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After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Introduction to Sex Behaviour 2. Biological Nature of Sex Behaviour 3. Physio-Chemical Basis 4. The Social and Psychological Dimensions 5. Psychological Approaches.
Introduction to Sex Behaviour:
One of the most controversial and complex forms of human behaviour is sex behaviour. This complication arises out of a number of factors because human sex behaviour is so closely involved with all other forms of human behaviour, life itself and perhaps human civilisation itself. It is controversial because of the varying, and sometimes even conflicting attitudes to sex.
On the one hand, it has been the subject of many taboos and restrictions and ruthless punishment. It has always been held as something that should be private, restricted and kept in check. In fact, even talking about sex has been considered as indecent and obscene.
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On the other hand it has also been extolled, forming part of many an ancient ritual and worship and also hailed as the main spring of the noblest of human actions like sacrifice and, also as the main source of inspiration for the greatest artistic creation. Wars have been fought as a result of sexual attraction like the Trojan War, or even the war in our own epic Ramayana.
History it is believed, often changed course because of the factor of sexual attractions towards the opposite sex. For example, in our Indian history king Prithviraj abducted princess Samyuktha, which changed the history of India, by facilitating Muslim invasion. Again sexual purity and honour of women have been held as issues of very high prestige.
In Indian thought, the brahma Chari is enjoined to suppress all thoughts of sex, while at the same time the sexual exploits of Krishna form the subject matter of very high quality literary compositions. Thus, even our gods and goddesses have been made heroes and heroines of “sexual dramas”.
In his great work, Kumarasambhava, Kalidasa devoted a whole section to describe the sexual and amorous activities of Siva and Parvathi. But when it comes to common men and women, sex has been treated as a dangerous material to be very carefully handled.
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Unchecked indulgence in sexual activities has been regarded as sin, unhealthy and immoral. But at the same time, it is the subject matter of a very ancient and scientific treatise on human behaviour, the Kamashastra by Vatsayana, who incidentally was also a saint.
The possibility of reaching very high levels of achievement, intellectual, moral, social and spiritual by exercising control over sex behaviour and diverting the energy towards higher order goals has been exemplified by the lives of many of our ancient ascetics.
Thus, sex behaviour has been so surrounded by social, cultural, religious and even quasi-medical myths, mysteries, prescriptions and proscriptions and ambivalent responses, that it has become very difficult to study sex behaviour in isolation and in a purely objective and scientific manner.
One finds that sex behaviour has been linked with contradictory emotions like fear on the one hand and joy on the other, hope on one side and mistrust on the other. Here, we find not only variations from culture to culture, but within the same culture, there are not only variations, but even contradictions.
It is not only necessary, perhaps obligatory for psychologists to discuss the problems related to sex motivation at length because of its crucial role both in the personal lives of individuals and also social lives and perhaps our social system and human history itself.
Biological Nature of Sex Behaviour:
Sex behaviour is noticed even among the lower organisms and is not characteristic of only human beings. In fact, one can notice several points of similarity between human sex behaviour and animal sex behaviour. The essential and core fact of two adult members of the species, a male and a female coming together in an act of bodily union or sexual intercourse is common to the human organisms and animals.
Similarly certain activities preceding the actual intercourse, occurring at the human level like attention drawing, foreplay, etc., are also found in certain animal species. However, one sees a major difference in that, while at the animal level sexual union or intercourse occurs during certain seasons, there are no seasonal restrictions at the human level.
Secondly while at the human level sexual union and relationship between a particular adult male and female continues and endures over a period of time (perhaps this is a result of social and cultural practice), the same is not the case with animals. There is no enduring and permanent relationship. Animals do not get married or divorced.
Similarly, while the female or the mother at the animal level engages in nurturing behaviour in relation to its offspring’s only for short time, at the human level this is very extended and also extends to other people. In addition, the male also at the human level participates in the nurturing behaviour unlike at the animal level.
This sexual behaviour and relationship at the human level is bound up with parental roles and provides the foundation for the institution of the family. Of course, historically there has been a prolonged controversy whether this feature has always been true of corporate human life.
Some social scientists argue that sex relationship at the human level has always been tied up with the institution of family, while many other social scientists do not agree with this.
Whatever it is, as far as known history goes, sexual union between an adult male and an adult female at the human level has been to a very large extent bound up with the existence of the family as an institution and this serves as a link between individual lives and social lives.
In view of this, it is often held that unlike other biological drives, needs or motives, sex has a double objective, individual satisfaction and social necessity -at least at the conscious level. Though at the level of the lower animals also reproduction is dependent on sexual union, it is argued that the animals are not conscious of the latter function. But perhaps, one should talk to lower animals before arriving at a final judgement on this issue.
In view of this inter-dependence between one’s biological satisfaction and species-related function and also the fact that sex behaviour at the human level is regulated by an elaborate set of norms, rules and regulations, today, there has emerged a new branch of study, known as the “Sociobiology of Sex”. Above all, sex behaviour at the human level involves a considerable amount of verbal and non-verbal communication.
