Chapter 7

1.) Chapter 7 is titled “Sexuality and Sexual Expression Throughout Life.” It covers:

· Sexuality and human development

· Sexual identity – our awareness of ourselves as male or female and the ways in which we express our sexual values, attitudes, feelings, and beliefs

· Sexual orientation – a preference for sexual partners of the same sex, the opposite sex, both sexes, or neither sex

· Homosexuals are sexually attracted to people of the same sex.

· Heterosexuals (straight) are attracted to partners of the opposite sex.

· Bisexuals are attracted to members of both sexes.

· Asexuals lack any interest in or desire for sex.

· Sexual Scripts – specifies the formal or informal norms for legitimate or unacceptable sexual activity, the eligibility of sexual partners, and the boundaries of sexual behavior

· Revisiting the double standard

· Why we have sex

· Influences on sexual behavior

· Parents – what they do or don’t say about sex

· Peers and Siblings – the most common sources of knowledge about sex

· Religion

· Media/Popular Culture – powerful sources of information and misinformation about sex

· Sex Education – typically abstinence-only courses

· Sexual behaviors

· Flirting

· Kissing

· Autoeroticism

· Oral and Anal Sex

· Sexual Intercourse

· Sexuality throughout life

· Virginity and Abstinence

· Sex and Adolescents

· Sex and Singles

· Sex in Marriage

· Sex during the Middle Years (45 and older)

· Sex and Later Life

· Sexual infidelity

· What is it?

· How common is it?

· Why does it happen?

· Consequences?

· Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual sex

· Sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and AIDS

· STIs

· HIV and AIDS

· Why they are spreading

· Preventing against them

2.) On page 178, the book discusses Grey’s Anatomy. One episode presented a fact – an HIV positive woman who gets the proper treatment has more than a 90% chance of having a healthy baby. Viewers’ awareness of this fact quadrupled (from 15% to 61%) after the episode aired. I found it interesting how the book shows that the media can sometimes be a good source for sexual information. You usually hear about all the misinformation that the media portrays of sex but to read something positive about it was rather refreshing.

3.) Now, flipping the script on what I just said, the book brings up a good discussion point on page 191. The show Desperate Housewives often focuses largely on extramarital sex. It’s been a hit since the show began in 2004, why is this? This is the question I pose to the class: why do you think television shows that feature infidelity are sometimes a favorite?