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{{about|human sexual anatomy, sexuality and perceptions|information specifically about sexual activities|Human sexual activity}}
{{Redirect|Sexuality|sexual behavior among other animals|Animal sexual behaviour|other uses|Sexuality (disambiguation)}}
{{For|the book|Human Sexuality (book)}}
{{short description|The way people experience and express themselves sexually}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}

'''Human [[sexuality]]''' is the way people experience and express themselves [[Human sexual activity|sexually]].<ref name="Cavendish">{{cite book|title=Sex and Society, Volume 2|publisher=[[Marshall Cavendish]]|isbn=978-0-7614-7907-9|year=2010|page=384|access-date=21 June 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YtsxeWE7VD0C&pg=PA384|quote=The term human sexuality broadly refers to how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings.}}</ref><ref name="Ferrante">{{cite book|author=Joan Ferrante|title=Sociology: A Global Perspective|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|isbn=978-1-285-74646-3|year=2014|page=207|access-date=21 June 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Au4bCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA207|quote=Sexuality encompasses all the ways people experience and express themselves as sexual beings.}}</ref> This involves [[biological]], [[erotic]], [[Physical intimacy|physical]], [[Emotional intimacy|emotional]], [[social]], or [[Spirituality|spiritual]] feelings and behaviors.<ref name="S. Greenberg">{{cite book|first1=Jerrold S. |last1=Greenberg|first2=Clint E. |last2=Bruess |first3=Sara B. |last3=Oswalt|title=Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality|publisher=[[Jones & Bartlett Publishers]]|isbn=978-1-284-08154-1|year=2016|pages=4–10|access-date=21 June 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8iarCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4|quote=Human sexuality is a part of your total personality. It involves the interrelationship of biological, psychological, and sociocultural dimensions. [...] It is the total of our physical, emotional, and spiritual responses, thoughts, and feelings.}}</ref><ref name="Bolin">{{cite book|first1=Anne |last1=Bolin |first2=Patricia |last2=Whelehan|title=Human Sexuality: Biological, Psychological, and Cultural Perspectives|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=978-0-7890-2671-2|year=2009|pages=32–42|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrPHYok19v8C&pg=PA32}}</ref> Because it is a broad term, which has varied with historical contexts over time, it lacks a precise definition.<ref name="Bolin"/> The biological and physical aspects of sexuality largely concern the [[Human reproduction|human reproductive functions]], including the [[human sexual response cycle]].<ref name="S. Greenberg"/><ref name="Bolin"/>

Someone's [[sexual orientation]] is their pattern of sexual interest in the opposite or same sex.<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis">{{cite web |title=Sexual orientation, homosexuality and bisexuality |publisher=[[American Psychological Association]] |access-date=10 August 2013 |url=http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx |archive-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808032050/http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx}}</ref> Physical and emotional aspects of sexuality include bonds between individuals that are expressed through profound feelings or physical manifestations of [[Romance (love)|love]], trust, and care. Social aspects deal with the effects of human [[society]] on one's sexuality, while spirituality concerns an individual's spiritual connection with others. Sexuality also affects and is affected by cultural, political, legal, philosophical, [[morality|moral]], [[ethical]], and religious aspects of life.<ref name="S. Greenberg"/><ref name="Bolin"/>

Interest in sexual activity typically increases when an individual reaches [[puberty]].<ref>Carlson, Neil R. and C. Donald Heth. "Psychology: the Science of Behaviour." 4th Edition. Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc., 2007. 684.</ref> Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support, there is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males. Hypothesized social causes are supported by only weak evidence, distorted by numerous confounding factors.<ref name=Bailey16>{{cite journal|last1=Bailey|first1=J. Michael|last2=Vasey|first2=Paul|last3=Diamond|first3=Lisa|last4=Breedlove|first4=S. Marc|last5=Vilain|first5=Eric|last6=Epprecht|first6=Marc|title=Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science|journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest|date=2016|volume=17|issue=2|pages=45–101|doi=10.1177/1529100616637616|pmid=27113562|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301639075|doi-access=free}}</ref> This is [[further]] supported by cross-cultural evidence, because cultures that are very tolerant of homosexuality do not have significantly higher rates of it.<ref name=LeVay>{{cite book |last=LeVay |first=Simon |date=2017 |title=Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation |page=19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HmQFFfa03nkC |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199752966 }}</ref><ref name=Balthazart>{{cite book |last=Balthazart |first=Jacques |date=2012 |title=The Biology of Homosexuality |pages=13–14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3fjGjlcVINkC |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199838820 }}</ref>

Evolutionary perspectives on human coupling, reproduction and [[reproduction strategies]], and [[social learning theory]] provide further views of sexuality.<ref>''[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Buss/publication/14715297_Sexual_Strategies_Theory_An_Evolutionary_Perspective_on_Human_Mating/links/0deec5181791b73d35000000/Sexual-Strategies-Theory-An-Evolutionary-Perspective-on-Human-Mating.pdf Sexual Strategies Theory: An Evolutionary Perspective on Human Mating]'' by David M. Buss and David P. Schmitt</ref> Sociocultural aspects of sexuality include [[History of human sexuality|historical developments]] and [[Religion and sexuality|religious beliefs]]. Some cultures have been described as [[sexually repressive]]. The study of sexuality also includes [[Individual|human identity]] within social groups, [[Sexually transmitted diseases|sexually transmitted infections]] (STIs/STDs), and [[birth control]] methods.

{{TOC limit|3}}

==Development==
===Sexual orientation===
{{Main|Sexual orientation}}

There is considerably more evidence supporting innate causes of sexual orientation than learned ones, especially for males. This evidence includes the cross-cultural correlation of homosexuality and childhood [[gender nonconformity]], moderate genetic influences found in [[twin studies]], evidence for prenatal hormonal effects on brain organization, the fraternal birth order effect, and the finding that in rare cases where infant males were raised as girls due to physical deformity, they nevertheless turned out attracted to females. Hypothesized social causes are supported by only weak evidence, distorted by numerous confounding factors.<ref name=Bailey16 />

Cross-cultural evidence also leans more toward non-social causes. Cultures that are very tolerant of homosexuality do not have significantly higher rates of it. Homosexual behavior is relatively common among boys in British single-sex boarding schools, but adult Britons who attended such schools are no more likely to engage in homosexual behavior than those who did not. In an extreme case, the [[Sambia people]] ritually require their boys to engage in homosexual behavior during adolescence before they have any access to females, yet most of these boys become heterosexual.<ref name=LeVay/><ref name=Balthazart/>

It is not fully understood why genes causing homosexuality persist in the gene pool. One hypothesis involves [[kin selection]], suggesting that homosexuals invest heavily enough in their relatives to offset the cost of not reproducing as much directly. This has not been supported by studies in Western cultures, but several studies in [[Samoa]] have found some support for this hypothesis. Another hypothesis involves [[Sexual conflict|sexually antagonistic]] genes, which cause homosexuality when expressed in males but increase reproduction when expressed in females. Studies in both Western and non-Western cultures have found support for this hypothesis.<ref name=Bailey16/><ref name=BussCh5>{{cite book |last=Buss |first=David |date=2019 |title=Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind |chapter=Men's Long-Term Mating Strategies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sn6JDwAAQBAJ |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780429590061 }}</ref>

===Gender differences===
{{see also|Sex differences in psychology#Sexual behavior}}

Psychological theories exist regarding the development and expression of gender differences in human sexuality. A number of them (including [[neo-analytic]] theories, [[sociobiological]] theories, [[social learning theory]], [[social role theory]], and [[script theory]]) agree in predicting that men should be more approving of casual sex (sex happening outside a stable, committed relationship such as [[marriage]]) and should also be more [[promiscuous]] (have a higher number of sexual partners) than women. These theories are mostly consistent with observed differences in males' and females' attitudes toward casual sex before marriage in the United States. Other aspects of human sexuality, such as sexual satisfaction, incidence of [[oral sex]], and attitudes toward [[homosexuality]] and [[masturbation]], show little to no observed difference between males and females. Observed gender differences regarding the number of sexual partners are modest, with males tending to have slightly more than females.<ref name="Oliver & Hyde">{{cite book |last1=Oliver |first1=Mary Beth |last2=Hyde |first2=Janet S. |editor1-last=Baumeister |editor1-first=Roy F. |title=Social Psychology and Human Sexuality: Essential Readings |date=2001 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-1-84169-019-3 |pages=29–43 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2qsKNaqIsuUC&pg=PA29 |chapter=Gender Differences in Sexuality: A Meta-Analysis}}</ref>

==Biological and physiological aspects==
{{main|Human reproductive system}}
Like other [[mammal]]s, humans are primarily grouped into either the [[male]] or [[female]] sex,<ref name="Leonard2010">{{cite book | last =Leonard | first =Janet | author-link =Janet L. Leonard | title =The Evolution of Primary Sexual Characters in Animals | publisher =Oxford University Press | date =18 June 2010 | page =552 | url ={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=PgtXj5R6OfMC }} | isbn =978-0-19-532555-3 }}</ref> with a small proportion (around 1% or 0.018%<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sax|first=Leonard|date=August 2002|title=How common is intersex? a response to Anne Fausto-Sterling|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12476264/|journal=Journal of Sex Research|volume=39|issue=3|pages=174–178|doi=10.1080/00224490209552139|issn=0022-4499|pmid=12476264|s2cid=33795209}}</ref>) of [[intersex]] individuals, for whom sexual classification may not be as clear.<ref>{{cite book | author = Fausto-Sterling, Anne | author-link = Anne Fausto-Sterling | year = 2000 | title = Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality | location = New York | publisher = Basic Books | isbn = 978-0-465-07713-7 |page=51 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=-976qhsz7A4C}}</ref>

The biological aspects of humans' sexuality deal with the reproductive system, the [[human sexual response cycle|sexual response cycle]], and the factors that affect these aspects. They also deal with the influence of biological factors on other aspects of sexuality, such as organic and neurological responses,<ref>Ellen Ross, Rayna Rapp Sex and Society: A Research Note from Social [[History]] and Anthropology Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan. 1981), pp. 51–72</ref> heredity, hormonal issues, gender issues, and sexual dysfunction.<ref name="Rathus, Spencer A. 2007">{{Cite book|last=Rathus|first=Spencer A. |title=Human sexuality in a world of diversity |date=2008 |publisher=Pearson/A & B |author2=Jeffrey S. Nevid |author3=Lois Fichner-Rathus |isbn=978-0-205-53291-9 |edition=7th |location=Boston |oclc=123539338}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

===Physical anatomy and reproduction===
Males and females are anatomically similar; this extends to some degree to the [[development of the reproductive system]]. As adults, they have different reproductive mechanisms that enable them to perform sexual acts and to reproduce. Men and women react to sexual stimuli in a similar fashion with minor differences. Women have a monthly reproductive cycle, whereas the male sperm production cycle is more continuous.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book|title=Human Sexuality Today|author=King, Bruce M.|year=2013|isbn=978-0-13-604245-7}}{{full citation needed|date=February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|isbn = 0791441334|title = Perspectives on Human Sexuality|last1 = Bolin|first1 = Anne|last2 = Whelehan|first2 = Patricia|date = January 1999}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|isbn = 978-1285454313|title = Life-Span Human Development|last1 = Sigelman|first1 = Carol K.|last2 = Rider|first2 = Elizabeth A.|date = 26 February 2014}}</ref>

====Brain====
The [[hypothalamus]] is the most important part of the brain for sexual functioning. This is a small area at the base of the brain consisting of several groups of nerve cell bodies that receives input from the limbic system. Studies have shown that within lab animals, the destruction of certain areas of the hypothalamus causes the elimination of sexual behavior.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> The hypothalamus is important because of its relationship to the [[pituitary gland]], which lies beneath it. The pituitary gland secretes hormones that are produced in the hypothalamus and itself. The four important sexual hormones are [[oxytocin]], [[prolactin]], [[follicle-stimulating hormone]], and [[luteinizing hormone]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

Oxytocin, sometimes referred to as the "[[love]] hormone,"<ref name="Sigelman452" /> is released in both sexes during sexual intercourse when an [[orgasm]] is achieved.<ref name="Hornstein" /> Oxytocin has been suggested as critical to the thoughts and behaviors required to maintain close relationships.<ref name="Sigelman452">{{cite book| last1 = Sigelman |first1=Carol |last2= Rider |first2=Elizabeth | year = 2011 | title =Life-Span Human Development| location = Boston| publisher = [[Cengage Learning]] | page = 452 |isbn = 978-1-111-34273-9| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=8smBuRecmDsC&pg=PT480}}</ref><ref name="Hornstein">{{cite book| last1 = Hornstein |first1=Theresa |last2=Schwerin |first2=Jeri | year = 2012 | title = Biology of Women | location = Boston | publisher = [[Cengage Learning]] | page = 205 | isbn = 978-1-285-40102-7| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=ibgKAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA205}}</ref>{{verification needed|date=February 2016}} The hormone is also released in women when they give birth or are breastfeeding.<ref name="Smith">{{cite book | author = Smith, Linda J. | year = 2010 | title = Impact of Birthing Practices on Breastfeeding | location = Burlington, MA | publisher = [[Jones & Bartlett Learning|Jones & Bartlett]] | page = 158 | isbn = 978-0-7637-6374-9 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=vUncnT6o4k4C&pg=PA158}}</ref> Both prolactin<!--RIGHT?--> and oxytocin stimulate milk production in women.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is responsible for ovulation in women, which acts by triggering egg maturity; in men it stimulates sperm production.<ref>{{cite book| last1 = Hyde|first1=Janet|author-link1=Janet Shibley Hyde|last2=DeLamater|first2=John|author-link2=John DeLamater| last3=Byers|first3=Sandra | year = 2013 | title=Understanding Human Sexuality | edition = 5th Canadian | location = Whitby, ON, CAN | publisher = McGraw-Hill Ryerson | isbn=978-0-07-032972-0 | pages=100, 102ff }}</ref> Luteinizing hormone (LH) triggers ovulation, which is the release of a mature egg.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

