1. All societies regulate sex 2. Different societies accept different behaviours/attitudes (nothing stagnant) 3. Differences across regions (groups are not homogenous)

Unit 1 - Historical Perspectives Flashcards by Salina Edwards

What is the biggest factor shaping ideas about sexuality?

Religion

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What are 3 biases when examining other periods and cultures?

Class
Sexism
Education

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Define “ethnocentrism”

The belief that the behaviour of our own ethnic groups IS THE NORM
- This heavily influences our opinions about sexuality

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Summarize views on sex in the PREHISTORIC PERIOD

Worship women’s ability to bear children
Celebrate fertility (imagery, artwork, artefacts, genitalia)
Phallic worship once discovered semen was needed for pregnancy

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Summarize views on sex in ANCIENT HEBREWS

Procreation and pleasure
Polygamy allowed (MEN ONLY)
Wife = property
Extramarital and homosexuality = condemned

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Summarize views on sex in ANCIENT GREECE

Exploration of orientations
Cultural acceptance of: homosexuality, bisexuality, pederasty, prostitution
Women = lower social status overall

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Greek myth about sex

Humans = devil creatures.
So powerful that the Gods feared humans and split them up.
Gave idea that humans are always searching for the other half which might be male OR female

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Summarize views on sex in ANCIENT ROME

Bisexuality among ONLY men = common (frowned upon for women)
Orgies!!! for days!!! (thnx Caligula)
Women = property, low status

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Summarize views on sex for MUSLIMS

Sex = finest pleasure (teachings of Muhammad)
Premarital, polygamy, celibacy = frowned

DOUBLE STANDARD:
- men can have many wives, women only have 1 husband

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Define pederasty

Greek men take adolescent men as lover/pupil, training for sex

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Summarize views on sex for TAOISTS

Semen = life force energy (men should not spill their seed)
- First sex manual
- Masturbation = only for women

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Summarize views on sex for HINDUS

Sex = virtuous and natural, celebrated within marriage
Seen as religious duty
Restrictive after 1,000AD
(colonialism made Hinduism more conservative)

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Summarize views on sex for EARLY CHRISTIANS (400AD)

Procreation ONLY (not passion) (procreation of the christ)
Virginity = important
Masturbation, oral/genital contact, prostitution = negative

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What was outlined in St. Augustine’s Confessions? (397-400AD)

RESTRICTIVE IDEAS
- Struggle/regrets about living life of sin (sexual relationships)
- Suggested missionary = only acceptable way to engage in sex

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Summarize views on sex in the MIDDLE AGES (500-1500AD)

Ideas re: witchcraft
- Wet dreams (nocturnal emissions) = sex with tiny spirits
- Sexual dysfunction = witchcraft

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Summarize views on sex during the PROTESTANT REFORMATION (1517-1648)

MLK splits from Roman Catholic Church
- Believed in divorce, marriage for priests, importance of sex
- Extramarital = still sinful

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Summarize views on sex for the VICTORIAN ERA

EXTREME REPRESSION
- Procreation only
- Men advised by physicians to not have sex often
- Chastity belts era

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What were Dr. Clelia Mosher’s research findings from the Victorian Era

Challenged many stereotypes
- Research found that women enjoyed sex (goes against what was thought during this era)

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Important events during the sexual revolution?

Social upheaval in science, music, art, fashion
- Introduction of THE PILL
- Gay rights / activism

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What plays a similar role to religion today?