The signals of the eyes, the facial expression, body postures, all form part of the union and not just the mere sex act. Moreover, considerable amount of variations have been noticed among different societies in relation to sex behaviour both among the simpler societies and also the so called advanced societies.
Another point of difference between sex and other biological needs like hunger, thirst, etc., is that while the latter are essential for individual’s survival and being alive, even at the point of birth, sex is not essential for individual’s physical survival at any stage of life and starts expressing itself only at a much later stage, when basic physiological body growth and maturity are almost complete.
Thus it is a “deferred urge” and depends for its expression on the full growth and development of the body systems which normally is achieved around the middle teens, puberty and genital maturity in the males.
Of course, there are individual and group variations with regard to the exact age at which this point is reached, depending on a number of bodily factors or constitutional factors, maturational factors, nutritional factors, climatic factors, etc. Finally unlike the other basic biological motives, hunger, thirst etc., sex behaviour involves expenditure of energy and not replenishing or accumulation of energy; more so in the male than in the female.
Here again, the role of social cultural factors cannot be ignored. Sexual activity leaves one tired and exhausted unlike eating or consuming water. Thus it is tension-releasing rather than energy acquiring. There is first a phase of tension rising followed by tension release.
Physio-Chemical Basis of Sex Behaviour:
While there is a digestive system, and an excretory system, a respiratory system, etc., in our body for dealing with other specific biological needs like the need for food, the need for water, the need for air, etc., there is no separate or exclusive system for sex behaviour. It is true of course, there are certain organs for sex and reproduction, but sex motive as such functions mostly parasitically through organs of the other systems.
In a way, therefore, the sex need or motivation involves the entire body. However, there are certain zones or regions which are specifically sensitive and responsive to sex stimulation known as “Erogenic Zones”. These include the lips, the thighs, the breasts, the tongue and the mouth, the genital organs, the ears, the eyes, etc. Perhaps, any part of the body can become erogenic for any person and in the same person, can vary from time to time.
As such, the whole body, or any part of the body or mind may be involved. Though the final expression is genital intercourse, there are again variations. Some persons indulge in oral-genital union. In fact some persons may even avoid the final act of genital intercourse and stop with other forms of contact.
One may, therefore, see that there are wide forms of variations in the manifestation and expressions of sex needs or urge at the behaviour level. Such variations have been documented by a number of scientific researches such as those carried out by Kinsey, Masters & Johnson and others.
In some cases, even looking at the partner’s genital organ may be the end. As Freud observed sex is “polymorphous”, can involve the entire body, and can be aroused even when there is no actual external activation. At the human level even fantasy or imagination can lead to an arousal or activation.
Sexual activity is based on the secretions of certain hormones by certain glands, the primary glands being the gonads in the male and the ovaries in the female. The gonads secrete certain hormones, which are known as androgens and the principal androgen is testosterone. The female hormones are known as the oestrogens and progesterone, the main one being oestrogen.
When these hormones are secreted, they become part of the circulating blood stream and act on the hypothalamus which is the main brain centre connected with the sex activity. Of course the whole process of regulating the secretion of the hormones by the gonads and the ovaries is ultimately controlled by the secretion of the hormone Luteinizing Hormone (L.H) secreted by the pituitary gland or the master gland.
Here it may be noted while we talk of male hormones and female hormones, both types are present in man and woman. That is why the human being is bisexual or a hermaphrodite. Evidence is available for this in instances of abnormal sex development or behaviour which often one comes across, the male developing female characteristics and the female developing male characteristics.
The secretion of the hormones have two types of effects, known as organisational and activational. The term organisational effects relates to the actual form of sex behaviour, male or female.
These effects or “gender differences” are initiated very early in life and generally remain permanent. Studies oh animals have shown that injection of androgen produces typical male sexual behaviour and so is the case with the injection of female hormones.
On the other hand “activational effects” occur during adult years after puberty or physiological maturity. When this takes place, there is change of behaviour or reproductive physiology. But activational effects are temporary and are not very influential in affecting total sexual behaviour.
There is also evidence that the activational effects are stronger in the female than in the male. There are individual variations in the extent of physiological activation. These variations in turn depend on a number of factors, like constitution, nutrition, etc. Sometimes, particularly during the period of adolescence, early youth, such variations may cause emotional problems and anxiety.
We may thus see that the physiological basis of sex behaviour involves the endocrine gland system, the hypothalamus, and the pituitary. Any defect or irregularity in the functioning of any one of these can result in subnormal arousal or abnormal arousal, leading to both physiological problems as well as emotional and psychological problems.
The Social and Psychological Dimensions of Sex Behaviour:
While we have taken a brief look into the physical and physiological basis of sex motivation and behaviour, the physiological basis probably plays the minimum role in the actual manifestation of sex behaviour and in deciding the mode of sex satisfaction. Social and cultural factors play a much more crucial role.