====Male anatomy and reproductive system====
{{main|Human male reproductive system}}

Males also have both internal and external genitalia that are responsible for procreation and sexual intercourse. Production of spermatozoa (sperm) is also cyclic, but unlike the female ovulation cycle, the sperm production cycle is constantly producing millions of sperm daily.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

=====External male anatomy=====

The male genitalia are the penis and the scrotum. The penis provides a passageway for sperm and urine. An average-sized flaccid penis is about {{convert|3+3/4|inch|cm|abbr=out}} in length and {{convert|1+1/5|in|cm|abbr=out}} in diameter. When erect, the average penis is between {{convert|4+1/2|in|cm|abbr=out}} to {{convert|6|in|cm|abbr=out}} in length and {{convert|1+1/2|in|cm|abbr=out}} in diameter. The penis's internal structures consist of the [[shaft (penis)|shaft]], [[glans]], and the [[root]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

The shaft of the penis consists of three cylindrical bodies of spongy tissue filled with blood vessels along its length. Two of these bodies lie side by side in the upper portion of the penis called corpora cavernosa. The third, called the [[corpus spongiosum]], is a tube that lies centrally beneath the others and expands at the end to form the tip of the penis (glans).<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=http://www.innerbody.com/image/repmov.html |title=Male Reproductive System – Explore Anatomy with Detailed Pictures |publisher=Innerbody.com |access-date=30 June 2013}}</ref>

The raised rim at the border of the shaft and glans is called the corona. The urethra runs through the shaft, providing an exit for sperm and urine. The root consists of the expanded ends of the cavernous bodies, which fan out to form the crura and attach to the pubic bone and the expanded end of the spongy body (bulb). The root is surrounded by two muscles: the [[bulbocavernosus muscle]] and the [[ischiocavernosus muscle]]. These aid urination and ejaculation. The penis has a [[foreskin]] that typically covers the glans; this is sometimes removed by [[circumcision]] for medical, religious or cultural reasons.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} In the scrotum, the testicles are held away from the body, one possible reason for this is so sperm can be produced in an environment slightly lower than normal body temperature.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Drew|first1=Liam|title=The Scrotum Is Nuts|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/07/are_testicles_external_for_cooling_galloping_display_or_something_else.1.html|access-date=3 July 2015|magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=8 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Madaras|first1=Lynda Madaras with Area|title=The what's happening to my body? book for boys|date=2008|publisher=Newmarket|location=New York|isbn=978-1-55704-765-6|edition=Rev.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zC1g5gdJc_kC&pg=PA33}}</ref>

=====Internal male anatomy=====

Male internal reproductive structures are the testicles, the duct system, the prostate and seminal vesicles, and the [[bulbourethral gland|Cowper's gland]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

The testicles (male gonads), are where sperm and male hormones are produced. Millions of sperm are produced daily in several hundred seminiferous tubules. Cells called the [[Leydig cell]]s lie between the tubules; these produce hormones called androgens; these consist of [[testosterone]] and [[inhibin]]. The testicles are held by the spermatic cord, which is a tubelike structure containing blood vessels, nerves, the vas deferens, and a muscle that helps to raise and lower the testicles in response to temperature changes and sexual arousal, in which the testicles are drawn closer to the body.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

Sperm gets transported through a four-part duct system. The first part of this system is the [[epididymis]]. The testicles converge to form the [[seminiferous tubules]], coiled tubes at the top and back of each testicle. The second part of the duct system is the [[vas deferens]], a muscular tube that begins at the lower end of the epididymis.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} The vas deferens passes upward along the side of the testicles to become part of the spermatic cord.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> The expanded end is the ampulla, which stores sperm before ejaculation. The third part of the duct system is the ejaculatory ducts, which are {{convert|1|in|cm|abbr=out|adj=on}}-long paired tubes that pass through the prostate gland, where semen is produced.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} The prostate gland is a solid, chestnut-shaped organ that surrounds the first part of the urethra, which carries urine and semen.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Similar to the female G-spot, the prostate provides sexual stimulation and can lead to [[orgasm]] through [[anal sex]].<ref name="Rosenthal">{{cite book |first=Martha |last= Rosenthal| title = Human Sexuality: From Cells to Society | publisher =[[Cengage Learning]]|year = 2012|pages=133–135| isbn = 978-0-618-75571-4|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=d58z5hgQ2gsC&pg=PT153}}</ref>

The prostate gland and the seminal vesicles produce seminal fluid that is mixed with sperm to create semen.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} The prostate gland lies under the bladder and in front of the rectum. It consists of two [[Portal:Main|main]] zones: the inner zone that produces secretions to keep the lining of the male urethra moist and the outer zone that produces seminal fluids to facilitate the passage of semen.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> The seminal vesicles secrete fructose for sperm activation and mobilization, prostaglandins to cause uterine contractions that aid movement through the uterus, and bases that help neutralize the acidity of the vagina. The Cowper's glands, or bulbourethral glands, are two pea-sized structures beneath the prostate.

====Female anatomy and reproductive system====
{{Main|Human female reproductive system}}

=====External female anatomy=====

The mons veneris, also known as the [[Mons pubis|Mound of Venus]], is a soft layer of fatty tissue overlaying the pubic bone.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hyde |last2=DeLamater |last3=Byers|title=Understanding Human Sexuality 5th Canadian ed.|year=2012 |isbn=978-0-07-032972-0|page=78}}</ref> Following puberty, this area grows in size. It has many nerve endings and is sensitive to stimulation.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

The labia minora and labia majora are collectively known as the lips. The labia majora are two elongated folds of skin extending from the mons to the perineum. Its outer surface becomes covered with hair after puberty. In between the labia majora are the labia minora, two hairless folds of skin that meet above the clitoris to form the clitoral hood, which is highly sensitive to touch. The labia minora become engorged with blood during sexual stimulation, causing them to swell and turn red.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

The labia minora are composed of connective tissues that are richly supplied with blood vessels which cause a pinkish appearance. Near the anus, the labia minora merge with the labia majora.<ref name="innerbody.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.innerbody.com/image/repfov.html |title=Female Reproductive System – Anatomy Pictures and Information |publisher=Innerbody.com |access-date=30 June 2013}}</ref> In a sexually unstimulated state, the labia minora protects the vaginal and urethral opening by covering them.<ref>''Human Reproductive Biology'' by Mark M. Jones (2012), p. 63.</ref> At the base of the labia minora are the [[Bartholin's glands]], which add a few drops of an alkaline fluid to the vagina via ducts; this fluid helps to counteract the acidity of the outer vagina since sperm cannot live in an acidic environment.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

The clitoris is developed from the same embryonic tissue as the penis; it or its [[Clitoral glans|glans]] alone consists of as many (or more in some cases) nerve endings as the human penis or glans penis, making it extremely sensitive to touch.<ref name="Francoeur">{{cite book |last=Francoeur |first=Robert T. |year=2000 |title=The Complete Dictionary of Sexology |publisher=The Continuum Publishing Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/completedictiona0000unse_w1u0/page/180 180] |isbn=978-0-8264-0672-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/completedictiona0000unse_w1u0/page/180 }}</ref><ref name="Carroll">{{cite book | title =Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity | publisher = [[Cengage Learning]] | year = 2009 | page = 118 | access-date =23 June 2012 | url = {{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=5f8mQx7ULs4C |}} |isbn =978-0-495-60274-3 | first = Janell L. | last = Carroll}}</ref><ref name="Can't feel">{{cite web | title = I'm a woman who cannot feel pleasurable sensations during intercourse | publisher = [[Go Ask Alice!]] | date = 8 October 2004| access-date = 13 September 2012|url=http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/im-woman-who-cannot-feel-pleasurable-sensations-during-intercourse |archive-date= 7 January 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110107184029/http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/3229.html}}</ref> The clitoral glans, which is a small, elongated erectile structure, has only one known function—sexual sensations. It is the female's most sensitive [[erogenous zone]] and the [[Portal:Main|main]] source of orgasm in women.<ref name="Clitoris">{{cite web|title=I Want a Better Orgasm!|website=[[WebMD]]|access-date=18 August 2011|url=http://www.webmd.com/sex/want-better-orgasms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113132443/http://www.webmd.com/sex/want-better-orgasms|archive-date=13 January 2009}}</ref><ref name="Flaherty">{{cite book|first1=Joseph A.|last1=Flaherty|first2=John Marcell|last2=Davis|first3=Philip G.|last3=Janicak|title=Psychiatry: Diagnosis & therapy. A Lange clinical manual|isbn=978-0-8385-1267-8|publisher=Appleton & Lange (Original from Northwestern University)|year=1993|page=[https://archive.org/details/psychiatrydiagno00flah/page/217 217]|url=https://archive.org/details/psychiatrydiagno00flah/page/217|quote=The amount of time of sexual arousal needed to reach orgasm is variable—and usually much longer—in women than in men; thus, only 20–30% of women attain a coital climax. b. Many women (70–80%) require manual clitoral stimulation...}}</ref><ref name="Kenneth Mah">{{cite journal | first1 = Kenneth | last1 = Mah | first2 = Yitzchak M | last2 = Binik | title = The nature of human orgasm: a critical review of major trends | journal = [[Clinical Psychology Review]] | volume = 21 | issue = 6 | pages = 823–856 |date=7 January 2001 | pmid = 11497209| doi = 10.1016/S0272-7358(00)00069-6 | quote=Women rated clitoral stimulation as at least somewhat more important than vaginal stimulation in achieving orgasm; only about 20% indicated that they did not require additional clitoral stimulation during intercourse.}}</ref><ref name="Kammerer-Doak">{{cite journal | first1 = Dorothy | last1 = Kammerer-Doak | first2 = Rebecca G. | last2 = Rogers | title = Female Sexual Function and Dysfunction | journal = Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America | volume = 35 | issue = 2 | pages = 169–183 |date=June 2008 | pmid = 18486835 | doi = 10.1016/j.ogc.2008.03.006 | quote=Most women report the inability to achieve orgasm with vaginal intercourse and require direct clitoral stimulation ... About 20% have coital climaxes...}}</ref> Thick secretions called [[smegma]] collect around the clitoris.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

The vaginal opening and the urethral opening are only visible when the labia minora are parted. These openings have many nerve endings that make them sensitive to touch. They are surrounded by a ring of sphincter muscles called the [[bulbocavernosus muscle]]. Underneath this muscle and on opposite sides of the vaginal opening are the vestibular bulbs, which help the vagina grip the penis by swelling with blood during arousal. Within the vaginal opening is the [[hymen]], a thin membrane that partially covers the opening in many [[Virginity|virgins]]. Rupture of the hymen has been historically considered the loss of one's virginity, though, by modern standards, loss of virginity is considered to be the first sexual intercourse. The hymen can be ruptured by activities other than sexual intercourse. The urethral opening connects to the bladder with the urethra; it expels urine from the bladder. This is located below the clitoris and above the vaginal opening.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

The [[breast]]s are the subcutaneous tissues on the front thorax of the female body.<ref name="innerbody.com"/> Though they are not technically part of a woman's sexual anatomy, they do have roles in both sexual pleasure and reproduction.<ref name=Lehmiller>{{cite book |last=Lehmiller |first=Justin |date=2018 |title=The Psychology of Human Sexuality |edition=Second |pages=74–75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JXJGDwAAQBAJ |publisher=John Wiley & Sons Ltd |isbn=9781119164739 }}</ref> Breasts are modified sweat glands made up of fibrous tissues and fat that provide support and contain nerves, blood vessels, and lymphatic vessels.<ref name="innerbody.com"/> Their [[Portal:Main|main]] purpose is to provide milk to a developing infant. Breasts develop during puberty in response to an increase in estrogen. Each adult breast consists of 15 to 20 milk-producing [[mammary glands]], irregularly shaped lobes that include [[alveolar gland]]s and a lactiferous duct leading to the nipple. The lobes are separated by dense connective tissues that support the glands and attach them to the tissues on the underlying pectoral muscles.<ref name="innerbody.com"/> Other connective tissue, which forms dense strands called suspensory ligaments, extends inward from the skin of the breast to the pectoral tissue to support the weight of the breast.<ref name="innerbody.com"/> Heredity and the quantity of fatty tissue determine the size of the breasts.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

