{"id":129,"date":"2020-07-13T18:59:55","date_gmt":"2020-07-13T18:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/abnormalpsych\/chapter\/introduction-to-sexual-behavior\/"},"modified":"2022-07-11T17:59:05","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T17:59:05","slug":"introduction-to-sex-and-gender","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-abnormalpsych\/chapter\/introduction-to-sex-and-gender\/","title":{"raw":"Introduction to Sex and Gender","rendered":"Introduction to Sex and Gender"},"content":{"raw":"<h2>What you'll learn to do: describe sexuality, sex, gender, and gender dysphoria<\/h2>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/855\/2017\/03\/24210630\/couple.jpeg\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4032\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/855\/2017\/03\/24210630\/couple.jpeg\" alt=\"photograph of a couple standing face to face looking at each other from 2 feet apart. Photograph is just from the shoulders down.\" width=\"585\" height=\"390\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\n<em>Human sexuality<\/em>\u00a0refers to people's sexual interest in and attraction to others; it is the capacity to have erotic or sexual feelings and experiences. Sexuality differs from sex assigned at birth, in that <em>sexuality<\/em>\u00a0refers to the capacity for sexual feelings and attraction while <em>sex assigned at birth<\/em>\u00a0refers to how one's anatomy, physiology, hormones, and genetics are classified (typically as male, female, or intersex). Sexuality is also separate from gender identity, which is a person's sense of their own <em>gender, <\/em>or sociocultural classification (i.e., man, woman, or another gender) based on, or in opposition to, sex assigned at birth (i.e., male or female). It is also distinct from\u2014although it shapes\u2014<em>sexual orientation,<\/em> or one's emotional and sexual attraction to a particular sex or gender.\r\n\r\nSexuality may be experienced and expressed in a variety of ways, including thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, practices, roles, and relationships. These manifest themselves not only in biological, physical, and emotional ways, but also in sociocultural ways, which have to do with the effects of human society and culture on one's sexuality. Some researchers believe that sexual behavior is determined by genetics; however, others assert that it is largely molded by the environment. Human sexuality impacts, and is impacted by, cultural, political, legal, and philosophical aspects of life, and can interact with issues of morality, ethics, theology, spirituality, or religion.\r\n\r\nIn this section, you will learn about<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">variations in sexual orientation and gender identity,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">symptoms and factors associated with gender dysphoria, and\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">basic biological mechanisms regulating sexual behavior and motivation.<\/span>","rendered":"<h2>What you&#8217;ll learn to do: describe sexuality, sex, gender, and gender dysphoria<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/855\/2017\/03\/24210630\/couple.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4032\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/855\/2017\/03\/24210630\/couple.jpeg\" alt=\"photograph of a couple standing face to face looking at each other from 2 feet apart. Photograph is just from the shoulders down.\" width=\"585\" height=\"390\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Human sexuality<\/em>\u00a0refers to people&#8217;s sexual interest in and attraction to others; it is the capacity to have erotic or sexual feelings and experiences. Sexuality differs from sex assigned at birth, in that <em>sexuality<\/em>\u00a0refers to the capacity for sexual feelings and attraction while <em>sex assigned at birth<\/em>\u00a0refers to how one&#8217;s anatomy, physiology, hormones, and genetics are classified (typically as male, female, or intersex). Sexuality is also separate from gender identity, which is a person&#8217;s sense of their own <em>gender, <\/em>or sociocultural classification (i.e., man, woman, or another gender) based on, or in opposition to, sex assigned at birth (i.e., male or female). It is also distinct from\u2014although it shapes\u2014<em>sexual orientation,<\/em> or one&#8217;s emotional and sexual attraction to a particular sex or gender.<\/p>\n<p>Sexuality may be experienced and expressed in a variety of ways, including thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, practices, roles, and relationships. These manifest themselves not only in biological, physical, and emotional ways, but also in sociocultural ways, which have to do with the effects of human society and culture on one&#8217;s sexuality. Some researchers believe that sexual behavior is determined by genetics; however, others assert that it is largely molded by the environment. Human sexuality impacts, and is impacted by, cultural, political, legal, and philosophical aspects of life, and can interact with issues of morality, ethics, theology, spirituality, or religion.<\/p>\n<p>In this section, you will learn about<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">variations in sexual orientation and gender identity,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">symptoms and factors associated with gender dysphoria, and\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">basic biological mechanisms regulating sexual behavior and motivation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-129\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Modification, adaptation, and original content. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Sexual Behavior objectives. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: OpenStax College. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/Sr8Ev5Og@5.52:tyvP_PNi@5\/Sexual-Behavior\">http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/Sr8Ev5Og@5.52:tyvP_PNi@5\/Sexual-Behavior<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Download for free at http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/4abf04bf-93a0-45c3-9cbc-2cefd46e68cc@5.48<\/li><li>Human Sexuality and Culture. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Boundless. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Boundless Psychology. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/psychology\/textbooks\/boundless-psychology-textbook\/gender-and-sexuality-15\/sexuality-415\/human-sexuality-and-culture-299-12834\/<\/li><li>picture. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: freestocks.org. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/adult-couple-dock-fashion-349494\/\">https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/adult-couple-dock-fashion-349494\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/cc0\">CC0: No Rights Reserved<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":29,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Sexual Behavior objectives\",\"author\":\"OpenStax College\",\"organization\":\"\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/Sr8Ev5Og@5.52:tyvP_PNi@5\/Sexual-Behavior\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"Download for free at http:\/\/cnx.org\/contents\/4abf04bf-93a0-45c3-9cbc-2cefd46e68cc@5.48\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Human Sexuality and Culture\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Boundless\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"Boundless Psychology\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.com\/psychology\/textbooks\/boundless-psychology-textbook\/gender-and-sexuality-15\/sexuality-415\/human-sexuality-and-culture-299-12834\/\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Modification, adaptation, and original content\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen 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