The manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality.
People engage sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone to acts with another person in varying patterns of frequency, for a wide variety of reasons.
Sexual activity results in sexual arousal and physiological changes in the aroused person
Sexual activity includes activities intended to arouse the sexual interest of another or enhance the sex life of another, finding or attracting partners with courtship and display behavior, and personal interactions between individuals.
Sexual activity may follow sexual arousal, and has sociological, cognitive, emotional, behavioral and biological aspects.
Sexual activity includes bonding, sharing emotions and the physiology of the reproductive system, sex drive, sexual intercourse and sexual behavior.
In some societies, sexual activity is considered acceptable only within marriage, while premarital and extramarital sex are taboo.
Some sexual activities are illegal or considered contrary to the norms of certain societies or cultures.
Criminal offences in most societies are sexual assault and sexual activity with a person below the local age of consent.
Sexual activity can be classified:
acts which involve one person (autoeroticism)
Acts involving two or more people such as vaginal sex, anal sex, oral sex or mutual masturbation.
When there are more than two participants in a sex act, it may be referred to as group sex.
Autoerotic sexual activity involving use of dildos, vibrators, butt plugs, and other sex toys, though these devices can also be used with a partner.
Sexual activity can be classified into the gender and sexual orientation of the participants.
Sexual activity can be classified by the relationship of the participants: marriage, intimate partners, casual sex partners or anonymous.
Conventional or alternative sexual activity may involve fetishism, paraphilia, or BDSM activities.
Fetishisms include: desire for certain body parts (large breasts, navels or foot worship), shoes, boots, lingerie, clothing, leather or rubber items.
Some non-conventional autoerotic practices can be dangerous, and include erotic asphyxiation and self-bondage.
Sexual activity can be consensual, or it may take place under force or duress, which is often called sexual assault or rape.
Mating strategies are a set of behaviors used to attract, select, and retain mates.
Mating strategies overlap with reproductive strategies, and may involve the intention of forming a long-term intimate relationship, marriage, casual relationship, or friendship.
The mating process encompasses the social and cultural processes whereby one person may meet another to assess suitability, and the process of forming interpersonal relationships.
During sexual stimulation the physiological responses that occur or similar for both men and women.
There are four phases to sexual stimulation physiological responses:
Excitement phase
Plateau phase
Orgasm phase
Resolution phase
The excitement phase manifests by muscle tension and blood flow increases in and around the sexual organs, heart and respiration increase and blood pressure rises.
During this phase a sex flush occurs in the skin of the upper body and face.
During the excitement phase a woman’s vagina becomes lubricated and her clitoris becomes swollen, while a man’s penis will become erect.
During the plateau phase, heart rate and muscle tension increase further.
During the plateau phase the male’s
urinary bladder closes to prevent urine from mixing with semen: woman’s clitoris may withdraw slightly and there is more lubrication.
The orgasm phase manifests with breathing becoming rapid and the pelvic muscles begin a series of rhythmic contractions.
Both men and women experience quick cycles of muscle contraction of lower pelvic muscles.
Women often experience uterine and vaginal contractions during orgasm phase.
Approximately 15% of women never experience orgasm and half report having faked it.
There is a significant genetic component associated with how often women experience orgasm.
During the resolution phase:
muscles relax, blood pressure drops, and the body returns to its resting state.
Some report women do not experience a refractory period and thus can experience an additional orgasm, or multiple orgasms soon after the first, while other sources state that both men and women experience a refractory period during which further sexual stimulation does not produce excitement.
This refractory period may last from minutes to days and is typically longer for men than women.
Sexual dysfunction refers to the inability to react emotionally or physically to sexual stimulation in a way projected of the average healthy person.
Sexual dysfunction can affect different stages in the sexual response cycles of desire, excitement and orgasm.
Sexual dysfunction is is more commonly observed in females at 43 percent than males at 31 percent.
Sexual activity can lower blood pressure, stress levels, releases tension, elevate mood, and possibly create a profound sense of relaxation, especially in the postcoital period.
Sexual activity causes the release of endorphins and increases levels of white blood cells boosting the immune system.
Men who had had sex the previous night respond better to stressful situations.
Individuals who are regularly sexual, are regularly relaxed, and when the person is relaxed, they cope better with stressful situations.
Sexual behavior with a partner on one day significantly predicts lower negative mood and stress, and higher positive mood, on the following day.
Sex can become stressful when partners worry about their performance.
College student analysis suggest that people have sex for four general reasons: physical attraction, as a means to an end, to increase emotional connection, and to alleviate insecurity.
Most people engage in sexual activity because of pleasure they derived, especially if they can achieve orgasm.
Sexual arousal can also be experienced by : foreplay, flirting, and from fetish or BDSM activities, or other erotic activities.
Most commonly, sexual activity enhancement occurs because of the sexual desire generated by a person to whom they feel sexual attracted.
Many engage in sexual activity for the physical satisfaction they achieve in the absence of attraction for another, as in the case of casual or social sex.
A person may engage in a sexual activity solely for the sexual pleasure of their partner, as an obligation to the partner for love, sympathy, pity they may feel for the partner.
Sexual activity for purely monetary considerations, or to obtain some advantage from either the partner or the activity may occur.
A man and woman may engage in sexual activity with the objective of conception.
Some engage in hate sex, which occurs between two people who strongly dislike or annoy each other, heightening sexual tension, attraction and interest.
Females have more motivation than males to engage in sexual activity for self-determined reasons.
Females derive higher satisfaction and relationship quality than males from sexual activity.