Men typically find female breasts attractive<ref>{{cite book |last=Buss |first=David |date=2019 |title=Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind |edition=Sixth |chapter=Men's Long-Term Mating Strategies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sn6JDwAAQBAJ |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780429590061 }}</ref> and this holds true for a variety of cultures.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Jan Havlíček |author2=Vít Třebický |author3=Jaroslava Varella Valentova |author4=Karel Kleisner |author5=Robert Mbe Akoko |author6=Jitka Fialová |author7=Rosina Jash |author8=Tomáš Kočnar |author9=Kamila Janaina Pereira |author10=Zuzana Štěrbová |author11=Marco Antonio Correa Varella |author12=Jana Vokurková |author13=Ernest Vunan |author14=S Craig Roberts |title=Men's preferences for women's breast size and shape in four cultures |journal=Evolution and Human Behavior |date=2017|volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=217–226 |doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2016.10.002 |hdl=1893/24421 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Barnaby J Dixson |author2=Paul L Vasey |author3=Katayo Sagata |author4=Nokuthaba Sibanda |author5=Wayne L Linklater |author6=Alan F Dixson |title=Men's preferences for women's breast morphology in New Zealand, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |date=2011 |volume=40 |issue=6 |pages=1271–1279 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46404564 |doi=10.1007/s10508-010-9680-6|pmid=20862533 |s2cid=34125295}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Frank W. Marlowe |title=Mate preferences among Hadza hunter-gatherers|journal=Human Nature |date=2004|volume=15|issue=4|pages=365–376|url=https://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/readings/Marlowe-hadza-mate-selection-criteria.pdf|doi=10.1007/s12110-004-1014-8|pmid=26189412|s2cid=9584357}}</ref> In women, [[stimulation of nipples|stimulation of the nipple]] seems to result in activation of the brain's genital sensory cortex (the same region of the brain activated by stimulation of the clitoris, vagina, and cervix).<ref>{{cite journal |author=Barry R Komisaruk |author2=Nan Wise |author3=Eleni Frangos |author4=Wen-Ching Liu |author5=Kachina Allen |author6=Stuart Brody |title=Women's clitoris, vagina, and cervix mapped on the sensory cortex: fMRI evidence|journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine |date=2011|volume=8|issue=10|pages=2822–2830|pmc=3186818|pmid=21797981|doi=10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02388.x}}</ref> This may be why many women find nipple stimulation arousing and why some women are able to orgasm by nipple stimulation alone.<ref name=Lehmiller/>

=====Internal female anatomy=====
{{main|Female reproductive system}}

The female internal reproductive organs are the [[vagina]], [[uterus]], [[Fallopian tube]]s, and [[ovary|ovaries]]. The vagina is a sheath-like canal that extends from the vulva to the cervix. It receives the penis during intercourse and serves as a depository for sperm. The vagina is also the [[birth canal]]; it can expand to {{convert|10|cm|inch|abbr=on}} during labor and delivery. The vagina is located between the [[bladder]] and the [[rectum]]. The vagina is normally collapsed, but during [[sexual arousal]] it opens, lengthens, and produces lubrication to allow the insertion of the penis. The vagina has three layered walls; it is a self-cleaning organ with natural bacteria that suppress the production of yeast.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} The [[G-spot]], named after the [[Ernst Gräfenberg]] who first reported it in 1950, may be located in the front wall of the vagina and may cause orgasms. This area may vary in size and location between women; in some it may be absent. Various researchers dispute its structure or existence, or regard it as an extension of the clitoris.<ref name=Hines>{{cite journal |author=Hines T |date=August 2001 |title=The G-Spot: A modern gynecologic myth |journal=Am J Obstet Gynecol |volume=185 |issue=2 |pages=359–362 | doi=10.1067/mob.2001.115995  |pmid=11518892|s2cid=32381437 |url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/59ac3e423b824c8b64b2359c10a496730cd2a656 }}</ref><ref name="Balon, Segraves">{{cite book|first1=Richard |last1=Balon |first2=Robert Taylor |last2=Segraves|title=Clinical Manual of Sexual Disorders |publisher= [[American Psychiatric Association|American Psychiatric Pub]]|year=2009|access-date=24 January 2014|page=258|isbn=978-1-58562-905-3|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=YuP3Hb0TMLQC |}} }}</ref><ref name="Kilchevsky">{{cite journal|title=Is the Female G-Spot Truly a Distinct Anatomic Entity?|journal=[[The Journal of Sexual Medicine]]|volume= 9|date=January 2012 |pmid=22240236|doi=10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02623.x|lay-url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/g-spot-does-not-exist_n_1215822.html|lay-source=[[The Huffington Post]]|lay-date=19 January 2012 |last1=Kilchevsky |first1=A |last2=Vardi |first2=Y |last3=Lowenstein |first3=L |last4=Gruenwald |first4=I |issue=3|pages=719–726}}</ref>

The uterus or womb is a hollow, muscular organ where a fertilized egg (ovum) will implant itself and grow into a fetus.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} The uterus lies in the pelvic cavity between the bladder and the [[bowel]], and above the vagina. It is usually positioned in a 90-degree angle tilting forward, although in about 20% of women it tilts backwards.<ref name="innerbody.com"/> The uterus has three layers; the innermost layer is the [[endometrium]], where the egg is implanted. During ovulation, this thickens for implantation. If implantation does not occur, it is sloughed off during menstruation. The cervix is the narrow end of the uterus. The broad part of the uterus is the [[fundus (uterus)|fundus]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

During [[ovulation]], the ovum travels down the Fallopian tubes to the uterus. These extend about {{convert|4|inch|cm|spell=in}} from both sides of the uterus. Finger-like projections at the ends of the tubes brush the ovaries and receive the ovum once it is released. The ovum then travels for three to four days to the uterus.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} After sexual intercourse, sperm swim up this funnel from the uterus. The lining of the tube and its secretions sustain the egg and the sperm, encouraging [[fertilization]] and nourishing the ovum until it reaches the uterus. If the ovum divides after fertilization, [[identical twins]] are produced. If separate eggs are fertilized by different sperm, the mother gives birth to non-identical or [[fraternal twins]].<ref name="innerbody.com"/>

The ovaries (female gonads), develop from the same embryonic tissue as the [[testicles]]. The ovaries are suspended by ligaments and are the source where ova are stored and developed before ovulation. The ovaries also produce female hormones [[progesterone]] and [[estrogen]]. Within the ovaries, each ovum is surrounded by other cells and contained within a capsule called a primary follicle. At puberty, one or more of these follicles are stimulated to mature on a monthly basis. Once matured, these are called [[Graafian follicles]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} The female reproductive system does not produce the ova; about 60,000 ova are present at birth, only 400 of which will mature during the woman's lifetime.<ref name="innerbody.com"/>

Ovulation is based on a monthly cycle; the 14th day is the most fertile. On days one to four, menstruation and production of estrogen and progesterone decreases, and the endometrium starts thinning. The endometrium is sloughed off for the next three to six days. Once menstruation ends, the cycle begins again with an FSH surge from the pituitary gland. Days five to thirteen are known as the pre-ovulatory stage. During this stage, the pituitary gland secretes [[follicle-stimulating hormone]] (FSH). A negative feedback loop is enacted when estrogen is secreted to inhibit the release of FSH. Estrogen thickens the endometrium of the uterus. A surge of [[Luteinizing Hormone]] (LH) triggers ovulation.

On day 14, the LH surge causes a Graafian follicle to surface the ovary. The follicle ruptures and the ripe ovum is expelled into the abdominal cavity. The fallopian tubes pick up the ovum with the [[Fimbriae of uterine tube|fimbria]]. The cervical mucus changes to aid the movement of sperm. On days 15 to 28—the post-ovulatory stage, the Graafian follicle—now called the [[corpus luteum]]—secretes estrogen. Production of progesterone increases, inhibiting LH release. The endometrium thickens to prepare for implantation, and the ovum travels down the Fallopian tubes to the uterus. If the ovum is not fertilized and does not implant, menstruation begins.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

===Sexual response cycle===
The sexual response cycle is a model that describes the physiological responses that occur during sexual activity. This model was created by [[William Masters]] and [[Virginia E. Johnson|Virginia Johnson]]. According to Masters and Johnson, the human sexual response cycle consists of four phases; excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution, also called the EPOR model. During the excitement phase of the EPOR model, one attains the intrinsic motivation to have sex. The plateau phase is the precursor to orgasm, which may be mostly biological for men and mostly psychological for women. Orgasm is the release of tension, and the resolution period is the unaroused state before the cycle begins again.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

The male sexual response cycle starts in the excitement phase; two centers in the spine are responsible for erections. Vasoconstriction in the penis begins, the heart rate increases, the scrotum thickens, the spermatic cord shortens, and the testicles become engorged with blood. In the plateau phase, the penis increases in diameter, the testicles become more engorged, and the Cowper's glands secrete pre-seminal fluid. The orgasm phase, during which rhythmic contractions occur every 0.8 seconds{{Verify source|date=May 2012}}, consists of two phases; the emission phase, in which contractions of the vas deferens, prostate, and seminal vesicles encourage ejaculation, which is the second phase of orgasm. Ejaculation is called the expulsion phase; it cannot be reached without an orgasm. In the resolution phase, the male is now in an unaroused state consisting of a [[Refractory period (sex)|refractory (rest) period]] before the cycle can begin. This rest period may increase with age.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

The female sexual response begins with the excitement phase, which can last from several minutes to several hours. Characteristics of this phase include increased heart and respiratory rate, and an elevation of blood pressure. Flushed skin or blotches of redness may occur on the chest and back; breasts increase slightly in size and nipples may become hardened and erect. The onset of [[vasocongestion]] results in swelling of the clitoris, labia minora, and vagina.  The muscle that surrounds the vaginal opening tightens and the uterus elevates and grows in size. The vaginal walls begin to produce a lubricating liquid. The second phase, called the plateau phase, is characterized primarily by the intensification of the changes begun during the excitement phase. The plateau phase extends to the brink of orgasm, which initiates the resolution stage; the reversal of the changes begun during the excitement phase. During the orgasm stage the heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and breathing rates peak. The pelvic muscle near the vagina, the anal sphincter, and the uterus contract. Muscle contractions in the vaginal area create a high level of pleasure, though all orgasms are centered in the clitoris.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Intimacy |first=Sinclair |url=http://health.howstuffworks.com/sexual-health/sexuality/sexual-response-dictionary1.htm |title=Discovery Health "Sexual Response" |publisher=Health.howstuffworks.com |date=25 April 2005 |access-date=18 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.proplusmedical.com/pages.html?pages_id=8 |title=Female Sexual Response Cycle |publisher=Proplusmedical.com |access-date=18 February 2013}}</ref><ref name="Koedt70">{{cite web |last = Koedt |first = Anne |title = The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm |publisher = Chicago Women's Liberation Union |year = 1970 |url = http://www.cwluherstory.org/myth-of-the-vaginal-orgasm.html |access-date = 18 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160819232224/http://www.cwluherstory.org/myth-of-the-vaginal-orgasm.html |archive-date = 19 August 2016 }}</ref>

===Sexual dysfunction and sexual problems===
{{main|Sexual dysfunction}}
Sexual disorders, according to the DSM-IV-TR, are disturbances in sexual desire and psycho-physiological changes that characterize the sexual response cycle and cause marked distress and interpersonal difficulty. The sexual dysfunctions is a result of physical or psychological disorders. The physical causes include hormonal imbalance, diabetes, heart disease and more. The psychological causes includes but are not limited to stress, anxiety, and depression.<ref>{{cite web|title=Female Sexual Dysfunction|url=http://www.webmd.com/women/guide/sexual-dysfunction-women|website=webmd.com|publisher=webmd.com|access-date=2 December 2015}}</ref> The sexual dysfunction affects men and women. There are four major categories of sexual problems for women: desire disorders, arousal disorders, orgasmic disorders, and sexual pain disorders.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} The sexual desire disorder occurs when an individual lacks the sexual desire because of hormonal changes, depression, and pregnancy. The arousal disorder is a female sexual dysfunction. Arousal disorder means lack of vaginal lubrication. In addition, blood flow problems may affect arousal disorder. Lack of orgasm, also known as, anorgasmia is another sexual dysfunction in women. The anorgasmia occurs in women with psychological disorders such as guilt and anxiety that was caused by sexual assault. The last sexual disorder is the painful intercourse. The sexual disorder can be result of pelvic mass, scar tissue, sexually transmitted disease and more.<ref>{{cite web|title=Female Sexual Dysfunction|url=http://www.webmd.com/women/guide/sexual-dysfunction-women?page=2|website=webmd.com|access-date=2 December 2015}}</ref>

