Diamond, 2007). Uterus- The uterus is the largest mass of smooth muscle of in female body. The outermost uterus layer is known as the parietal peritoneal and is retroperitoneal. The myometrium is the main smooth muscle that makes the body of the uterus and forms the force that expels the fetus. It house the embryo that matures into a fetus. It also nourishes the embryo and fetus (Diamond, 2007). Vagina - The vagina consists of elastic fibro muscular elastic. It receives the secretions from the uterus, receives the penis during copulation, and acts as a pathway for the expelled fetus at birth. Vulva - The vulva is an external structure of the female genitals. Its main function is to protect the female’s sexual organs, vagina, vestibule, and the urinary opening. Ovarian ligaments- The ovarian ligament is round-shaped and is a fibrous structure, which attaches ovary to the uterus Fimbriae of the tube - These small fingerlike structures projects from the end of the fallopian tube and are connected to the ovary. The Fimbriae produce a peritoneal fluid that transports the egg to the uterus. Cervix- The cervix is a neck of tissue that is cylinder-shaped and connects the vagina to the uterus. It is made of smooth moist tissue. The cervix produces mucus on changing consistencies to promote or discourage pregnancy. Labia majora and labia minora - Labia majora are skin folds skin with fat, muscle, hair, and connective tissue that protrude from the front of vaginal opening. Labia minora are also two skin folds that are attached to the clitoris and have no hair. Their main function is to shape the female genitals (Diamond, 2007). Question #10 The male reproductive system consists of various anatomical structures that serve various functions. These structures and their functions are described as follows. Testes- Testes are the male gonads and their function is to form and production of testosterone (Diamond, 2007). The scrotum at a temperature of 950c houses them. Twelve thousand stem cells are formed by the yolk sac and migrate to the site of testes formation. The stem cells then start the development of the sperms. Scrotum- The scrotum is a skin pouch that houses the testis. The scrotum prefers a temperature of 980c. In case it is too cold, the climacteric muscles contract and raise the testis to body warmth. Sertoli cells- They extend from the base of the tubules. Their function is to supply nutrients and maintain the hormonal level for the developing sperms. They form the blood-testis barrier and monitors concentration of androgen and estrogen in the development of the sperm. Additionally, the sertoli cells phagocytize castoff cytoplasm (Diamond, 2007). Sperm- The sperm has three major parts including the head, body, and the tail. The head is the nucleus, which carries the 23 chromosomes. The body carries the spiral mitochondria, which provides energy for movement. The tail propels the sperm at a speed of 3 mm per hour (Diamond, 2007). Acrosome- It is a vesicle that is close to the plasma membrane at the sperm’s head and contains the enzymes for sperm to penetrate the ovum (Diamond, 2007). Mitochondria- It is a membrane-bound structure of the male reproduction system, which provides energy for the movement of the tail Seminiferous tubule- They are threadlike tubules making up the mass of the testis. The tubules have a layer lined epithelial cells. The sperms form in the seminiferous tubule through a process known as the spermatogenesis (Diamond, 2007). Epididymis- ‘Epi’ means upon and ‘didymis’ refers to the testis. The epididymis is 20 feet long, which stores the sperms and allows them to mature. Seminal vesicles- They have 60% of the semen and contain fructose that nourish the sperms (Diamond, 2007). Prostate Gland- It is wallet sized, contains 15-30% of the semen, and has an acid secretion to activate the sperm (Diamond, 2007). References Abramson, P., & Pinkerton, S. (2002). With pleasure:Thoughts on the Nature of Human Sexuality (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Brown, T., & Fee, E. (2003). Alfred C. Kinsey: a pioneer of sex research. American Journal Of Public Health, 93(6), 896--897. Caplan, A., & Patrizio, P. (2010). Are you ever too old to have a baby? The ethical challenges of older women using infertility services, 28(04), 281--286. Diamond, M. (2007). Integrative Biology 131 - Lecture 38: Female Reproductive. Diamond, M. (2007). Integrative Biology 131 - Lecture 39: Male Reproductive. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?index=37&feature=PlayList&v=HVLGICFkd2w&list=PL9A701D54E8896D0E Hirshberg, C. (2009). Should all males be circumcised?. msnbc.com. Retrieved 17 July 2014, from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29777922/ns/health-mens_health/t/should-all-males-be-circumcised/#.U8fw6vmSyVM Hunting, K., & Gleason, B. (2012). Essential case studies in public health (1st ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Maier, T. (2009). Showtime "Masters of Sex" -- Masters and Johnson On Americas Biggest Sexual Experiment. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZcYTCo-D9s&feature=PlayList&p=2DEDF940931CF37A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=15 Masters, W., & Johnson, V. (2010). Human sexual response (1st ed.). Bronx, NY: Ishi Press International. Miracle, T., Miracle, A., & Baumeister, R. (2003). Human sexuality (1st ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu,. (2014). National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior. Nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu. Retrieved 17 July 2014, from http://www.nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu/ Sternberg, R. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93(2), 119. Read More