Youth & Sexuality – Lectures
Inhoud
Lecture 1a...........................................................................................................................................2
Lecture 1b...........................................................................................................................................4
Lecture 2a – biology of sexuality.........................................................................................................6
Lecture 2b – Youth, sexuality & gender..............................................................................................8
Lecture 3a – LGBT, sexual minority and gender nonconforming youth.............................................10
Lecture 3b – intersectionality...........................................................................................................13
Lecture 4a – The impact of the social environment on young people’s sexuality.............................17
Lecture 4b – media and sexual development...................................................................................19
Lecture 5a – Challenges in sexual health: the case of contraception, unintended pregnancy &
abortion............................................................................................................................................21
Lecture 5b – Mark Spiering...............................................................................................................25
Lecture 6a - sexual violence and consent.........................................................................................29
Lecture 6b: sexual double standard – predictors and consequences for adolescent development. .31
,Lecture 1a
Concepts, definitions
Youth: is a very fluid concept, a lot of ages are labelled youth (0-30 years or so), but in this course the
term youth will mostly be focus on adolescence (12-25y)
Sexuality: can be a lever in adolescent development:
- independence from parents
- development of personal morality and identity
- development of meaningful intimate relationships
- crucial in finding balance between autonomy and connectedness
- also, the first steps in terms of exploring desires and boundaries (consent) (of yourself and others)
Sexuality: expressing, identity, hetero/homosexual again: not one clear definition, all omvatttend,
use the term because it is the widest word
The general concepts to talk about in this course:
Sex: often we see sex as the act of heterosexual penetrating sex. Solo
sex, petting, is not included in this narrow scope.
Sexe and gender: biological and social-cultural
Sexual Health: dealing with sexual risks (unwanted pregnancy, UTIs)
but also violence and coercion
Sexology: in the Netherlands related to sex therapy, but can also see it
in wider way: scientific sexology
Historical overview of sexuality research
It went from religious-moral to medical-psychiatric. The German psycho-analysts layed foundation for
sexology: Von Krafft-Ebing, Freud often considering female desire deviant.
In 1906 was the birth of sexology as a science
Bloch: Das sexualleben unserer Zeit
Hirschfeld & Bloch: founded Sexual Science Institute
Havelock Ellis, Block & Hirschfeld; research on homosexuality
these were the first steps of moving away from LGBT as a disease, immoral or a crime
Alfred Kinsey (US, 1894-1956)
was a pioneer of sex research
and a biologist, zoologist and
sexologist. He made the Kinsey
Reports (1984, 1953) based on
5000 and 6000 interviews.
It was revolutionary because he
moved the field from medical to
interdisciplinary, he described
behavior.
Also he included the taxonomy
of human sexual behavior
(including pedophilia). He also
used homosexuality as a scale
(1-7 from hetero to homo) it is not necessarily binary, we still use this scale. It was very
controversial in his time: revelations about masturbation, orgasm, premarital sex, homosexuality
,(37% ofmen have had homosexual orgasm), differences and similarities between men and woman,
and more.
John Money (New Zealand, 1921-2006) was a psychologist and sexologist. He did groundbreaking
clinical empirical studies on gender identity development among intersex children.
He introduced the term ‘gender’ (1955): all those things that a person says or does to disclose himself
or herself as having the status of man or woman. It includes, but is not restricted to, sexuality in the
sense of erotism.
He was critized for e.g. David Reimer sex reassignment study (raised a boy as a girl, he changed to boy
back at age 15 and veeery unhappy, as adult took his life)
Then came the flower power sexual revolution!
William Masters & Virginia Johnsen:
1966: ‘discovery’ of the human sexual response cycle:
stage 1: excitement
stage 2: plateau
stage 3: orgasm
stage 4: resolution
A natural physiological process, can be blocked by psychological inhibitions.
They used controversial methods: observing people having sex in the lab. They layed the foundations
for behavioral therapy of sexual dysfunctions.
In the 70s: Michel Foucault, Jonh Gagnon, William Simon, Shere Hite, Susan Brownmiller
Emergance of social-constructivist perspectives
dismissal of the Freudian idea of ‘sexual instinct
‘Growing attention for sexual violence, sexual equality (m/f)
Sexuality = product of societal regulation, norms, meaning, and the freedom/right to express
themselves
sexual behavior = social behavior sensitive for interpersonal and intra-psychological cultural scripts
1974: removal of homosexuality from the DSM!!
afted heated debate, 58% of 10000 APA psychiatrists voted that homosexuality is no longer a mental
disorder:
increased awareness of:
- what is normal and abnormal?
- what is sexual ‘defiance’ or ‘variation’?