There are also three common sexual disorders for men including, sexual desire, ejaculation disorder, and erectile dysfunction.  The lack of sexual desire in men is because of loss of libido, low testosterone. There are also psychological factors such as anxiety, and depression.<ref>{{cite web|title=Male Sexual Problems|url=http://www.webmd.com/men/guide/mental-health-male-sexual-problems?page=2|website=Webmd.com|access-date=2 December 2015}}</ref>
The ejaculation disorder has three types: retrograde ejaculation, retarded ejaculation, premature ejaculation. The erectile dysfunction is a disability to have and maintain an erection during intercourse.<ref>{{cite book|title=Our Bodies, Ourselves|date=2011|publisher=Boston Women's Health Book Collective|isbn=978-0-7432-5611-7|edition=35th|url=https://archive.org/details/ourbodiesoursel00bost}}</ref>

==Psychological aspects==
<!--This image appears in the Commons without a citation, and so it is not clear it is reliable. The {{cn}} tag is placed until the issues at Wikimedia Commons are resolved. Until then, the [[legend]] makes interpretive claims (who, when) that are unverifiable. -->

As one form of behavior, the psychological aspects of sexual expression have been studied in the context of emotional involvement, gender identity, intersubjective [[intimacy]], and Darwinian reproductive efficacy. Sexuality in humans generates profound emotional and psychological responses. Some theorists identify sexuality as the central source of human personality.<ref>{{cite book |author=John Russon |title=Bearing Witness to Epiphany: Persons, Things, and the Nature of Erotic Life |publisher=State University of New York Press |location=Albany |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4384-2504-7 |author-link=John Russon }}</ref> Psychological studies of sexuality focus on psychological influences that affect sexual behavior and experiences.<ref name="Rathus, Spencer A. 2007" />{{page needed|date=February 2016}} Early psychological analyses were carried out by [[Sigmund Freud]], who believed in a [[Psychoanalysis|psychoanalytic]] approach. He also proposed the concepts of [[psychosexual development]] and the [[Oedipus complex]], among other theories.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/ss/psychosexualdev.htm |title=What is Psychosexual Development? |author= Cherry, Kendra|publisher=About.com |access-date=12 October 2009}}{{better source|date=February 2016}}{{better source|date=February 2016}}</ref>

Gender identity is a person's sense of their own [[gender]], whether male, female, or [[Non-binary gender|non-binary]].<ref name="MorrowMessinger">''Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression in Social Work Practice'', edited by Deana F. Morrow and Lori Messinger (2006, {{ISBN|0231501862}}), p. 8: "Gender identity refers to an individual's personal sense of identity as masculine or feminine, or some combination thereof."</ref> Gender identity can correlate with [[assigned sex]] at birth or can differ from it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrc.org/resources/sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-terminology-and-definitions|title=Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Definitions |first=Human Rights|last=Campaign}}</ref> All societies have a set of gender categories that can serve as the basis of the formation of a person's [[social identity]] in relation to other members of society.<ref>V. M. Moghadam, ''Patriarchy and the politics of gender in modernising societies'', in ''International Sociology'', 1992: "All societies have gender systems."</ref>

Sexual behavior and intimate relationships are strongly influenced by a person's sexual orientation.<ref name="Coon, D. 2007">Coon, D., & Mitterer, J.O. (2007). Introduction to psychology: gateways to mind and behavior (11th ed.). Australia: [[Thomson/Wadsworth]].</ref>

Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of [[Romance (love)|romantic]] or [[Sexual attraction|sexual]] attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex, same sex, or both sexes.<ref name="Coon, D. 2007"/> Heterosexual people are romantically/sexually attracted to the members of the opposite sex, gay and lesbian people are romantically/sexually attracted to people of the same sex, and those who are bisexual are romantically/sexually attracted to both sexes.<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis"/>

The idea that homosexuality results from reversed gender roles is reinforced by the media's portrayal of male homosexuals as effeminate and female homosexuals as masculine.<ref name="King, B. 2009"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} However, a person's conformity or non-conformity to gender stereotypes does not always predict sexual orientation. Society believes that if a man is masculine he is heterosexual, and if a man is feminine he is homosexual. There is no strong evidence that a homosexual or bisexual orientation must be associated with atypical gender roles. By the early 21st century, homosexuality was no longer considered to be a pathology. Theories have linked many factors, including genetic, anatomical, birth order, and hormones in the prenatal environment, to homosexuality.<ref name="King, B. 2009"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

Other than the need to procreate, there are many other reasons people have sex. According to one study conducted on college students (Meston & Buss, 2007), the four [[Portal:Main|main]] reasons for sexual activities are; physical attraction, as a means to an end, to increase emotional connection, and to alleviate insecurity.<ref>{{cite book |title=Psychology |url=https://archive.org/details/psychology0000scha |url-access=registration |year=2011 |publisher=Worth Publishers |page=[https://archive.org/details/psychology0000scha/page/336 336]|author1=Daniel L. Schacter |author2=Daniel T. Gilbert |author3=Daniel M. Wegner }}</ref>

==Sexuality and age==
===Child sexuality===
{{Main|Child sexuality}}
Until [[Sigmund Freud]] published his ''[[Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality]]'' in 1905, children were often regarded as [[Asexuality|asexual]], having no sexuality until later development. Sigmund Freud was one of the first researchers to take child sexuality seriously. His ideas, such as psychosexual development and the Oedipus conflict, have been much debated but acknowledging the existence of child sexuality was an important development.<ref name="Santrock, J.W. 2008">Santrock, J.W. (2008). A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.</ref>

Freud gave sexual drives an importance and centrality in human life, actions, and behavior; he said sexual drives exist and can be discerned in children from birth. He explains this in his theory of [[infantile sexuality]], and says sexual energy ([[libido]]) is the most important motivating force in adult life. Freud wrote about the importance of interpersonal relationships to one's sexual and emotional development. From birth, the mother's connection to the infant affects the infant's later capacity for pleasure and [[attachment theory|attachment]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Bretherton | first1 = Inge | year = 1992 | title = The origins of attachment theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth | url = http://cmapspublic2.ihmc.us/rid=1LQX400NM-RBVKH9-1KL6/the%20origins%20of%20attachment%20theory%20john%20bowlby%20and%20mary%20ainsworth.pdf | journal = Developmental Psychology | volume = 28 | issue = 5| pages = 759–775 | doi=10.1037/0012-1649.28.5.759}}</ref> Freud described two currents of emotional life; an affectionate current, including our bonds with the important people in our lives; and a sensual current, including our wish to gratify sexual impulses. During adolescence, a young person tries to integrate these two emotional currents.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Alcorn|first1=Jean-Michel Quinodoz; translated by David|title=Reading Freud: a chronological exploration of Freud's writings|date=2005|isbn=978-1-317-71050-9|page=165|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8hdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT165}}</ref>

[[Alfred Kinsey]] also examined child sexuality in his [[Kinsey Reports]]. Children are naturally curious about their bodies and sexual functions. For example, they wonder where babies come from, they notice the differences between males and females, and many engage in [[genital play]], which is often mistaken for masturbation. Child sex play, also known as [[playing doctor]], includes exhibiting or inspecting the genitals. Many children take part in some sex play, typically with siblings or friends.<ref name="Santrock, J.W. 2008"/> Sex play with others usually decreases as children grow, but they may later possess romantic interest in their peers. Curiosity levels remain high during these years, but the main surge in sexual interest occurs in adolescence.<ref name="Santrock, J.W. 2008"/>

===Sexuality in late adulthood===
{{Main|Sexuality in older age}}
Adult sexuality originates in childhood. However, like many other human capacities, sexuality is not fixed, but matures and develops. A common stereotype associated with old people is that they tend to lose interest and the ability to engage in sexual acts once they reach late adulthood. This misconception is reinforced by Western popular culture, which often ridicules older adults who try to engage in sexual activities. Age does not necessarily change the need or desire to be sexually expressive or active. A couple in a long-term relationship may find that the frequency of their sexual activity decreases over time and the type of sexual expression may change, but many couples experience increased intimacy and love.<ref name=jrank>[http://family.jrank.org/pages/1532/Sexuality-in-Adulthood-Aging.html Sexuality in Adulthood – Aging], JRank Marriage and Family Encyclopedia, Net Industries</ref>

==Sociocultural aspects==
[[File:Leffler - WomensLib1970 WashingtonDC.jpg|thumb|right|450 px|A [[Second-wave feminism|Women's Liberation]] march in the U.S. Washington, DC, August 1970. March was from Farrugut Square to Lafayette Park.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003673992/ |title=Women's liberation march from Farrugut Square to Layfette (Lafayette Park) |publisher=Loc.gov |access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2016}}]]
[[File:Demonstration, with Gay Liberation Front Banner, c1972 (7374381322).jpg|thumb|right|200 px|A [[Gay Liberation]] march in London, UK, ca. 1972. A Gay Liberation Front banner is visible. Location is believed to be Trafalgar Square.<ref>[http://archives.lse.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=IMAGELIBRARY/1370]</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2016}}]]

Human sexuality can be understood as part of the social life of humans, which is governed by implied rules of behavior and the status quo. This narrows the view to groups within a society.<ref name="Rathus, Spencer A. 2007"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} The socio-cultural context of society, including the effects of politics and the mass media, influences and forms social norms. Throughout history, social norms have been changing and continue to change as a result of movements such as the sexual revolution and the rise of [[feminism]].<ref name=Escoffier2003>{{cite book |editor=Escoffier, Jeffrey |title=Sexual Revolution |publisher=Running Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-56025-525-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781560255253 }}</ref><ref name="Friedan">{{cite news|title=Betty Friedan, Who Ignited Cause in 'Feminine Mystique,' Dies at 85 |url=http://www-nc.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/national/05friedan.html |work=The New York Times |date=5 February 2006 |access-date=12 October 2009}}{{subscription}}</ref>

=== Sex education ===
The age and manner in which children are informed of issues of sexuality is a matter of sex education. The school systems in almost all developed countries have some form of sex education, but the nature of the issues covered varies widely. In some countries, such as Australia and much of Europe, age-appropriate sex education often begins in pre-school, whereas other countries leave sex education to the pre-teenage and teenage years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Think Sex |publisher=TheAge.com.au |access-date=11 October 2009|url=https://www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/think-sex/2006/05/28/1148754861223.html}}</ref> Sex education covers a range of topics, including the physical, mental, and social aspects of sexual behavior. Geographic location also plays a role in society's opinion of the appropriate age for children to learn about sexuality. According to ''TIME'' magazine and CNN,{{full citation needed|date=February 2016}} 74% of teenagers in the United States reported that their major sources of sexual information were their peers and the media, compared to 10% who named their parents or a sex education course.<ref name="ReferenceA" />{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

In the United States, most sex education programs encourage [[Abstinence-only sex education|abstinence]], the choice to restrain oneself from sexual activity. In contrast, [[comprehensive sex education]] aims to encourage students to take charge of their own sexuality and know how to have safe, healthy, and pleasurable sex if and when they choose to do so.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/report_downloads/demystifying-data-handouts_0.pdf|title=A Definition of Comprehensive Sexuality Education|last=Panchaud|first=Christine|date=2016|website=Guttmacher Institute}}</ref>

Proponents for an abstinence-only education believe that teaching a comprehensive curriculum would encourage teenagers to have sex, while proponents for comprehensive sex education argue that many teenagers will have sex regardless and should be equipped with knowledge of how to have sex responsibly. According to data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, many teens who intend to be abstinent fail to do so, and when these teenagers do have sex, many do not use safe sex practices such as contraceptives.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bearman|first=Peter|date=2001|title=Promising the Future: Virginity Pledges and First Intercourse|journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=106|issue=4|pages=859–912|doi=10.1086/320295|s2cid=142684938|url=https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D8ZG73VN/download}}</ref>

===Sexuality in history===
{{Main|History of human sexuality}}
{{one source | section|date=February 2016}}
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[[File:Wien NHM Venus von Willendorf.jpg|thumb|upright|The prehistoric [[Venus of Willendorf]].]]
[[File:Min.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Min (god)|Min]]: the ancient Egyptian god of fertility.]]
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Sexuality has been an important, vital part of human existence throughout history.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite book | author = Stearns, Peter N. | year =  2009| title = Sexuality in World History | isbn = 978-0-415-77777-3 }}{{full citation needed|date=February 2016}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} All civilizations have managed sexuality through sexual standards, representations, and behavior.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

Before the rise of agriculture, groups of hunter-gatherers and nomadic groups inhabited the world. These groups had less restrictive sexual standards that emphasized sexual pleasure and enjoyment, but with definite rules and constraints. Some underlying continuities or key regulatory standards contended with the tension between recognition of pleasure, interest, and the need to procreate for the sake of social order and economic survival. Hunter-gatherers also placed high value on certain types of sexual symbolism.

