February 16 2015 Chapter 10 Sexuality and Gender Textbook Notes Introduction Couvade syndrome is a gender defying condition in which a man whose partner is pregnant may experience a kind of sympathy pregnancy Section 1 The Physical Side of Human Sexuality 10 1 What are the physical differences between females and males The Primary Sex Characteristics In females these characteristics include the vagina the tube that leads from the outside of a female s body to the opening of the womb uterus the womb in which baby grows during pregnancy and the ovaries female sex glands or gonads In males the primary sex characteristics include the penis organ through which males urinate and which delivers the male sex cells or sperm the testes or testicles male sex glands or gonads the scrotum external sac that holds the testes and the prostate gland gland that secretes most of the fluid holding the male sex cells or sperm How does the person s body know which sexual characteristics to develop Aren t some babies born with sex organs belonging to both sex organs belonging to both sexes At about 5 6 weeks of pregnancy two organs called the gonads form in the embryo Two sets of ducts tubes also develop next to the gonads the Wolffian ducts become male sex organs and the Mullerian ducts which can become the female sex organs At this point gonads are undifferentiated neither fully male nor female Deciding factor controlled by chromosomes Testosterone causes Wolffian ducts to develop into male sex organs while Mullerian ducts deteriorate Y gene is absent so no testosterone released gonads develop into estrogen secreting ovaries The Mullerian ducts become female sex organs Wolffian ducts deteriorate Rarely an infant is born with sexual organs that are ambiguous not clearly male or female Intersexual rare to find person who truly has both ovary and testicle material in their body The development of the external genitals is affected by either chromosome defects or the presence of the wrong hormones at a critical time in the development of the fetus in the womb The Psychological Side of Human Sexuality Gender 10 2 What is gender and how can biology and learning influence gender role development Dysphoria a person experiences gender incongruence feeling that he or she is occupying the body of the other gender or some alternative gender that is not the same as their assigned gender and has significant distress about the incongruence Native American tribes recognized role of the male winkte a contraction of the Lakota word winyanktehca meaning to be as a woman or two souls person in their societies February 16 2015 They were not referred to as homosexuals had alternate gender identities or gender dysphoria The tolerant attitudes of other Native Americans towards the winkte have begun to be replaced with homophobic attitudes and aggressive behavior toward those who are different in this way Biological influences Infant girls exposed to androgens testosterone male horomone before birth some drugs to prevent miscarriages are male horomones Girls were found to be tomboys during early childhood However when girls were adults become typically more female desire for marriage and motherhood upbringing won out over hormonal influences Was their early tomboy nature due to the influence of the male hormones Possible girls were allowed encouraged to be more masculine as children bc parents were expecting them to be masculine As girls grew older they were exposed to gender role expectations from teachers friends the media which may have influenced them to become more feminine gender stereotype in contrast to their earlier masculine style of behavior Male and female monkeys playing with boy or girl toys predicts biological influences Using fMRI functional magnetic resonance imaging researcher found amygdala and hypothalamus areas of limbic system areas involved in emotional and sexual responses were more strongly active in men than in women who viewed the visual sexual stimuli in erotic pics Researchers concluded male brain s enhanced reaction could be product of natural selection Culture and Gender Cultures that are more individualistic stressing independence and with loose ties among individuals and have fairly high standards of living are becoming more nontraditional especially for women More traditional views of gender seem to be held by collectivistic cultures stressing interdependence and with strong ties among individuals especially familial ties that have less wealth although even in these cultures women were more likely to be less traditional than men Sex Differences in Science and Math A Game Changer Men with a strong male gender identity and both men and women with an androgynous gender identity one in which ppl see themselves as people first and male or female second were superior in spatial ability STEM programs to those who possessed a strong female gender identity Larger difference within one gender than can be found between genders The Physical Side of Human Sexuality physical sex characteristics are not the same as gender the psychological aspects of identifying as a male or female embryonic undifferentiated gonads develop into male or female sex organs as the result of chromosomes and hormones February 16 2015 o chromosomal or hormonal defects can result in ambiguous sex organs intersexed individuals primary sexual characteristics present at birth directly involved in reproduction o female vagina uterus and ovaries o male penis testicles scrotum and prostate gland secondary sexual characteristics develop during puberty indirectly involved in reproduction o female breast enlargement widening of hips pubic hair fat deposits on buttocks and thighs o male deepening of voice facial and chest hair pubic hair coarser skin texture increase in height The Psychological Side of Human Sexuality Gender Key concepts gender roles cultural behavioral expectations for males or females gender typing process by which people learn gender roles gender identity sense of being male or female influenced by both biology and environment Gender is defined as the psychological aspects of being masculine or feminine and is influenced by culture individual personality and self identity biological influences sexual characteristics of the genitals hormonal differences and possible differences in brain structure and processing environmental influences parental influences and cultural expectations to adhere to gender roles culture