March 2009

LAWS THAT AFFECT OUR SEX LIVES: COMMERCIAL SEX. PROSTITUTION

Prostitution is the performance of sexual acts for pay, including money, drugs, or other rewards. It has occurred throughout history. Women and men in ancient Babylon who worked as “sacred harlots” in the temples were greatly respected. Secular prostitution though has been much more common. Some prostitutes have enjoyed a high social status as courtesans—companions [...]

COMMON SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS: SYPHILIS. TRICHOMONIASIS

Syphilis Untreated, the syphilis (SIFF-i-lis) organism—a spirochete—can remain in the body for life and lead to disfigurement, neurological disorders, or death. The number of reported cases of syphilis in the United States has dropped below 120,000. This may be because of effective antibiotics and increased condom use among American men. Common Symptoms: Syphilis has several [...]

OUR SEXUAL FEELINGS: JEALOUSY. INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA

Jealousy Jealousy is our anxiety about a partner’s love and commitment. It can play an important role in the development of sexual inhibition and conflict. Jealousy does not occur in all cultures. It is most likely where marriage is seen as a way to have guilt-free sex, security, and social recognition. Jealousy mostly occurs in [...]

SOMATIC AND ENDOCRINE CHANGES IN EARLY ADOLESCENCE: THE GROWTH SPURT

The biologic marker of early adolescence is puberty, defined as the developmental phase of physical maturation to full reproductive capacity. It is a time of rapid conspicuous changes in body size and appearance, which are associated with the maturation of internal reproductive structures and based on major alterations of endocrine function. The most visible somatic [...]

ENDOCRINE FUNCTION AND GENDER DIFFERENTIATION: PRENATAL HORMONES

The prenatal hormones affect the sexually dimorphic pathways in the brain during the early months of fetal development, altering the threshold for behavior traits defined as boyish or girlish. The prenatal program does not preordain psychosexual differentiation as masculine or feminine but instead establishes a predisposition for behavior traits that are gender-shared but threshold-dimorphic. The [...]