A common tension in hunter-gatherer societies is expressed in their art, which emphasized male sexuality and prowess, but also blurred gender lines in sexual matters. One example of these male-dominated portrayals is the [[Egyptian creation myth]], in which the sun god [[Atum]] masturbates in the water, creating the [[Nile River]]. In [[Sumerian religion|Sumerian]] myth, the gods' semen filled the [[Tigris]].<ref name="ReferenceC"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

Once agricultural societies emerged, the sexual framework shifted in ways that persisted for many millennia in much of Asia, Africa, Europe, and parts of the Americas. One common characteristic new to these societies was the collective supervision of sexual behavior due to urbanization and the growth of population and population density. Children would commonly witness parents having sex because many families shared the same sleeping quarters. Due to land ownership, determination of children's paternity became important, and society and family life became patriarchal.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}} These changes in sexual ideology were used to control female sexuality and to differentiate standards by gender. With these ideologies, sexual possessiveness and increases in jealousy emerged. 

While retaining the precedents of earlier civilizations, each classical civilization established a somewhat distinctive approach to gender, artistic expression of sexual beauty, and to behaviors such as homosexuality. Some of these distinctions are portrayed in sex manuals, which were also common among civilizations in China, Greece, Rome, Persia, and India; each has its own sexual history.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

Before the [[High Middle Ages]], homosexual acts appear to have been ignored or tolerated by the Christian church.<ref name="psychology.ucdavis.edu">{{cite web|url=http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_mental_health.html |title=Homosexuality and Mental Health |publisher=Psychology.ucdavis.edu |access-date=30 June 2013}}</ref> During the 12th century, hostility toward homosexuality began to spread throughout religious and secular institutions. By the end of the 19th century, it was viewed as a pathology.<ref name="psychology.ucdavis.edu"/>

During the beginning of the [[industrial revolution]] of the 18th and 19th centuries, many changes in sexual standards occurred. New artificial birth control devices such as the [[condom]] and [[diaphragm (contraceptive)|diaphragm]] were introduced. Doctors started claiming a new role in sexual matters, urging that their advice was crucial to sexual morality and health. New pornographic industries grew and Japan adopted its first laws against homosexuality. In Western societies, the definition of homosexuality was constantly changing; Western influence on other cultures became more prevalent. New contacts created serious issues around sexuality and sexual traditions. There were also major shifts in sexual behavior. During this period, puberty began occurring at younger ages, so a new focus on adolescence as a time of sexual confusion and danger emerged. There was a new focus on the purpose of marriage; it was increasing regarded as being for love rather than only for economics and reproduction.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

[[Havelock Ellis]] and Sigmund Freud adopted more accepting stances toward homosexuality; Ellis said homosexuality was inborn and therefore not immoral, not a disease, and that many homosexuals made significant contributions to society.<ref name="psychology.ucdavis.edu"/> Freud wrote that all human beings as capable of becoming either heterosexual or homosexual; neither orientation was assumed to be innate.<ref name="King, B. 2009">{{cite book | author = King, Bruce M. | year = 2009 | title = Human Sexuality Today | edition = 6th | location = Upper Saddle River, NJ| publisher = Pearson Education }}{{full citation needed|date=February 2016}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2016}} According to Freud, a person's orientation depended on the resolution of the Oedipus complex. He said male homosexuality resulted when a young boy had an authoritarian, rejecting mother and turned to his father for love and affection, and later to men in general. He said female homosexuality developed when a girl loved her mother and identified with her father, and became fixated at that stage.<ref name="King, B. 2009"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

[[Alfred Kinsey]] initiated the modern era of sex research. He collected data from questionnaires given to his students at [[Indiana University]], but then switched to personal interviews about sexual behaviors. Kinsey and his colleagues sampled 5,300 men and 5,940 women. He found that most people masturbated, that many engaged in [[oral sex]], that women are capable of having multiple orgasms, and that many men had had some type of homosexual experience in their lifetimes. <ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

Before [[William Masters]], a physician, and [[Virginia E. Johnson|Virginia Johnson]], a [[behavioral scientist]], the study of anatomy and physiological studies of sex was still limited to experiments with laboratory animals. Masters and Johnson started to directly observe and record the physical responses in humans that are engaged in sexual activity under laboratory settings. They observed 10,000 episodes of sexual acts between 312 men and 382 women. This led to methods of treating clinical problems and abnormalities. Masters and Johnson opened the first sex therapy clinic in 1965. In 1970, they described their therapeutic techniques in their book, ''[[Human Sexual Inadequacy]]''.{{full citation needed|date=February 2016}}<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

In the first edition of The [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]], the [[American Psychological Association|American Psychiatric Association]] classified homosexuality as a mental illness, and more specifically, a "sociopathic personality disturbance".<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Drescher|first=Jack|date=4 December 2015|title=Out of DSM: Depathologizing Homosexuality|journal=Behavioral Sciences|volume=5|issue=4|pages=565–575|doi=10.3390/bs5040565|issn=2076-328X|pmc=4695779|pmid=26690228}}</ref> This definition remained the professional understanding of homosexuality until 1973 when the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from their list of diagnoses for mental disorders.<ref name=":1" /> Through her research of heterosexual and homosexual men, [[Evelyn Hooker]] revealed that there was no correlation between homosexuality and psychological maladjustment,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/02/myth-buster|title=The myth buster|work=apa.org|access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref> and her findings played a pivotal role in shifting the scientific community away from the perspective that homosexuality was something that needed to be treated or cured.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

=== Sexuality, colonialism, and race ===
European conquerors/colonists found sexuality out of their norm about 1516 when [[Vasco Núñez de Balboa]], a Spanish explorer, discovered indigenous people in Central America with different sexual practices. Balboa found some indigenous men {{clarify|text=dressed up as women,|reason=It is unclear whether this means dressed in what the indigenes considered female attire or means dressed in what Balboa considered female attire.|date=April 2020}} resulting in him feeding forty of these men to his dogs for having different sexual practices. In North America and the United States, Europeans have used claims of sexual immorality to justify discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dictionary of American History|last=Turner|first=William B.|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|year=2003|location=New York, NY|pages=328–333}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=January 2020}}

Scholars also study the ways in which [[colonialism]] has affected sexuality today and argue that due to [[racism]] and [[slavery in the United States|slavery]] it has been dramatically changed from the way it had previously been understood.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3KBFhDytERkC|title=Women of Color and Feminism|last1=Rojas|first1=Maythee|date=2009|publisher=Seal Press|isbn=978-1-58005-272-6|edition=1st|ref=https://books.google.com/books?id=3KBFhDytERkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>

In her book, ''Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Gender, Race, and Morality in Colonial Asia'', Laura Stoler investigates how the Dutch used sexual control and gender-specific sexual sanctions to distinguish between the rulers from the ruled and enforce colonial domination onto the people of Indonesia.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Gender, Race, and Morality in Colonial Asia|last=Stoler|first=Ann|publisher=University of California Press|year=2002}}</ref>

In America, there are 155 native tribes that are recorded to have embraced [[two-spirit]] people within their tribes, but the total number of tribes could be greater than what is documented.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America|last=Roscoe|first=Will|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=1998}}</ref>  Two-spirit people were and still are members of communities who do not fall under Western gender categories of male and female, but rather under a "third gender" category.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wilson|first=Trista|date=2011|journal=American Indian Law Review|volume=36|issue=1|pages=161–188|issn=0094-002X|jstor=41495705|title=Changed Embraces, Changes Embraced? Renouncing the Heterosexist Majority in Favor of a Return to Traditional Two-Spirit Culture}}</ref> This system of gender contradicts both the gender binary and the assertion that sex and gender are the same.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Becoming Two-Spirit: Gay Identity and Social Acceptance in Indian Country|last=Gilley|first=Brian|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|year=2006}}</ref> Instead of conforming to traditional roles of men and women, two-spirit fill a special niche in their communities.

For example, two-spirited people are commonly revered for possessing special wisdom and spiritual powers.<ref name=":0" /> Two-spirited people also can take part in marriages, either monogamous and polygamous ones.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Living the Spirit: a Gay American Indian Anthology|last=Roscoe|first=Will|publisher=St. Martins Press|year=1988}}</ref> Historically, European colonizers perceived relationships involving two-spirited people as homosexuality, and therefore believed in the moral inferiority of native people.<ref name=":0" /> In reaction, colonizers began to impose their own religious and social norms on indigenous communities, diminishing the role of two-spirit people in native cultures.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jacobi|first=Jeffrey|date=2006|title=Two Spirits, Two Eras, Same Sex: For a Traditionalist Perspective on Native American Tribal Same-Sex Marriage Policy|journal=University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform}}</ref> Within reservations, the Religious Crime Code of the 1880s explicitly aimed to "aggressively attack Native sexual and marriage practices".<ref name=":0" /> The goal of colonizers was for native peoples to assimilate into Euro-American ideals of family, sexuality, gender expression, and more.<ref name=":0" />

The link between constructed sexual meanings and racial ideologies has been studied. According to Joane Nagel, sexual meanings are constructed to maintain racial-ethnic-national boundaries by the denigration of "others" and regulation of sexual behavior within the group. She writes, "both adherence to and deviation from such approved behaviors, define and reinforce racial, ethnic, and nationalist regimes".<ref name=Nagel>{{cite journal |author=Nagel, Joane |date=August 2000 |title=Ethnicity and Sexuality |journal=Annual Review of Sociology |volume=26 |pages=107–133 |doi=10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.107|s2cid=145064276 |url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/ddb5a444cf727ad2f8209449dc14839ad38d025a }}</ref><ref name=Nagel2>{{cite journal|author=Nagel, Joane |year=2001 |title=Racial, Ethnic, and National Boundaries: Sexual Intersections and Symbolic Interactions |journal=Symbolic Interaction |volume=24 | issue = 2  |pages=123–139 |doi=10.1525/si.2001.24.2.123}}</ref> In the United States people of color face the effects of colonialism in different ways with stereotypes such as the Mammy, and Jezebel for Black women; [[Stereotypes of East Asians in the United States|lotus blossom, and dragon lady]] for Asian women; and the "spicy" Latina.<ref name="Mammy Jezebel and Sistahs on Racism.org">{{cite web|last1=Yarbrough|first1=Marilyn|last2=Bennet|first2=Crystal|title=Mammy Jezebel and Sistahs|url=http://racism.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1277:aawomen01a&catid=72&Itemid=215|website=Race, Racism and the Law!|publisher=racism.org|access-date=30 November 2015|ref=http://racism.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1277:aawomen01a&catid=72&Itemid=215}}</ref> These stereotypes contrast with standards of sexual conservatism, creating a dichotomy that dehumanizes and demonizes the stereotyped groups. An example of a stereotype that lies at the intersection of racism, classism, and misogyny is the archetype of the “[[welfare queen]].” Cathy Cohen describes how the "welfare queen" stereotype demonizes poor black single mothers for deviating from conventions surrounding family structure.<ref>{{Citation|chapter=Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens|date=2005|pages=21–51|publisher=Duke University Press|doi=10.1215/9780822387220-003|isbn=9780822336297|title=Black Queer Studies|s2cid=48259239|chapter-url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/dfe95a5259e4f128f476dc444f07ae6e5369753b|last1=Cohen|first1=Cathy J.}}</ref>

===Reproductive and sexual rights===
{{Further|Reproductive health|Reproductive rights}}
[[Reproductive and sexual rights]] encompass the concept of applying [[human rights]] to issues related to reproduction and sexuality.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/gender_rights/sexual_health/en/ |title=WHO &#124; Gender and human rights |publisher=Who.int |date=31 January 2002 |access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref> This concept is a modern one, and remains controversial since it deals, directly and indirectly, with issues such as [[contraception]], [[LGBT rights]], [[abortion]], [[sex education]], freedom to choose a partner, freedom to decide whether to be sexually active or not, right to bodily integrity, freedom to decide whether or not, and when, to have children.<ref>
{{cite journal |last=Stark |first=Barbara |year=2011 |title=The Women's Convention, Reproductive Rights, and the Reproduction of Gender |journal=Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy  |volume=18 |issue=261 |pages=261–304  |publisher=Duke University School of Law |access-date=3 November 2014 |url=http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1189&context=djglp}}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal |author1=Sandfort, Theo G.M. |author2=Ehrhardt, Anke A. |date=June 2004 |title=Sexual Health: A Useful Public Health Paradigm or a Moral Imperative? |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=181–187 |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media B.V. |pmid=15129037 |access-date=3 November 2014 |url=http://mph.ufl.edu/files/2012/01/session4jan22Sandfort2004.pdf |doi=10.1023/b:aseb.0000026618.16408.e0 |s2cid=36553310 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531124301/http://mph.ufl.edu/files/2012/01/session4jan22Sandfort2004.pdf |archive-date=31 May 2014  }}</ref> These are all global issues that exist in all cultures to some extent, but manifest differently depending on the specific contexts.

