sexual development in the light of socio-cultural changes.

strauss b.
klinikum der friedrich-schiller-universitat, jena, brd.
this article briefly summarizes central components of theories of sexual
development and outlines that these components depend largely on socio-cultural
factors. a cultural change of human sexuality is reflected by several phenomena
such as the public debate about sexual violence and its consequences, a
diminuation of gender differences and a turn away from monosexuality, tremendous
changes within the world of partner relationships and a mediatization of
sexuality. this mediatization is paralleled by a public sexualization as well as a
de-sexualization of the private sphere together with an increase of a loss of
sexual desire reflecting well-known problems of human sexuality. finally, it has
to be stated that sexuality has experienced a demystification as a consequence of
socio-cultural changes following the sexual liberalization.
pmid: 17177103 [pubmed - as supplied by publisher]

social transformation of sexuality in the past decades. an overview

[article in german]
sigusch v.
institut fur sexualwissenschaft, klinikum der j.w. goethe-universitat frankfurt am
main.
the societies of the western world have witnessed a tremendous cultural and social
transformation of sexuality during the eighties and nineties, a process sigusch
refers to as "the neosexual revolution". up to now, this transformation and
reassessment of sexuality has proceeded rather slowly and quietly. yet both its
real and its symbolic effects may indeed be more consequential that those brought
about in the course of the rapid, noisy sexual revolution of the sixties and
seventies. the neosexual revolution is dismantling the old patterns of sexuality
and reassembling them anew. in the process, dimensions, intimate relationships,
preferences and sexual fragments emerge, many of which had submerged, were unnamed
or simply did not exist before. in general, sexuality has lost much of its
symbolic meaning as a cultural phenomenon. sexuality is no longer the great
metaphor for pleasure and happiness, nor is it so greatly overestimated as it was
during the sexual revolution. it is now widely taken for granted, much like
egotism or motility. whereas sex was once mystified in a positive sense--as
ecstasy and transgression, it has now taken on a negative mystification
characterized by abuse, violence and deadly infection. while the old sexuality was
based primarily upon sexual instinct, orgasm and the heterosexual couple,
neosexualities revolve predominantly around gender difference, thrills, self-
gratification and prosthetic substitution. from the vast number of interrelated
processes from which neosexualities emerge, three phenomena have been selected for
discussion here: the dissociation of the sexual sphere, the dispersion of sexual
fragments and the diversification of sexual relationships. the outcome of the
neosexual revolution could be described as self-disciplined and self-optimized
"self-sex".
pmid: 10758840 [pubmed - indexed for medline]
[the christian ethic and sexuality]
[article in spanish]
hourton j.
pip: the catholic church and the christian faith in general have been accused of a
history of sexual repression and denunciation of the dangers of all expressions of
sexuality as well as of neglecting sex education within religious education. this
work seeks to analyze the apparent conflict between christian ethics and the
experience of modern sexuality, and discusses the response of christian ethics to
the conflict. beginning at the renaissance and for the entire modern epoch, a
moral system that might be called secularized has confronted that of the church;
it has been more liberal, utilitarian, and hedonistic in sexual matters. in the
course of becoming more permissive, human sexuality like so many other aspects of
modern culture has lost most of its sacred character. the sexual sphere in modern
cultural and moral development is 1 of the aspects in which morals and customs are
most distanced from religious influence. despite the great sexual permissiveness
of the mass media and the culture at large, adolescents and youth of today do not
appear to have advanced any closer to a general state of happiness. sexuality
today--despite whatever sex education is available--is still enveloped in the same
ignorance, feat, complexes, and conflicts as ever. the youth of today should have
access to better sex education, they should be liberated from both religious
taboos that impede health sexual adjustment and from the sexual permissiveness
celebrated in much of the mass media. teachers and moralists should engage in a
dialogue in which the problem of sex education is examined in its complexity in
order to identify elements of an improved process that would lead to a true
humanization. an ethics that goes beyond the permissiveness of the present is
needed, but it should not be based on fear of aids, fear of pregnancy, or any
other fears or threats. a positive secular ethics moved by natural motivations and
a christian ethics motivated by faith in the love of god should appear more
frequently and clearly in social commentaries, instead of the usual advice to shed
all inhibitions. human sexuality should be examined in the context of the other
elements of the interior life, including affectivity, liberty, and religiosity.
pmid: 12343308 [pubmed - indexed for medline]