Sexual practices vary from culture to culture and from individual to individual and even in the same person from time to time, both in frequency and form. Sex behaviour seems to be characterised by what Tolman would call “docility” or susceptibility to external influences and learning experiences. Sex behaviour is influenced by a variety of factors, what one sees, what one hears, what one reads, what one imagines and what one impulsively feels like doing.
Further, it is also influenced by factors like the personality of the individual, worries and frustrations, successes and failures either related to sex or otherwise. Childhood experiences, particularly relations with the parents leave a lasting stamp on one’s adult sex behaviour.
In fact, it is perhaps easier to list the factors which do not have a bearing on one’s sex behaviour than those which influence it. Similarly differences, defects and difficulties in sex behaviour definitely affect a person’s behaviour in general. Almost any object, can assume sexual association and meaning.
It is this very widespread nature of sex motivation and its very generalized nature that makes it impossible to define precisely. Traditionally it used to be defined in terms of its ultimate end state, sex union with a member of the opposite sex. Today it is well known that this is not so simple. There can be sex motivation and sex behaviour, other than and perhaps even without physical sexual union with a member of the other sex.
While one may call these “perverse”, this does not lead us anywhere. The monumental surveys of Kinsey and others have brought to light the wide variations in the forms in which sex motive expresses itself. Attitudes and experiences can also influence sex motivation and behaviour.
Thus where a person whose early and initial sex experiences were shocking, unexpected and traumatic, especially when the persons concerned are relatively uninformed, can experience undue fear and withdrawal from sexual activity. On the other hand, they may also seek highly exaggerated sexual activity.
Over the past few decades social attitudes towards sex behaviour have been changing radically. There is no more the strict taboo, or the expected “privacy”. Sex has become a matter of public exposure and even publicity. The media, particularly, the movies and the television, and the heroines and heros therein have brought about a very peaceful revolution in society’s attitudes towards sex and consequently sex behaviour.
Today petting behaviour is a very common sight on the university campuses and parties. All traditional inhibitions have gone. There is free and uninhibited talk and even involvement in sexual behaviour. Beauty and vital statistics have been equated. There are sex clinics and experts, who advertise, on “how to improve your sexual vitality, how to make your marriage stable”, etc.
Now, there are cultural variations in what is considered sex appeal. There is rural sex appeal, urban sex appeal, elitist sex appeal, and different types of appeals, and the media have certainly contributed to a lot of ‘transparency’ in sex behaviour.
In fact ‘sex’ has almost become a fashion, and a fad and perhaps even an obsession in contemporary society indicating the level of one’s status and modernity. People, who used to be called as prostitutes are today called ‘Commercial Sex Workers’. Perhaps they may be called sex welfare workers in the near future.
Psychological Approaches to Sex Behaviour:
While the medical and biological sciences were rather late to initiate investigations relating to sex behaviour, societies, even most ancient ones, have laid down clear prescriptions and proscriptions about sex behaviour to maintain social customs and in this effort had also linked it up with religious ideas of sin and virtue.
In fact, every society, simple or complex, ancient or modern had evolved its own customs, prescriptions, norms and mores regulating sex behaviour and sex motivation.
Perhaps, underlying all these was a lurking “fear of sex”, and also a sense of guilt and a general perception of sex as an “unavoidable evil pleasure” for the individual and a necessity for the survival and preservation of human species. On the other hand, sexual behaviour has also been held sacred.
That sex motivation and sex behaviour had their psychological foundation, overtones and implications, was a rather late realisation. Some of the pioneers, who ventured to approach sex motivation and sex behaviour from the psychological perspective were Havelock Ellis, who authored the masterpiece “Psychology of Sex” and Kraft Ebbing who authored another monumental volume “Erotica”.
Of course, ancient Indian thoughts in the Kamasastra which belongs to a much earlier period attempted to relate sex behaviour to psychological and personality characteristics.
However, the credit for initiating a very different and almost revolutionary approach to the study and understanding of sex behaviour goes to Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis.
While sociological thinking tended to look upon sex behaviour as an individual act, primarily directed towards achieving individual pleasure and also preservation of the society and tried to understand the variations in relation to social, cultural factors, it was Freud who was primarily concerned with the issues relating to role of sex in the life of an individual in general, and also its implications in shaping social evolution and the nature of civilizations.
Of course, in developing his views Freud was very much influenced by his professional interactions with many others like Charcot, the famous neurologist, Bernheim and Breuer, and many others, but these influences were only at the initial stages and the subsequent development and elaboration of psychoanalytic theory was entirely based on Freud’s experiences, analysis and conceptualization.
It is impossible to deal with Freud’s view on human behaviour, particularly sex behaviour in a very comprehensive and inclusive manner.However, an attempt is made to present the salient aspects of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory.
In this context, one can talk of his theory of the mind, theory of instincts, the theory of sex and psycho-sexual development or theory of libidinal development, a theory of neurosis and finally Freud’s views on society and culture, and their relation to basic instinctual drives.