According to the Swedish government, "sexual rights include the right of all people to decide over their own bodies and sexuality" and "reproductive rights comprise the right of individuals to decide on the number of children they have and the intervals at which they are born."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/06/14/89/712f7e0c.pdf|title=Sweden's international policy on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights|publisher=Sweden Ministry of Foreign Affairs|year=2006|access-date=3 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531105838/http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/06/14/89/712f7e0c.pdf|archive-date=31 May 2014}}</ref> Such rights are not accepted in all cultures, with practices such criminalization of consensual sexual activities (such as those related to homosexual acts and sexual acts outside marriage), acceptance of [[forced marriage]] and [[child marriage]], failure to criminalize all non-consensual sexual encounters (such as [[marital rape]]), [[female genital mutilation]], or restricted availability of contraception, being common around the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/sexual-and-reproductive-rights-under-threat-worldwide-2014-03-06 |title=Sexual and reproductive rights under threat worldwide &#124; Amnesty International |publisher=Amnesty.org |access-date=5 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/women-s-rights/women-s-health-sexual-and-reproductive-rights/my-body-my-rights |title=My Body, My Rights! |publisher=Amnesty International |year=2013 |access-date=3 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407051912/http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/women-s-rights/women-s-health-sexual-and-reproductive-rights/my-body-my-rights |archive-date=7 April 2014 }}</ref>

=== Stigma of contraceptives in the U.S. ===
In 1915, Emma Goldman and Margaret Sanger,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/goldman/MeetEmmaGoldman/birthcontrolpioneer.html|title=Birth Control Pioneer|website=lib.berkeley.edu|access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref> leaders of the birth control movement, began to spread information regarding contraception in opposition to the laws, such as the Comstock Law,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/comstock-law-1873|title=The Comstock Law (1873) {{!}} The Embryo Project Encyclopedia|website=embryo.asu.edu|access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref> that demonized it. One of their main purposes was to assert that the birth control movement was about empowering women with personal reproductive and economic freedom for those who could not afford to parent a child or simply did not want one. Goldman and Sanger saw it necessary to educate people as contraceptives were quickly being stigmatized as a population control tactic due to being a policy limiting births, disregarding that this limitation did not target ecological, political, or large economic conditions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gordon|first=L.|date=1974|title=The politics of population: birth control and the eugenics movement|journal=Radical America|volume=8|issue=4|pages=61–98|issn=0033-7617|pmid=11615086}}</ref> This stigma targeted lower-class women who had the most need of access to contraception.

Birth control finally began to lose stigma in 1936 when the ruling of U.S. v. One Package<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/united-states-v-one-package-japanese-pessaries-1936|title=United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries (1936) {{!}} The Embryo Project Encyclopedia|website=embryo.asu.edu|access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref> declared that prescribing contraception to save a person's life or well-being was no longer illegal under the Comstock Law. Although opinions varied on when birth control should be available to women, by 1938, there were 347 birth control clinics in the United States but advertising their services remained illegal.

The stigma continued to lose credibility as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt publicly showed her support for birth control through the four terms her husband served (1933–1945). However, it was not until 1966 that the Federal Government began to fund family planning and subsidized birth control services for lower-class women and families at the order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. This funding continued after 1970 under the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4847a1.htm|title=Achievements in Public Health, 1900–1999: Family Planning|website=cdc.gov|access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref> Today, all Health Insurance Marketplace plans are required to cover all forms of contraception, including sterilization procedures, as a result of The Affordable Care Act signed by President Barack Obama in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/|title=Affordable Care Act (ACA) – HealthCare.gov Glossary|website=HealthCare.gov|access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref>

=== Stigma and activism during the AIDS epidemic ===
In 1981, doctors diagnosed the first reported cases of [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] in America. The disease disproportionately affected and continues to affect gay and bisexual men, especially black and Latino men.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kff.org/hivaids/fact-sheet/the-hivaids-epidemic-in-the-united-states-the-basics/ |title=The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States: The Basics |website=The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation |access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref> The Reagan administration is criticized for its apathy towards the AIDS epidemic, and audio recordings reveal that Ronald Reagan's press secretary Larry Speakes viewed the epidemic as a joke, mocking AIDS by calling it the "gay plague".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2015/12/1/9828348/ronald-reagan-hiv-aids|title=The Reagan administration's unbelievable response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic|last=Lopez|first=German|date=1 December 2015|website=Vox|access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref> The epidemic also carried stigma coming from religious influences. For example, Cardinal Krol voiced that AIDS was "an act of vengeance against the sin of homosexuality", which clarifies the specific meaning behind the pope's mention of "the moral source of AIDS."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=POIRIER|first=RICHARD|date=1988|title=AIDS and Traditions of Homophobia|journal=Social Research|volume=55|issue=3|pages=461–475|issn=0037-783X|jstor=40970515}}</ref>

[[HIV/AIDS activism|Activism]] during the AIDS crisis focused on promoting safe sex practices to raise awareness that the disease could be prevented. The "Safe Sex is Hot Sex" campaign, for example, aimed to promote the use of condoms.<ref name="Geiling">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-confusing-and-at-times-counterproductive-1980s-response-to-the-aids-epidemic-180948611/|title=The Confusing and At-Times Counterproductive 1980s Response to the AIDS Epidemic|last=Geiling|first=Natasha|website=Smithsonian|access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref> Campaigns by the U.S. government, however, diverged from advocacy of safe sex. In 1987, Congress even denied federal funding from awareness campaigns that "[promoted] or [encouraged], directly or indirectly, homosexual activities".<ref name="Geiling"/> Instead, campaigns by the government primarily relied on scare tactics in order to instill fear in men who had sex with other men.<ref name="Geiling"/>

In addition to prevention campaigns, activists also sought to counteract narratives that led to the "social death" for people living with AIDS.<ref name="Wright 1788–1798">{{Cite journal|last=Wright|first=Joe|date=15 August 2013|title=Only Your Calamity: The Beginnings of Activism by and for People With AIDS|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=103|issue=10|pages=1788–1798|doi=10.2105/AJPH.2013.301381|issn=0090-0036|pmc=3780739|pmid=23948013}}</ref> [[Gay men]] from San Francisco and New York City created the Denver Principles, a foundational document that demanded the rights, agency, and dignity of people living with AIDS.<ref name="Wright 1788–1798"/>

In his article "Emergence of Gay Identity and Gay Social Movements in Developing Countries", Matthew Roberts discusses how international AIDS prevention campaigns created opportunities for gay men to interact with other openly gay men from other countries.<ref name="Roberts 243–264">{{Cite journal|last=Roberts|first=Matthew W.|date=April 1995|title=Emergence of Gay Identity and Gay Social Movements in Developing Countries: The AIDS Crisis as Catalyst|journal=Alternatives: Global, Local, Political|volume=20|issue=2|pages=243–264|doi=10.1177/030437549502000205|s2cid=140772471|issn=0304-3754}}</ref> These interactions allowed western gay "culture" to be introduced to gay men in countries where homosexuality wasn't an important identifier. Thus, group organizers self-identified as gay more and more, creating the basis for further development of gay consciousness in different countries.<ref name="Roberts 243–264"/>

==Sexual behavior==
===General activities and health===
{{Main|Human sexual activity}}
{{See also|Sexual intercourse#Health effects|Sexually active life expectancy}}

In humans, sexual intercourse and sexual activity {{citation needed|date=December 2020}} in general have been shown to have health benefits, such as an improved sense of smell,{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} reduction in [[Stress (biology)|stress]] and blood pressure,<ref name="webmd.com">Doheny, K. (2008) [http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-sex "10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex,"] [[WebMD]] (reviewed by Chang, L., M.D.)</ref><ref>Light, K.C. et al., "More frequent partner hugs and higher oxytocin levels are linked to lower blood pressure and heart rate in premenopausal women." ''Biological Psychology'', April 2005; vol 69: pp 5–21.</ref> increased [[immune system|immunity]],<ref>Charnetski CJ, Brennan FX. Sexual frequency and salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA). ''Psychological Reports'' 2004 Jun;94(3 Pt 1):839–844. Data on length of relationship and sexual satisfaction were not related to the group differences.</ref> and decreased risk of [[prostate cancer]].<ref>Michael F. Leitzmann; Edward Giovannucci. Frequency of Ejaculation and Risk of Prostate Cancer – Reply. ''JAMA''. (2004);292:329.</ref><ref>Leitzmann MF, Platz EA, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Giovannucci E. Ejaculation Frequency and Subsequent Risk of Prostate Cancer. ''JAMA''. (2004);291(13):1578–1586.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 12887469 | volume=92 | issue=3 | title=Sexual factors and prostate cancer | date=August 2003 | journal=BJU Int. | pages=211–216 | last1 = Giles | first1 = GG | last2 = Severi | first2 = G | last3 = English | first3 = DR | display-authors = etal  | doi=10.1046/j.1464-410x.2003.04319.x| s2cid=29430415 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Sexual intimacy and orgasms increase levels of oxytocin, which helps people bond and build trust.<ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 19482229 | doi=10.1016/j.pneurobio.2009.04.001 | volume=88 | issue=2 | title=Oxytocin: the great facilitator of life | pmc=2689929 | date=June 2009 | journal=Prog. Neurobiol. | pages=127–151 | last1 = Lee | first1 = HJ | last2 = Macbeth | first2 = AH | last3 = Pagani | first3 = JH | last4 = Young | first4 = WS}}</ref><ref>Riley AJ. Oxytocin and coitus. ''Sexual and Relationship Therapy'' (1988);3:29–36</ref><ref>Carter CS. Oxytocin and sexual behavior. ''Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews'' (1992);16(2):131–144</ref>

A long-term study of 3,500 people between ages 30 and 101 by clinical neuropsychologist David Weeks, MD, head of old-age psychology at the [[Royal Edinburgh Hospital]] in Scotland, said he found that "sex helps you look between four and seven years younger", according to impartial ratings of the subjects' photographs. Exclusive causation, however, is unclear, and the benefits may be indirectly related to sex and directly related to significant reductions in stress, greater contentment, and better sleep that sex promotes.<ref>{{cite web|last=Blum|first=Jeffrey |title=Can Good Sex Keep You Young?|url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51501|website=WebMD|access-date=8 October 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Weeks|first=David|title=Secrets of the Superyoung|year=1999|publisher=Berkley|isbn=978-0-425-17258-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780425172582/page/277 277]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780425172582/page/277}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Northrup|first=Christiane|title=Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing|year=2010|publisher=Bantam|isbn=978-0-553-80793-6|page=960|url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=V9S3keMnie8C |page=232 }} }}</ref>

Sexual intercourse can also be a [[vector (epidemiology)|disease vector]].<ref>"[http://www.4parents.gov/sexrisky/stds/common_std/common_std.html Common Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625104729/http://www.4parents.gov/sexrisky/stds/common_std/common_std.html |date=25 June 2011 }}". U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.</ref> There are 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) every year in the U.S.,<ref name="CDC">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats08/surv2008-Complete.pdf Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance], 2008. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; November 2009.[https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats08/2008survFactSheet.PDF Fact Sheet]</ref> and worldwide there are over 340 million STD infections each year.<ref name="who">World Health Organization Fact Sheet on Sexually Transmitted Diseases. {{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs110/en/print.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=24 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709030847/http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs110/en/print.html |archive-date=9 July 2012  }} Accessed 27 May 2010</ref> More than half of these occur in adolescents and young adults aged 15–24 years.<ref>Weinstock H, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000. ''Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health'' (2004);36(1):6–10.</ref> At least one in four U.S. teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease.<ref name="CDC"/><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/science/12std.html?_r=1 Sex Infections Found in Quarter of Teenage Girls]. [[The New York Times]]. 12 March 2008.</ref> In the U.S., about 30% of 15- to 17-year-olds have had sexual intercourse, but only about 80% of 15- to 19-year-olds report using condoms for their first sexual intercourse.<ref>CDC. Sexual and Reproductive Health of Persons Aged 10–24 Years – United States, 2002–2007. MMWR 20009; 58 (No. SS-6):1–59 [https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5806.pdf]</ref> In one study, more than 75% of young women age 18–25 years felt they were at low risk of acquiring an STD.<ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 12855216 | volume=37 | issue=2 | title=Factors associated with condom use among at-risk women students and nonstudents seen in managed care | date=August 2003 | journal=Prev Med | pages=163–170 | last1 = Yarnall | first1 = KS | last2 = McBride | first2 = CM | last3 = Lyna | first3 = P | display-authors = etal  | doi=10.1016/s0091-7435(03)00109-9}}</ref>

