Cultural Impact on Body Image and Reproduction

The Impact of Culture on Body Image and Beauty

• Beauty is both objective and subjective.
• Different cultures have different standards of beauty.
• There is no singular definition of beauty that is universally accepted.

Body Image

• The social constructionist approach suggests that body image is shaped by cultural norms and historical context.
• Essentialist view of body means that bodies are defined entirely by their biological make up.

Sexual Reproduction

• There are two kinds of reproduction: asexual and sexual.
• Asexual reproduction involves a single organism producing offspring without the involvement of gametes (sex cells).
• Sexual reproduction involves the fusion of male and female gametes, resulting in the formation of a zygote that develops into a genetically distinct organism.

Sex Chromosomes

• The sex chromosomes of humans define the sex (female or male) and their secondary sexual characteristics.
• Male secondary sexual characteristics include hair growth on the face, the growth of testicles, heavier musculature, Adam's apple development, and a deeper voice.
• Female secondary sexual characteristics include breast development, hair growth, lighter musculature, a shrill and higher pitch voice, and broadening of hips due to fat deposition.

Freud's Psychosexual Theory of Development

• Freud's theory suggests that human development and functioning are shaped by a series of psychosexual stages.
• Each stage is characterized by an erogenous zone, which is the source of pleasure and sexual gratification.
• The stages are:
  • Oral: The erogenous zone is the mouth. Gratification through eating and sucking.
  • Anal: The erogenous zone is the anus. Sexual gratification derived from defecation.
  • Phallic: The erogenous zone is the genitals. Sexual attraction towards the opposite sex.
    • Oedipus complex (son to mother)
    • Electra complex (daughter to father)
  • Latency: Sexual impulses are dormant. Occupied by social activities.
  • Genital: The erogenous zone is the genitals. Sexual attraction directed towards others.

Phases of Sexual Response

• The four phases of sexual response are:
  • Excitement: Initial response to sexual arousal. Characterized by increased in heart rate and blood pressure as well as heightened muscle tone.
  • Plateau: Sexual excitement prior to orgasm. Characterized by intensification of the changes begun during the excitement phase.
  • Orgasm: Characterized by waves of intense pleasure (climax). Often associated with vaginal contraction in females and ejaculation in males.
  • Resolution: The body returns to its non-excited stage.

Human Sexual Behavior

• Solitary behavior: self-gratification means self-simulation that leads to sexual arousal and generally, sexual climax.
• Sociosexual behavior: heterosexual behavior is the greatest amount of sociosexual behavior that occurs only between male and female.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

• Common STDs include:
  • Herpes: Caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV), leading to painful blisters and sores.
  • Trichomoniasis: A parasitic infection that often causes symptoms in women but can be asymptomatic in men.