Chapter 7 Sexuality & Sexual Expression

These are the aspects of the chapter I chose to blog about: Most of what I wrote is on adolescents and teens but the first sections is on gender and race scripts because I think it's an interesting/important topic to discuss.

Gender and Sexual Scripts

• Gender plays a huge role in sexual scripts. Women are more assertive in today's society, however they are less than men to engage in sex, have fewer sex partners, may go along with sex to avoid hurting their partner, less often equate sex with love and dream of living happily ever after.
  

Race and Sexual Scripts

• Race and ethnicity play a major role as well. Latinos and Blacks are more likely to engage in sex earlier on that whites, however white women and men engage in a larger variety of sexual practices.

1. I think it's always been an interesting and challenging topic to discuss and engage in when talking about men and women and their views on love. I think there's a huge difference between what men think about love and what women think about love. Like the textbook says men equate sex with love which many women do not. A lot of women feel having sex is not necessary to love someone. Also, women tend to dream of what they're ideal mate would be like and of marrying that mate and often have trouble, in my opinion, in finding that so called "perfect" mate.
   
2. I think a major difference in race and ethnicity when it comes to sexual practices has to do with the environment that specific races live in. Many Latinos and Blacks unfortunately grow up in disadvantaged neighborhoods and are not taught about the safe practices of sex, nor are they brought up in many traditional households where the idea of "sex after marriage" is taught or upheld.
   

Why We Have Sex

• Sex typically occurs through stages such as touching, flirting, or asking directly for sex. Most sex including among adolescents, are based on "reasoned action" good, bad and parental values. For some individuals sex is an expression of affection and communication.
• Peer pressure- many teens say that they have sex at a certain age because they were pressure by friends, significant others, etc. Surprisingly, the text focuses more on males and how they are pressured into sex, which I don't believe is ever the first thing we think of when we here "peer pressure" and "sex" together in the same sentence. We often think of females being pressured by boys. Also, one might think that boys were teased by other males for being a virgin, however girls are teasing guys about being virgins as well calling those boys gay.
• Paternal Inputs- Mothers typically promote or discourage first-time sex. Many mothers disapprove of adolescent sex and frequently discuss the issue with their daughters. Interestingly, boys who have close relationships with their mothers are more likely to defer sexual intercourse.
  

1. I think it's interesting that the book presents sex as happening through stages. I've never thought about the act of having sex with someone through that perspective. I also found it interesting that most young adults voiced that sex is based on "reasoned action". Talking about peer pressure and adolescents one might think differently.
   
2. I found it interesting that boys are pressured just as much as girls are to engage in sexual activity. I also thought that most of the teasing of guys came from their male counterparts. think it's unfortunate that most teens say that their first sexual experience was "unwanted" especially since I believe that sex should be something that's cherished with the person you're with.
3. I think what's most surprising about the information in this section is that boys who are closer to their mothers are more likely to defer sex. I definitely find it to be true, but knowing males who are close to their mothers and who are sexually active I wouldn't think that being close to their mothers would make a difference. However, it seems that there are those who do listen to their mother's advice.
   

Young Adults and Sex

• Many students on a college level are misinformed about sex. Some colleges feature regular columns in newspapers on sexuality and allow students to anonymously ask questions about sex. Some of the serious misconceptions about sex include:

1. Effective Birth Control methods
2. STD's causing cancer
3. The risk of catching an STD
4. Oral sex & STD's
   
5. "Pulling out" method as a form of safe sex
6. Knowing who's infected and who's isn't, esp with dating partners
   

• I think that many campuses don't do a good enough job of educating their students about sex. It's commonly known that sexual intercourse is heavily present among college students and adolescents in general. I admire that other campuses are openly willing to educate their students about sex. We all have our own opinions on sex and when it is appropriate but statistics show (as well as our personal knowledge) that many people in our age group are engaging in sex and should be aware of the risks and how to protect themselves.
  

How we learn about Sex

• The textbook reported that only 1/3 of parents are aware of their 14-year-old teenagers engaging in sexual activity. Teens are reluctant to talk to their parents about sex. Many teenagers believe that their parents view them in a certain "innocent" light and don't want to destroy that image. They're afraid to disappoint or upset their parents.
  
• Many parents feel uncomfortable talking about sex with their children, because most are not fully aware of the information about sexuality and sexual intercourse. Other parents do not want to talk about sex because they feel it would be hypocritical to talk to their children about sexual practices when they themselves have engaged in the practices they want to discourage. The text says that about 90% of parents believe that their 11 to 14 year-olds would be open to discussing sex with them, however most of those children believed that their parents would be uneasy about discussing the topic.

1. I think it's very common for most parents not to know about their children having sex. I also agree with the textbook that most children believe their parents have certain images about what their children would and wouldn't do and teenagers don't want to disappoint their parents. Many teenagers especially when they get older and become young adults believe that their sexuality and sexual lives are only theirs to know. They don't feel as though they have to share that aspect of their life with their parents.

2. I think it's sort of surprising and then again not so much that parents are uneasy when it comes to talking about sex. I can see parents being uneasy because they might be afraid of what their children will tell them or because they worry about their child's health and safety. I think in most cases you can see a mother being very overprotective of her son and who he dates and is having sexual relations with. Mothers are afraid of becoming grandmother's too early and when it comes to females that's another thing that might drive a mother to talk to her daughter even if she's uneasy which is her daughter having a baby.

Questions: Answer one or all or whichever ones you think to be most interesting! :)

1. What do you think about sexual scripts and how have you seen those scripts play out in your own race? Do you agree with the textbook?
   
2. Also, how do you see race playing into sexual scripts? Do you agree that environment plays a role in what individuals of certain races view as sexual scripts attached to their own race? In other words, do you think if certain races grew up in an environment where sexuality was more openly taught and known amongst individuals of that race that they wouldn't engage in sex so early?
   
3. What do you think about colleges using their newspaper to post information on sexuality and to answer questions about sex? Do you think it's a good idea? Do you think more schools should do things like this or educate their students more often than they are right now? Possibly here at Pitt?
   
4. What do you feel should be the relationship between a parent and child when it comes to talking about sex. Do you feel as though a parent and child having more than just the "birds and bees" talk is necessary or do you feel the child has a right to keep that part of their life private as long as they've been aware of the aspects of sexuality and sexual intercourse?