===Creating a relationship===
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2015}}
[[File:Eugen de Blaas The Flirtation.jpg|thumb|right|''The Flirtation'', [[Eugene de Blaas]], 1904.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artist.php?artistid=326 |title=Art Renewal Center Museum™ Artist Information for Eugene de Blaas |publisher=Artrenewal.org |access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref>]]
People both consciously and subconsciously seek to attract others with whom they can form deep relationships. This may be for companionship, procreation, or an intimate relationship. This involves interactive processes whereby people find and attract potential partners and maintain a relationship. These processes, which involve attracting one or more partners and maintaining sexual interest, can include:
* [[Flirting]], the attraction of the sexual attention of another to encourage romance or sexual relations. It can involve [[body language]], conversation, joking, or brief physical contact.<ref>[http://www.sirc.org/publik/flirt.html SIRC Guide to Flirting. What Social Science can tell you about flirting and how to do it.] Retrieved 13 October 2009.</ref> Flirting is a socially accepted way of attracting someone. There are different types of flirting, and most people usually have one way of flirting that makes them most comfortable. When flirting, people can be polite, playful, physical, etc. Sometimes it is difficult to know whether or not the person is interested.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.ku.edu/2013/09/11/new-book-outlines-five-types-flirting-styles |title= New book outlines five types of flirting styles |last=Schmidt |first=Megan | publisher=KU News Service |date=9 November 2013 |website=University of Kansas |access-date=7 December 2015}}</ref> Flirting styles vary according to culture. Different cultures have different social etiquette. For example, length of eye contact, or how closely one stands by someone.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,419712,00.html |title=Scoring a German: Flirting with Fräuleins, Hunting for Herren |publisher=Spiegel.de |access-date=7 December 2015}}</ref>
* [[Seduction]], the process whereby one person deliberately entices another to engage in sexual behavior.<ref>{{cite book | author=Greene, Robert | author-link=Robert Greene (author) | title=The Art of Seduction | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-14-200119-6 | url=https://archive.org/details/artofseduction00robe_0 }}</ref> This behavior is one that the person you are seducing would not usually do, unless sexually aroused. Seduction can be seen as both a positive and a negative. Since the word seduction has a Latin meaning, which is "to lead astray" it can be viewed negatively.<ref>Buss, D. (1996) ''The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating''.</ref>

===Sexual attraction===
{{Main|Sexual attraction}}
Sexual attraction is [[Attractiveness|attraction]] on the basis of [[sexual desire]] or the quality of arousing such interest.<ref name="Sexual attraction">{{cite web|title=Sexual attraction|publisher=[[TheFreeDictionary.com]]|access-date=16 December 2011|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sexual+attraction|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331224102/http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sexual+attraction|archive-date=31 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Sexual attraction2">{{cite web|title=Sexual attraction| publisher=Reference.com|access-date=16 December 2011|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sexual+attraction}}</ref> Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract the sexual or [[erotic]] interest of another person, and is a factor in [[sexual selection]] or [[mate choice]].  The attraction can be to the [[physical attraction|physical]] or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context in which they appear. The attraction may be to a person's [[aesthetics]] or movements or to their voice or smell, besides other factors. The attraction may be enhanced by a person's adornments, clothing, perfume, [[long hair|hair length]] and [[hair style|style]], and anything else which can attract the sexual interest of another person. It can also be influenced by [[individual]] [[Genetics|genetic]], [[psychological]], or cultural factors, or to other, more amorphous qualities of the person. Sexual attraction is also a response to another person that depends on a combination of the person possessing the traits and also on the criteria of the person who is attracted.

Though attempts have been made to devise objective criteria of sexual attractiveness, and measure it as [[individual capital|one of several bodily forms of]] [[capital asset]] (''see [[erotic capital]]''), a person's sexual attractiveness is to a large extent a subjective measure dependent on another person's interest, perception, and [[sexual orientation]]. For example, a [[Homosexuality|gay or lesbian person]] would typically find a person of the [[Same-sex attraction|same sex]] to be more attractive than one of the other sex. A [[bisexuality|bisexual person]] would find either sex to be attractive.

In addition, there are [[Asexuality|asexual]] people, who usually do not experience sexual attraction for either sex, though they may have romantic attraction (homoromantic, biromantic or heteroromantic). [[Interpersonal attraction]] includes factors such as [[propinquity|physical or psychological similarity]], [[Intimate relationship#Intimacy|familiarity]] or possessing a preponderance of [[Koinophilia#Physical attractiveness|common or familiar features]], [[similarity (psychology)|similarity]], [[Interpersonal compatibility|complementarity]], [[reciprocal liking]], and [[reinforcement]].<ref>Miller, R., Perlman, D., and Brehm, S.S. Intimate Relationships, 4th Edition, McGrawHill Companies.{{page needed|date=December 2012}}</ref>

The ability of a person's physical and other qualities to create a sexual interest in others is the basis of their use in [[sex in advertising|advertising]], [[music video]], [[pornography]], [[Sex in film|film]], and other visual media, as well as in [[Model (person)|modeling]], [[sex work]] and other occupations.

===Legal issues===

{{Main|Family law |Divorce |Marriage |Human sexual activity#Legal issues|Sex and the law}}
Globally, laws regulate human sexuality in several ways, including criminalizing particular sexual behaviors, granting individuals the privacy or [[autonomy]] to make their own sexual decisions, protecting individuals with regard to equality and non-discrimination, recognizing and protecting other individual rights, as well as legislating matters regarding marriage and the family, and creating laws protecting individuals from violence, harassment, and persecution.<ref name=SexualityLaw1>{{cite web | last1 = Mills |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Haste |first2=Polly |last3=Wood |first3=Stephen | date = 17 June 2016 | title = 1. Issues and Debates; How is sexuality regulated in law? | work = Sexuality and Social Justice: A Toolkit | location = Brighton, UK | publisher = Institute of Development Studies, Sexuality, Poverty and Law Programme | url = http://www.spl.ids.ac.uk/sexuality-and-social-justice-toolkit/1-issues-and-debates/how-sexuality-regulated-law  | access-date =  17 June 2016 }}</ref>

In the United States, there are two fundamentally different approaches, applied in different states, regarding the way the law is used to attempt to govern a person's sexuality.  The "black letter" approach to law focuses on the study of pre-existing legal precedent, and attempts to offer a clear framework of rules within which lawyers and others can work.<ref name=SexualityLaw1/> In contrast, the socio-legal approach focuses more broadly on the relationship between the law and society, and offers a more contextualized view of the relationship between legal and social change.<ref name=SexualityLaw1/>

Issues regarding human sexuality and human sexual orientation have come to the forefront in Western law in the latter half of the twentieth century, as part of the [[gay liberation]] movement's encouragement of [[LGBT]] individuals to "[[come out of the closet]]" and engaging with the legal system, primarily through courts. Therefore, many issues regarding human sexuality and the law are found in the opinions of the courts.<ref name=Minnesota1>{{cite web|title=Researching Legal Issues of Sexual Orientation|url=https://library.law.umn.edu/researchguides/sexual-orientation.html|website=library.law.umn.edu|publisher=University of Minnesota|access-date=3 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705012329/https://library.law.umn.edu/researchguides/sexual-orientation.html|archive-date=5 July 2015}}</ref>

====Sexual privacy====
{{See also|Sexual and reproductive health and rights}}
While the issue of privacy has been useful to sexual rights claims, some scholars have criticized its usefulness, saying that this perspective is too narrow and restrictive. The law is often slow to intervene in certain forms of coercive behavior that can limit individuals' control over their own sexuality (such as [[female genital mutilation]], [[forced marriages]] or lack of access to reproductive health care). Many of these injustices are often perpetuated wholly or in part by private individuals rather than state agents, and as a result, there is an ongoing debate about the extent of state responsibility to prevent harmful practices and to investigate such practices when they do occur.<ref name=SexualityLaw1 />

State intervention with regards to sexuality also occurs, and is considered acceptable by some, in certain instances (e.g. same-sex sexual activity or [[prostitution]]).<ref name=SexualityLaw1 />

The legal systems surrounding [[prostitution]] are a topic of debate. Proponents for criminalization argue that sex work is an immoral practice that should not be tolerated, while proponents for decriminalization point out how criminalization does more harm than good. Within the feminist movement, there is also a debate over whether sex work is inherently objectifying and exploitative or whether sex workers have the agency to sell sex as a service.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/columnists/kate-heartfield-do-prostitutes-sell-themselves-or-a-service-1.877652|title=Kate Heartfield: Do prostitutes sell themselves or a service?|last=Heartfield|first=Kate|website=Times Colonist|access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref>

When sex work is criminalized, sex workers do not have support from law enforcement when they fall victim to violence. In a 2003 survey of street-based sex workers in NYC, 80% said they had been threatened with or experienced violence, and many said the police were no help. 27% said they had experienced violence from police officers themselves.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sexworkersproject.org/downloads/RevolvingDoor.pdf|title=Revolving Door|last=Thukral|first=Juhu|date=2003|website=Sex Workers Project|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040103043554/http://sexworkersproject.org/downloads/RevolvingDoor.pdf|archive-date=2004-01-03}}</ref> Different identities such as being black, transgender, or poor can result in a person being more likely to be criminally profiled by the police. For example, in New York, there is a law against "loitering for the purpose of engaging in prostitution", which has been nicknamed the "walking while trans" law because of how often transgender women are assumed to be sex workers and arrested for simply walking out in public.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2019/8/2/20692327/sex-work-decriminalization-prostitution-new-york-dc|title=Sex workers' fight for decriminalization, explained|last=North|first=Anna|date=2 August 2019|website=Vox|access-date=30 October 2019}}</ref>

==Religious sexual morality==
{{Main|Religion and sexuality}}
In some religions, sexual behavior is regarded as primarily spiritual. In others it is treated as primarily physical. Some hold that sexual behavior is only spiritual within certain kinds of relationships, when used for specific purposes, or when incorporated into religious ritual. In some religions there are no distinctions between the physical and the spiritual, whereas some religions view human sexuality as a way of completing the gap that exists between the spiritual and the physical.<ref>{{cite web|title=Religion and Sexuality|url=http://www.iwgonline.org/sexuality/|publisher=Interfaith Working Group|access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref>

Many religious conservatives, especially those of [[Abrahamic religions]] and [[Christianity]] in particular, tend to view sexuality in terms of behavior (''i.e.'' homosexuality or heterosexuality is what someone does) and certain sexualities such as [[bisexuality]] tend to be ignored as a result of this.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} These conservatives tend to promote [[celibacy]] for gay people, and may also tend to believe that sexuality can be changed through [[conversion therapy]]<ref name=Tolerance111>{{cite web | title= Two Definitions and Six Interpretations | url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom6beli.htm | website=religioustolerance.org | access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref> or [[prayer]] to become an [[ex-gay]]. They may also see homosexuality as a form of mental illness, something that ought to be criminalised, an immoral abomination, caused by ineffective parenting, and view [[same-sex marriage]] as a threat to society.<ref name=Tolerance222>{{cite web|title=Subdividing Two Extreme Belief Systems About Homosexuality into Six Discrete Viewpoints | url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom7beli.htm|website=religioustolerance.org | access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref>

On the other hand, most religious liberals define sexuality-related labels in terms of [[sexual attraction]] and self-identification.<ref name=Tolerance111 /> They may also view same-sex activity as morally neutral and as legally acceptable as opposite-sex activity, unrelated to mental illness, genetically or environmentally caused (but not as the result of bad parenting), and fixed. They also tend to be more in favor of same-sex marriage.<ref name=Tolerance222 />

===Judaism===
According to [[Judaism]], sex between man and woman within marriage is sacred and should be enjoyed; celibacy is considered sinful.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>{{page needed|date=February 2016}}

=== Christianity ===
Desire, including sexual desire and lust, are considered immoral and sinful.<ref name="Knust2005">{{cite book|author=Jennifer Wright Knust|title=Abandoned to Lust: Sexual Slander and Ancient Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2AUEAmdWwuUC&pg=PA1|date=9 November 2005|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-51004-2|pages=51, 67, 78}}</ref><ref name="Pagels2011">{{cite book|author=Elaine Pagels|title=Adam, Eve, and the Serpent: Sex and Politics in Early Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=btufm2vXzpEC&pg=PR17|date=5 October 2011|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-80735-9|pages=xvii-xix}}</ref><ref name="Wiesner-Hanks2000">{{cite book|last=Wiesner-Hanks|first=Merry E.|title=Christianity and Sexuality in the Early Modern World: Regulating Desire, Reforming Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4v1zuZF-te0C&pg=PA1|year=2000|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-14434-6|page=10}}</ref> [[Elaine Pagels]] says, "By the beginning of the fifth century, [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] had actually declared that spontaneous sexual desire is the proof of—and penalty for—universal original sin", though that this view goes against "most of his Christian predecessors".<ref name="Pagels2011" /> According to [[Jennifer Wright Knust]], [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] framed desire a force Christians gained control over whereas non-Christians were "enslaved" by it.<ref name="Knust2005" /> Further, Paul says the bodies of Christians were members of [[Body of Christ|Christ's body]] and thus sexual desire must be eschewed.<ref name="Knust2005" />

====Roman Catholic Church====
The [[Roman Catholic Church]] teaches that sexuality is "noble and worthy"<ref>Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today, no. 49: AAS 58 (1966), 1070</ref> but that it must be used in accordance with natural law. For this reason, all sexual activity must occur in the context of a marriage between a man and a woman, and must not be divorced from the possibility of conception. Most forms of sex without the possibility of conception are considered intrinsically disordered and sinful, such as the use of contraceptives, [[masturbation]], and homosexual acts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Sixth Commandment|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a6.htm|website=vatican.va|access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref>