Media

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Types of influences in media (3)

Cultivation
- People begin to think that what they see in the media represents how things happen IRL
Agenda setting
- Algorithms, news reports, and social media select what we see and ignore
- Sets message for what is and isn’t important
Social learning
- Characters we see represent models for how we should act

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CONCLUSIONS

All societies regulate sex
Different societies accept different behaviours/attitudes (nothing stagnant)
Differences across regions (groups are not homogenous)

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Importance of Freud (1856-1939)

Study These Flashcards

Talking about sex during Victorian period (highly repressed)
Psychodynamic theory: explores how earlier experiences inform current behaviour

Freud major contributions (3)

Study These Flashcards

Libido (life force energy)
Psychosexual stages theory (oral, anal, phallic)
Revolutionary ideas during time of sexual repression

Henry Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) (nice guy)

1. First major publication in sex (Studies in the Psychology of Sex) - used to increase understanding 2. First to write compassionately about homosexuality 3. Wrote about transgenderism (called sexo-aesthetic, then eonism) - Ideas regarding transgenderism attributed to over-identification with the admired object (ie: women)

Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (1840-1902) (german)

- Interest in sexual disorders - German psychiatrist - Non-procreative sex = perversion

4 categories of "sexual perversions"

1. Paradoxia (sexual response at the wrong time in life) 2. Anesthesia (insufficient sexual desire) 3. Hyperesthesia (excessive) 4. Paraesthesia (sexual desire for the wrong goal or object)

Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935) first!

- Founder of the first sex research institute - Administered the first large-scale sex survey - First journal - Marital counselling

Alfred Kinsey (1894-1956) - 10% men r gay (not rly)

FAMOUS FOR LARGE SEX SURVEYS Developed 7-point scale to look at sex on a spectrum (rejected 3 categorization hetero/bi/homo) 1 (same sex) -- 7 (oppostite) - survey results: --extramarital sex = common --women multiple orgasms

William Masters (1915-2001) and Virginia Johnson (1925-2013)

First to look at physiological sexual response in men and Women - directly observed sexual acts - established a lot of our framework for understanding sexuality from a physical standpoint

4-phase model of sexual response (EPOR)

- Excitement phase - Plateau phase - Orgasm - Resolution phase

Biases in studying culture (2)

1. Hawthorne 2.Ethnocentrism

Main method studying culture

Participant observation

Sexual frequency variations

Lowest = island off the coast of Ireland Highest = Island in pacific

Kissing in Africa?

87% of cultures say = NOT COMMON

Why is genital mutilation practiced in Egyptian culture?

Prevent pleasure / sexuality

What is the second biggest taboo after incest across cultures?

Extramarital sex

Does same-sex sexual activity always occur in all cultures?

YES! But never predominant

Similarities between CA and US?

- 25% have had a **threesome** - 50% have had a **1 night stand** - Women have a similar average number (9-10) of **sexual partners** (more than men)

Differences between CA and US?

CA: - more sex outdoors - women allowed topless ('96) US: - teens 2x likely to get preggo

What affects sex norms? (4)

AGE SES ETHNICITY GENDER (women = more liberal)

Avg number of partners in Canada (lifetime)

What were tiny sex creatures called in the Middle Ages?

incubi and succubi

Who was an objective scholar and believed women (like men) were sexual creatures?

NICE GUY henry havelock ellis

Who wrote psychopathia sexualis?

Richard von karfft-ebbing - incl. 200 case studies of "pathological" individuals

What concepts did richard von create?

sadism, masochism, pedophilia heterosexuality and homosexuality after translation of his book (1892)

What is a universal taboo?

Incest

How do Chinese Canadians express themselves sexually?

Typically a combination of mainstream and heritage acculturation

How is masturbation viewed cross-culturally?

Almost all human societies express some disapproval of adult masturbation, ranging from mild ridicule to severe punishment

Who practices masturbation?

MOST adults in MOST societies, SOME adults in ALL societies

How many cultures forbid extramarital sex?

74% when permitted = regulated. most common to be tolerable for only MEN

Which countries have the most + viewpoint towards queerness?

Denmark, Netherlands, and Sweden

Which countries have the most - viewpoint towards queerness?

Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Russia

How are humans unique sexually?

Environmental influences are more important in shaping sexual behaviour in primates (especially humans)

What happens if mice are reared alone?

Nada

Estrus meaning

Female mammals in heat

Unit 1 - Historical Perspectives Flashcards

(56 cards)