The frequency of sexual activity might ranges from zero to 15 or 20 times a week.
In the United States, the average frequency of sexual intercourse for married couples is 2 to 3 times a week.
Postmenopausal women experience declines in frequency of sexual intercourse.
The average frequency of intercourse declines with age.
The average sex act lats about six minutes.
A recent survey:for most heterosexual couples, sex lasts 19 minutes on average, and it consisted of 10 minutes of foreplay and nine minutes of actual intercourse.
Kinsey Institute: average frequency of sexual intercourse in the US for individuals who have partners is 112 times per year (age 18–29), 86 times per year (age 30–39), and 69 times per year (age 40–49).
A 1999 survey of students indicated that approximately 40% of ninth graders across the United States report engaging in sexual intercourse.
This percentage increases with each grade.
Males are more sexually active than females at each of grade level.
A higher percent of African American and Hispanic adolescents are shown to be more sexually active than White adolescents.
Decreased sexual activity was associated with prior or current day negative mood or menstruating.
A study conducted on trenagers who had their first sexual experience at age 16 revealed a higher well-being than those who were sexually inexperienced or who were first sexually active at a later age of 17.
The study also showed teenagers who had their first sexual experience at age 15 or younger, or who had many sexual partners were not negatively affected and did not have associated lower well-being.
There are four major types of risks from sexual activity: unwanted pregnancy, contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI/STD), physical injury, and psychological injury.
To reduce the risk of unintended pregnancies; use contraception, such as birth control pills, a condom, diaphragms, spermicides, hormonal contraception or sterilization.
Sexual activity that involves skin-to-skin contact, exposure to an infected person’s bodily fluids, mucous membranes carry the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection.
Sexuality in older age is a way of expressing love and care for one another.
Aging men had a higher incidence of sexual intercourse compared to aging women and that women were more likely to report a lack of sexual desire compared to men.
Factors important to female sexual activity included: sexual desire, valuing sexuality, and a healthy partner.
High sexual self-esteem, good health, and active sexual history were important to male sexual activity.
To maintain sexual desire requires:
good health, good sexual functioning, positive sexual self-esteem, and a sexually skilful partner.
Heterosexuality refers to the romantic or sexual attraction to the opposite sex.
Sexual practices may be monogamous, serially monogamous, or polyamorous, and, abstinent or autoerotic, including masturbation
Homosexuality:the romantic or sexual attraction to the same sex.
It is possible for a person whose sexual identity is mainly heterosexual to engage in sexual acts with people of the same sex.
There are no forms of sexual acts exclusive to same-sex sexual behavior that cannot also be found in opposite-sex sexual behavior, except those involving the meeting of the genitalia between same-sex partners.
Individuals who have a romantic or sexual attraction to both sexes are referred to as bisexual.
Bisexual individuals who pretend to be heterosexual are often referred to as being closeted.
Pansexuality refers to the potential for attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire towards people without regard for their gender identity or biological sex.
The development of the contraceptive pill and other forms of contraception in has increased people’s ability to segregate the three sexual function: relational, reproductive and recreational.
Religions address the moral issues that arise from people’s sexuality in society and in human interactions.
Religions have developed moral codes covering issues of sexuality, morality, and ethics.
Sexual violence is likely to occur where beliefs in male sexual entitlement are strong, and where gender roles are more rigid, and in countries experiencing high rates of other types of violence.
Societies, where the concepts of family honor and female chastity are very strong, may practice violent control of female sexuality, through practices such as honor killings and female genital mutilation.
Equal relationships between men and women in matters of sexual relations and reproduction, includes the full respect for the physical integrity of the human body, and requires mutual respect and willingness to accept responsibility for the consequences of sexual behaviour.
BDSM refers to erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, dominance and submission, sadomasochism.
BDSM is a sexual act where participants play role games, use restraint, use power exchange, use suppression and pain is sometimes involved depending on the individual.
Bondage includes body or mind restraint.
D/S means dominant and submissive.
A dominant person someone who takes control of someone who wishes to give up control.
A submissive person is someone who gives up the control to a person who wishes to take control.
S/M (sadism and masochism) refers to
activity of an individual who takes pleasure in the humiliation or pain of others.
Masochism means an individual who takes pleasure from their own pain or humiliation.
Participants who exert sexual dominance over their partners are known as dominants.
Participants who take the passive, receiving, or obedient role are known as submissives.
BDSM play requires extensive communication as before sexual ac occur the partners must discuss their agreement of their relationship.
BDSM participants activities create higher levels of connection, intimacy, trust and communication between partners.
Most societies consider forcing someone to engage in sexual acts or to engage in sexual activity with someone who does not consent a crime: sexual assault.
Sexual assault with penetration is called rape.
Rape is the most serious kind of sexual assault.
Consent in sexual relations varies from culture to the next.
Many locales have laws that limit or prohibit same-sex sexual activity.
Social taboos and many religions condemn pre-marital sex.
The laws of each jurisdiction set the minimum age at which a young person is allowed to engage in sexual activity.
Many jurisdictions regard any sexual activity by an adult involving a child as child sexual abuse.
Age of consent may vary by the type of sexual act
Most jurisdictions prohibit sexual activity between certain close relatives.
There are non-consensual sexual activity or subjecting an unwilling person to witnessing a sexual activty: frotteurism, telephone scatophilia and non-consensual exhibitionism and voyeurism- indecent exposure and peeping tom, respectively.
People sometimes exchange sex for money or access to other resources-prostitution.
Estimates place the annual revenue generated from the global prostitution industry to be over $100 billion.