Human Sexual Development and Puberty

Sexual Self

• Refers to one's feelings, actions, and behaviours concerning various aspects, including:
  • Development of secondary sex characteristics
  • Human reproductive system
  • Erogenous zones of the body
  • Biology of sexual behaviour
  • Chemistry of lust, love, and attachment

Human Sexual Development

• Begins immediately after fertilization of the egg.
• Rapid reproductive development takes place in the uterus.
• At birth, reproductive systems are not fully developed until puberty.
• All fertilized eggs initially develop as female, with gender differentiation triggered by the SRY gene on the Y chromosome.
• The presence or absence of this gene determines the development of male or female gonads.

Puberty and Secondary Sex Characteristics

• Stage of development where individuals become sexually mature
• Divided into five stages
• Characteristics of each stage vary for girls and boys
• Puberty in Girls
  • Ovaries enlarge and hormone production begins (approx. 8-11 years old)
  • First external sign of puberty is breast development (approx. 8-14 years old)
  • Pubic hair gets coarser and darker (approx. 9-15 years old)
  • Whitish discharge from the vagina may occur during this stage
  • Menstruation begins (approx. 10-16 years old)
• Puberty in Boys
  • No visible signs of development initially, but male hormones become more active (approx. 9-12 years old)
  • Height increases, and body shape changes (approx. 9-15 years old)
  • Testicles and scrotum grow (approx. 11-16 years old)
  • Penis starts to grow (approx. 11-16 years old)
  • Pubic hair gets darker and coarser (approx. 11-16 years old)
  • Voice deepens (approx. 13-17 years old)
  • First ejaculations occur (approx. 12-16 years old)
  • Growth spurt (approx. 13-15 years old)

What Philosophers Think About Beauty

• Before the 18th century, beauty was considered objective.
  • St. Augustine believed that things were beautiful because they gave delight.
  • Plato argued that beauty exists in the realm of forms, and things appear beautiful because they reflect this ideal.
  • Aristotle believed beauty is found in order, symmetry, and definiteness.
• In the 18th century, the view of beauty shifted to subjective.
  • David Hume argued that beauty exists only in the mind of the beholder, with individual perceptions varying.
  • Immanuel Kant believed that judgments of taste are not cognitive but aesthetical, based on subjective experiences.
  • Francis Hutcheson proposed an "internal sense of beauty" that operates independently of the external sense of sight or hearing.

Psychological Discoveries About Beauty

• Studies show that perceived attractiveness can influence earnings.
• The halo effect, a cognitive bias, suggests that attractive individuals are often perceived more favorably in terms of personality traits.
• Evolutionary psychology connects facial features to potential mate quality.
• Hormonal influences shape facial features, creating gender-specific characteristics.

Cultural Influence on Body Image

• Cultural traditions can positively or negatively impact body image and self-esteem.
• Body image refers to one's thoughts and feelings about their own body.

Relationship Between Body Image and Self-Esteem

• This aspect is not directly elaborated upon in the text.

Importance of Physical Beauty

• This aspect is not directly elaborated upon in the text.