Arrington Psychology of Human Sexuality. 210 Ch. 11: Adult Sexual Behaviors and Attitudes- What is normal? o What determines normality depends on historical time and the cultural or social context in which a person liveso When people use the term normal they are generally referring to whatis common behavior. o Just because someone does something that is not common does not make it less normal or weird o It is important not to be ethnocentric o What is considered normal in one culture may not be considered normal in another culture oo If a behavior is Statistically Normal it means that a large number of people engage in it (so it’s a relatively common behavior)  Just because it is statistically normal does not mean that everyone engages in the behavior or even approves of it Masturbation - Attitudes About Masturbationo There is a wide range of attitudes and emotions towards masturbationo Masturbation- self stimulation of the genitals o Some thought that it could cause blindness, deafness, or insanity o Most all messages say that masturbation was not quite appropriate either as a topic of discussion or as a personal activity o Greek physician Hippocrates  Believed that masturbation was harmful to men’s physical health, causing spinal weakness and eventually death o Ancient Chinese Culture 1Arrington Psychology of Human Sexuality. 210  Condemned male masturbation as a waste of yang (male essence)o Hebrews Considered it spilling seed and punishable by death o Early Roman Catholic Church  Procreation was the only purpose of sex Masturbation and other sexual behaviors were seen immoral  Thomas Aquinas included masturbation as 1 of 4 unnatural acts o The word masturbation  Latin  Manus- hand  Sturpore- to defile  Tubare- to disturb o Swiss Physician S. Tissot  Book Onania- A Treatise upon the disorders produced by masturbation- Agreed with Hippocrates - Claimed that the unnatural loss of semen and overexertion of the nervous system led to mental disease. o North American Joseph Howe  1889 masturbation is a universal vice in civilized countries  documented the maladies that would bedevil masturbating men - mishappen genitals - Spinal cord tumors, brain hemorrhage, cerebral anemia (softening of the brain) - Emaciation, poor posture, dragging feet - Skin conditions - Gastrointestinal issues - Heart palpitations - Vertigo, headaches, memory problems - Epilepsy and seizures  Thought that masturbators would become sterile  Best cure was a healthy lifestyle that included nutritious food, daily exercise, adequate sleep, proper hygiene, good companionship, and abstinence along with medication o Kellog and Graham invented mild, easily digestible food (cornflakes and crackers) they thought that the food would help curb sexual appetite o Kellog2Arrington Psychology of Human Sexuality. 210  Thought bandaging children’s genitals and tying the hands and circumcision would help prevent masturbation.  For adults he recommended inserting steel sutures through thepenis to prevent erection and applying carbolic acid to the clitoris  Electric shock was common, acupuncture and even castration o Negative attitudes are still found surrounding masturbation today o Today in the Catholic church they state that masturbation is a intrinsically and seriously disturbed acto Jewish religion today sees masturbation as serious of an offense as murder and that a man who touched himself should have his hand chopped off - Incidence of Masturbation o The large majority of people masturbate o 92% of men masturbate by the age of 20 o Masturbation is generally the first sexual experience to orgasm for boys o Women tend to start masturbating after they have started having sex o More men than women generally masturbate (60% v 40%) o Masturbation increases for teens -30s and tarts to decrease during the40s o Age difference and gender differences exist on the incidence of masturbation o Masturbation does not cause any problems- Methods of Masturbation o People differ in their methods but men tend to display less variation o many men fantasize or look at pictures while masturbating o bi and gay men also tend to use a vibrator on themselves when masturbating o women who masturbate stimulate the clitoris, labia minora, and/or the entire vulva - Functions of masturbation o People do it because it feels good o Masturbation does not stop when someone has found a partner o Masturbation remains high among those with partners o The more sex a person has the more likely he or she is to masturbate - Cross-Cultural Perspective: Ethnic Differences in Sexual Behavior o Normal behaviors don’t take age, ethnicity, education level, or other group differences into account o White and Latino men are more likely to masturbate than Asian or black men o Ethnic differences have been found for oral-genital sex as well  African American women are less likely to engage in it3Arrington Psychology of Human Sexuality. 210  Whites are more likely to engage in oral-genital sexo Ethnic differences have been seen in anal sex as well  African americans least likely to have anal sex  Equal number of latinos and whites are likely to engage in anal sex. (39%) o Some differences in sexual behavior can be attributed to power disparities between men and women in relationships and the resulting differences in communication patterns  In Latino cultures men are expected to make the sexual decisions  This reflects that the men wants overpower the women’s wantso Other differences include age, education level, marital status, economic status, and degree of acculturation o Masturbation and oral-genital sex are more common among higher educated groups Sexual Fantasies - Sexual Fantasies o Fantasies usually happen when the person is alone o In the Victorian Era it was thought that only men had sexual fantasies  Women were considered relatively asexual o More than 90% of women have had sexual fantasies o Fantasies tend to have 4 general categories  Sexual intimacy fantasies (fantasies involving sexual activities with a specific known partner) - Most common among men and women  Sexual exploration fantasies (fantasies involving experimentation with never-before-tried behaviors such as group sex or same-sex activities)  Fantasies about impersonal or “forbidden” sex (sex with strangers or questionable partners, watching others have sex, fetishes)  Submission-Dominance