====Anglicanism====
The [[Anglicanism|Anglican Church]] teaches that human sexuality is a gift from a loving God designed to be between a man and a woman in a monogamous lifetime union of marriage. It also views singleness and dedicated celibacy as Christ-like. It states that people with same sex attraction are loved by God and are welcomed as full members of the [[Body of Christ]], while the Church leadership has a variety of views in regard to homosexual expression and ordination. Some expressions of sexuality are considered sinful including "promiscuity, prostitution, incest, pornography, paedophilia, predatory sexual behaviour, and sadomasochism (all of which may be heterosexual and homosexual), adultery, violence against wives, and female circumcision". The Church is concerned with pressures on young people to engage sexually and encourages abstinence.<ref>{{cite web|title=Section I.10 - Human Sexuality|url=https://www.anglicancommunion.org/resources/document-library/lambeth-conference/1998/section-i-called-to-full-humanity/section-i10-human-sexuality|website=anglicancommunion.org|access-date=4 January 2020}}</ref>

====Evangelicalism====
In matters of sexuality, several [[Evangelical]] churches promote the [[virginity pledge]] among young Evangelical Christians, who are invited to commit themselves during a public ceremony to [[sexual abstinence]] until [[Christian marriage]].<ref>John DeLamater, Rebecca F. Plante, ''Handbook of the Sociology of Sexualities'', Springer, USA, 2015, p. 351</ref> This pledge is often symbolized by a [[purity ring]].<ref>Kathleen J. Fitzgerald, Kandice L. Grossman, ''Sociology of Sexualities'', SAGE Publications, USA, 2017, p. 166</ref>

In evangelical churches, young adults and unmarried couples are encouraged to marry early in order to live a sexuality according to the will of God.<ref>Noah Manskar, [https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2014/08/12/southern-baptists-double-marriage/13894197/ Baptists encourage marrying younger], tennessean.com, USA, August 12, 2014</ref>

Although some churches are discreet on the subject, other evangelical churches in [[United States]] and [[Switzerland]] speak of a satisfying sexuality as a gift from God and a component of a harmonious [[Christian marriage]], in messages during [[Worship service (evangelicalism)|worship services]] or conferences.<ref>Timothy J. Demy Ph.D., Paul R. Shockley Ph.D., ''Evangelical America: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Religious Culture'', ABC-CLIO, USA, 2017, p. 371</ref><ref>Emma Green, [https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/11/the-warrior-wives-of-evangelical-christianity/382365/ The Warrior Wives of Evangelical Christianity], theatlantic.com, USA, November 9, 2014</ref> Many evangelical books and websites are specialized on the subject.<ref>Kelsy Burke, ''Christians Under Covers: Evangelicals and Sexual Pleasure on the Internet'', University of California Press, USA, 2016, p. 31, 66</ref>

The [[Christianity and homosexuality#Evangelical churches|perceptions of homosexuality in the Evangelical Churches]] are varied. They range from [[Liberal Christianity|liberal]] through [[Moderate evangelical theology|moderate]] to [[Christian fundamentalism|conservative]].<ref>Jeffrey S. Siker, ''Homosexuality and Religion: An Encyclopedia'', Greenwood Publishing Group, USA, 2007, p. 112</ref><ref>William Henard, Adam Greenway, ''Evangelicals Engaging Emergent'', B&H Publishing Group, USA, 2009, p. 20</ref>

==== Eastern Orthodox Church ====
{{Empty section|date=March 2021}}

===Islam===
{{Main|Sex in Islam}}
In [[Islam]], sexual desire is considered to be a natural urge that should not be suppressed, although the concept of free sex is not accepted; these urges should be fulfilled responsibly. Marriage is considered to be a good deed; it does not hinder spiritual wayfaring. The term used for marriage within the [[Quran]] is ''nikah''{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}, which literally means sexual intercourse. Although Islamic sexuality is restrained via [[Islamic sexual jurisprudence]], it emphasizes sexual pleasure within marriage. It is acceptable for a man to have more than one wife, but he must take care of those wives physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and spiritually.<ref>{{cite book | author = Stearns, Peter N. | title = Major Patterns of Change and Continuity: World History in Brief }}{{full citation needed|date=February 2016}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2016}} Muslims believe that sexual intercourse is an act of worship that fulfils emotional and physical needs, and that producing children is one way in which humans can contribute to God's creation, and Islam discourages celibacy once an individual is married.

However, homosexuality is strictly forbidden in Islam, and some Muslim lawyers have suggested that gay people should be put to death.<ref>{{cite web|title=Islam: beliefs about love and sex|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/relationships/isloveandsexrev1.shtml|publisher=GCSE BBC Bitesize|access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref> On the other hand, some have argued that Islam has an open and playful approach to sex<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/sex/10031095/Sex-What-Muslim-women-really-want-in-the-bedroom.html], Article titled "Sex: What Muslim women really want in the bedroom", by Shelina Janmohamed, ''The Telegraph'', 2 May 2013, accessed on 23 September 2015.</ref> so long as it is within marriage, free of lewdness, fornication and adultery.

For many Muslims, sex with reference to the Quran indicates that—bar anal intercourse and adultery—a Muslim marital home bonded by ''[[Nikah]]'' marital contract between husband and his wife (or wives) should enjoy and even indulge, within the privacy of their marital home, in limitless scope of [[heterosexual]] sexual acts within a [[monogamous]] or [[polygamous]] marriage.<ref>[https://lifeinsideislam.wordpress.com/2015/10/22/sex-in-reference-to-the-quran/ Sex in reference to Quran] by A Taha, Accessed on 22 October 2015{{unreliable source?|date=October 2015}}</ref>

===Hinduism===
[[Hinduism]] emphasizes that sex is only appropriate between husband and wife, in which satisfying sexual urges through sexual pleasure is an important duty of marriage. Any sex before marriage is considered to interfere with intellectual development, especially between birth and the age of 25, which is said to be brahmacharya and this should be avoided. [[Kama]] (sensual pleasures) is one of the four purusharthas or aims of life (dharma, artha, kama, and moksha).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/relationships/hiloveandsexrev1.shtml |title=GCSE Bitesize: Hindu views |publisher=BBC |access-date=30 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131225017/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/relationships/hiloveandsexrev1.shtml |archive-date=31 January 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Hindu ''[[Kama Sutra]]'' deals partially with sexual intercourse; it is not exclusively a sexual or religious work.<ref>[http://indrasinha.com/kama-sutra/ Common misconceptions about ''Kama Sutra''.] "The ''Kama Sutra'' is neither exclusively a sex manual nor, as also commonly used art, a sacred or religious work. It is certainly not a [[Tantra|tantric]] text.

In opening with a discussion of the three aims of ancient Hindu life—[[dharma]], [[artha]] and [[kama]]—[[Vātsyāyana|Vatsyayana's]] purpose is to set kama, or enjoyment of the senses, in context. Thus dharma or virtuous living is the highest aim, artha, the amassing of wealth is next, and kama is the least of three." —[[Indra Sinha]].</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last = Carroll| first = Janell| title = Sexuality Now: Embracing Diversity| publisher = [[Cengage Learning]]| year = 2009| page = 7| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5f8mQx7ULs4C&pg=PA7| isbn = 978-0-495-60274-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last = Devi| first = Chandi| title = From Om to Orgasm: The Tantra Primer for Living in Bliss| publisher = [[AuthorHouse]]| year = 2008| page = 288| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gIqhh84DGToC&pg=PA288| isbn = 978-1-4343-4960-6}}</ref>

===Sikhism===
[[Sikhism]] views [[chastity]] as important, as Sikhs believe that the divine spark of ''[[Waheguru]]'' is present inside every individual's body, therefore it is important for one to keep clean and pure. Sexual activity is limited to married couples, and extramarital sex is forbidden. Marriage is seen as a commitment to ''Waheguru'' and should be viewed as part of spiritual companionship, rather than just sexual intercourse, and [[monogamy]] is deeply emphasised in Sikhism. Any other way of living is discouraged, including celibacy and homosexuality. However, in comparison to other religions, the issue of sexuality in Sikhism is not considered one of paramount importance.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sikhism: beliefs about love and sex|url=https://ahcaf.com/sikhism-beliefs-about-love-and-sex/|publisher=GCSE BBC Bitesize|access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Human sexuality}}
{{collist|colwidth=30em|
* [[Adolescent sexuality]]
* [[Age of consent]]
* [[Antisexualism]]
* [[Gay sexual practices]]
* [[Human female sexuality]]
* [[Human male sexuality]]
* [[Human mating strategies]]
* [[Strategic pluralism]]
* [[Lesbian sexual practices]]
* [[Neuroscience and sexual orientation]]
* [[Sex magic]]
* [[Sexology]]
* [[Sex-positive movement]]
* [[Sex-positive feminism]]
* [[Sexualization]]
* [[Sociosexual orientation]]
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last = Durham | first = Meenakshi G. | title = TechnoSex: technologies of the body, mediated corporealities, and the quest for the sexual self | publisher = University of Michigan Press | location = Ann Arbor | year = 2012 | url = http://clas.uiowa.edu/gwss/news-events/durham-and-waters-freyer-awarded-ahi-grants-2012-13 | author-link1 = Meenakshi Gigi Durham  }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Ember |first1=Carol R. |last2=Escobar |first2=Milagro |last3=Rossen |first3=Noah |editor=C. R. Ember |editor-link=Carol_R._Ember |author-link1=Carol R. Ember |title=Sexuality |url=http://hraf.yale.edu/ehc/summaries/sexuality |website=HRAF: Explaining Human Culture |access-date=28 May 2020 |language=en |date=26 September 2019 |quote=Sexual reproduction is part of the biological nature of humans, so it may be surprising how much sexuality varies cross-culturally. Indeed, societies vary considerably in the degree to which they encourage, discourage, or even appear to fear heterosexual sex at different life stages and in varying circumstances.}}
* Gregersen, E. (1982). ''Sexual Practices: The Story of Human Sexuality''. New York: F. Watts.
* Lyons, Andrew P. & Harriet D., eds. ''Sexualities in Anthropology: a reader''. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011 {{ISBN|1-4051-9054-X}}
* Richardson, Niall; Smith, Clarissa & Werndly, Angela (2013) ''Studying Sexualities: Theories, Representations, Cultures''. London: Palgrave Macmillan
* [[Alan Soble|Soble, Alan]] (ed.). ''Sex from Plato to Paglia'': A Philosophical Encyclopedia, 2 volumes. Greenwood Press, 2006.
* {{cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = H. Sex | year = 2003 | title = "Sex Cells." (news report) | journal = Nature Reviews Neuroscience | volume = 4 | page = 88 | doi = 10.1038/nrn1044 | s2cid = 35928534 | doi-access = free }} Lay summary of primary source appearing from the University of Calgary, in ''Science,'' on prolactin release during sexual activity in mice, and its possible relationship to stroke therapy.

== External links ==
* "[http://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1123&context=childrenatrisk Examining the Relationship Between Media Use and Aggression, Sexuality, and Body Image]," Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 3.
* [http://www.sexology.it/glossary-of-sexology.html Glossary of clinical sexology – Glossario di sessuologia clinica]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071010100542/http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/index.html International Encyclopedia of Sexuality] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060212144108/http://www2.rz.hu-berlin.de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/IES/BEGIN.HTM full text]
* Janssen, D.F., [https://web.archive.org/web/20060220110820/http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/GESUND/ARCHIV/GUS/INDEXATLAS.HTM ''Growing Up Sexually. Volume I. World Reference Atlas''] [full text]
* Masters, William H., Virginia E. Johnson, and Robert C. Kolodny. ''Crisis: Heterosexual Behavior in the Age of AIDS''. First ed. New York: Grove Press, 1988. ix, 243 p. {{ISBN|0-8021-1049-5}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120205191708/http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/ National Sexuality Resource Center]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160416215051/http://data360.org/pdf/20070416064139.Global%20Sex%20Survey.pdf Durex Global Sex Survey 2005] at [https://web.archive.org/web/20160510100720/http://www.data360.org/index.aspx data360.org]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060213230309/http://db.jhuccp.org/popinform/basic.html POPLINE] is a searchable database of the world's [[reproductive health]] [[literature]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080521085828/http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/ccies/ The Continuum Complete International Encyclopedia of Sexuality at the Kinsey Institute]
* [http://www.sexualityinstitute.org/ The Sexuality and Rights Institute]
* [http://www.asiasrc.org/ The South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality]
* [http://www.educatedearth.net/video.php?id=3940 MRI Video of Human Copulation]
* {{Cite episode|airdate=13 February 2006 |title=Naked Science: What's Sexy? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTfBQtVFhXo |series-no=2 |number=1 |series=Naked Science | series-link=Naked Science |network=National Geographic Channel }}

{{Sex (biology)}}
{{Human sexuality and sexology}}
{{Human sexuality}}
{{Sexual ethics}}
{{Sexual urban legends}}
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[[Category:Human sexuality| ]]