changing patterns of adolescent sexual behavior: consequences for health and

development.
friedman hl.
department of adolescent health, world health organization, geneva, switzerland.
sexuality is a fundamental quality of human life, important for health, happiness,
individual development, and indeed for the preservation of the human race. during
the dynamic period of adolescence in which the passage from childhood to maturity
takes place, sexuality takes on new dimensions; feelings become more intense,
relationships become more complex, and the consequences of sexual behavior are
radically altered. this not only affects the behavior of young people but also of
those who interact with them, their families and peers, and those who work in the
health, education, youth, social welfare, and other sectors. in the contemporary
world the conditions of life for many young people have also changed, and with it
patterns of sexual behavior. in general, earlier puberty, later marriage, a
decline in the family leading to less control and more autonomy, and intense
exposure to sexual stimuli via the mass media and travel across cultural
boundaries have made pre-marital adolescent sexual activity more common. this has
added to traditional problems of early marriage, newer problems of early
pregnancy, childbirth, and induced abortion outside of marriage, sexually
transmitted diseases, and human immunodeficiency syndrome infection leading to
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. but the work of the world health organization
(who), along with many others in the field, strongly suggests that given
appropriate information and services, trust and equity between the sexes, young
people will behave responsibly and well. in this paper some of the findings from
methods developed by who for research, training, advocacy, and evaluation, and
findings in relation to patterns and determinants of sexual and reproductive
health and development will be described, and future directions suggested.
pip: the changing patterns of adolescent sexual behavior and changing conditions
are described for the developing world, as well as reproductive health
methodologies of the who in dealing with these changes. the lessons learned and
future directions are also presented. adolescence is viewed as a dynamic
transition period. there are nonuniform changes in biological, physical, and
social development. sexuality is a fundamental quality of human life, which is
important for health, happiness, individual development, and preservation of the
human race. health in a who definition is not just the absence of disease or
infirmity. it is physical, mental, and social well being. the changes which have
impact on sexuality are 1) the predominance (50%) of the world's population 25
years and predominance living in developing countries (33% or 1.5 billion are
between 10-24 years and 80% are living in developing countries), 2) the plethora
of youth living in unstructured and impoverished living conditions, 3) the
communication explosion across cultural boundaries, and 4) the increase in travel,
tourism, and migration. there are models, pressures, and opportunities for sexual
contact. nuclear families, single-parent families, and no families are replacing
the extended multigenerational families of traditional societies. puberty is
coming earlier. the traditional patterns of marriage are described and contrasted
with western youth with unparalleled freedom to make decisions. the pressures of
early premarital intercourse are reflected in unwanted pregnancies, induced
abortions, sexually transmitted diseases, and aids or hiv infection. unsafe
abortion has the increasing risk of septic abortions, illness, future infertility,
and death. general trends in marriage in developed and developing countries are
provided. the who use multiple approaches: the narrative research approach, which
involves adolescent workshops and role plays that are turned into questionnaires;
the grid approach, which explores interdisciplinary stages of adolescent health;
the counseling skills training workshop which strengthens interpersonal
communication skills; the gatekeeper design, which directs systematic questions to
key policy makers who turn the questions to managers and administrators who do the
same for service providers in order to make appropriate and effective policy
changes the user/system interaction model, which uses youth and service provider
input to determine the suitability of services; and drama, which is used to
measure audience reaction. the involvement of youth in the process is an important
lesson learned, and all who have contact with youth need the same set of
information. dialogue dispels the greatest enemy, fear.
pmid: 1390784 [pubmed - indexed for medline]

the challenge of sexual medicine for women: overcoming cultural and educational
limits and gender biases.
graziottin a.
centre for gynaecology and medical sexology, san raffaele resnati hospital, milan,
italy. graziottin@tin.it
women's sexuality is multifactorial, rooted in biological, psychosexual and
context-related factors, correlated not only to the couple concerned, but also to
family and socio-cultural issues. female sexual identity, sexual function and
sexual relationship interact to give female sexual health its full meaning or, on
the contrary, its problematic profile. women's sexuality is discontinuous
throughout the life cycle and is dependent on personal, current contextual and
relationship variables as well as historical factors. female sexual dysfunctions
(fsd) occur along a continuum from dissatisfaction (with or without significant
distress) to complete dysfunction (with or without significant distress). sexual
problems reported by women are not discrete and often co-occur, co-morbidity being
one of the leading characteristics of female sexual dysfunctions. socio-cultural
factors may modulate the expression and complaining modality, i.e. wording of a
sexual disorder. the meaning of sexual intimacy is to be understood, as it is
indeed a strong modulator of the sexual response and of the quality of
satisfaction the woman experiences, besides being the simple adequacy of the
sexual function. quality of feelings for the partner and the partner's health and
sexual problems may further contribute to fsd. to improve women's sexual health,
physicians should receive a formal training in sexual medicine both in the general
medical training and in the speciality course; should become competent in the
first level medical diagnosis of fsd; have an interdisciplinary approach and
acknowledge the socio-cultural and context-dependent differences in fsd etiology
and wording.
pmid: 12834042 [pubmed - indexed for medline]
related links
biological and psychosocial pathophysiology of female sexual dysfunction during
the menopausal transition.