Chapter Outline

Chapter 11 presents the issues of human sexuality from several vantage points. It explains how gender and sex are primarily the result of social expectations and cultural patterns. Only minor differences have been described in personality and cognitive skills between the sexes. Next, information is presented to help in the understanding of the human sexual response. This response is unique among humans and the physiological response does follow a pattern. The variety of sexual behaviors, which include masturbation; premarital, marital, and extramarital heterosexual activity; and homosexual and bisexual activity, are discussed. Finally, the issues involved in sexual difficulties including rape, date rape, sexual abuse, and the transmission of sexual disease are described.

To further investigate the topics covered in this chapter, you can visit the related websites by visiting the following link:
http://www.mhhe.com/feldmanup6-11links.

Prologue: From Boy to Girl and Back

• Looking Ahead

Section 1: Gender and Sex

• Gender Roles: Society's Expectations for Women and Men
• Gender Differences: More Similar Than Different
• Sources of Gender Differences: Where Biology and Society Meet

Section 2: Understanding Human Sexual Response: The Facts of Life

• The Basic Biology: The Underlying Sex Drive
• Psychological Aspects of Sexual Excitement: What Turns People On?
• The Phases of Sexual Response: The Ups and Downs of Sex

Section 3: The Varieties of Sexual Behavior

• Approaches to Sexual Normality
• Surveying Sexual Behavior: What's Happening Behind Closed Doors?
• Masturbation: Solitary Sex
• Heterosexuality
• Homosexuality and Bisexuality

Section 4: Sexual Difficulties: When Sex Goes Wrong

• Rape

• Childhood Sexual Abuse
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
• Sexual Problems