1998/2005: ‘discovery’ of the full anatomy of the clitoris – Helen O’Connell, US urologist
In pursuit of pleasure
Ellen Laan (1962-2021): groundbreaking research into female sexual arousal. She is a
psychologist/sexologist/professor/founder of Sexual Wellbeing Nederland.
Some myths maintaining sexual inequalities
1. Men are from Mars, women from Venus
- of 30 sexual behaviors, only 4 moderate differences, and 80,26% overlap (Petersen & Hyde, 2010)
2. Penis and vagina are important for reproduction and therefore for sexual pleasure
- penis-in-vagina sex does not facilitate women’s orgasms
, 81% of women vs 43% of men had experienced coercion and sexual violence. more about that in
later lectures.
Sexual similarity observations:
Men and woman are similar in the capacity to experience sexual pleasure: responsivity to sexual
stimuli, sexual desire, sex drive/hormones (no, men aren’t always in the mood)
BUT: men and woman have different opportunities for sexual pleasure (in heterosexual relationships):
gendered scripts, coital imperative; penis-in-vagina sex does not facilitate women’s orgasms)
How to move toward sexual equality:
- a priotization of pleasure for all health benefits
- diversity/inclusion
Lecture 1b
Sexual development is a life-long process, it is multidimensional and it is context related.
There is an interaction between individual and context!
For this reason, sexual development has many paths.
Early childhood: 0-5yo
Context: happens a lot, development in attachment/physical skills/language/toilet training/self-
awareness and appreciation
Sexual development:
Discovering:
⁃ own body and that of others
⁃ Language for genitals
⁃ Gender
⁃ Social rules
Parents observation: behavior is focused on exploring bodies
Daycare observations: these behavior are seen often -> it is normal
6-12yo
Context: see dia
Sexual development: start masturbating, insecurity and shame about (naked) body, end of stage is
lot of curiosity about sexuality (in looove, basic knowledge first)
Talk to your children in this timeframe! It gets harder later in adolescence.
Inhoud
Lecture 1a...........................................................................................................................................2
Lecture 1b...........................................................................................................................................4
Lecture 2a – biology of sexuality.........................................................................................................6
Lecture 2b – Youth, sexuality & gender..............................................................................................8
Lecture 3a – LGBT, sexual minority and gender nonconforming youth.............................................10
Lecture 3b – intersectionality...........................................................................................................13
Lecture 4a – The impact of the social environment on young people’s sexuality.............................17
Lecture 4b – media and sexual development...................................................................................19
Lecture 5a – Challenges in sexual health: the case of contraception, unintended pregnancy &
abortion............................................................................................................................................21
Lecture 5b – Mark Spiering...............................................................................................................25
Lecture 6a - sexual violence and consent.........................................................................................29
Lecture 6b: sexual double standard – predictors and consequences for adolescent development. .31
,Lecture 1a
Concepts, definitions
Youth: is a very fluid concept, a lot of ages are labelled youth (0-30 years or so), but in this course the
term youth will mostly be focus on adolescence (12-25y)
Sexuality: can be a lever in adolescent development:
- independence from parents
- development of personal morality and identity
- development of meaningful intimate relationships
- crucial in finding balance between autonomy and connectedness
- also, the first steps in terms of exploring desires and boundaries (consent) (of yourself and others)
Sexuality: expressing, identity, hetero/homosexual again: not one clear definition, all omvatttend,
use the term because it is the widest word
The general concepts to talk about in this course:
Sex: often we see sex as the act of heterosexual penetrating sex. Solo
sex, petting, is not included in this narrow scope.
Sexe and gender: biological and social-cultural
Sexual Health: dealing with sexual risks (unwanted pregnancy, UTIs)
but also violence and coercion
Sexology: in the Netherlands related to sex therapy, but can also see it
in wider way: scientific sexology
Historical overview of sexuality research
It went from religious-moral to medical-psychiatric. The German psycho-analysts layed foundation for
sexology: Von Krafft-Ebing, Freud often considering female desire deviant.
In 1906 was the birth of sexology as a science
Bloch: Das sexualleben unserer Zeit
Hirschfeld & Bloch: founded Sexual Science Institute
Havelock Ellis, Block & Hirschfeld; research on homosexuality
these were the first steps of moving away from LGBT as a disease, immoral or a crime
Alfred Kinsey (US, 1894-1956)
was a pioneer of sex research
and a biologist, zoologist and
sexologist. He made the Kinsey
Reports (1984, 1953) based on
5000 and 6000 interviews.
It was revolutionary because he
moved the field from medical to
interdisciplinary, he described
behavior.
Also he included the taxonomy
of human sexual behavior
(including pedophilia). He also
used homosexuality as a scale
(1-7 from hetero to homo) it is not necessarily binary, we still use this scale. It was very
controversial in his time: revelations about masturbation, orgasm, premarital sex, homosexuality
,(37% ofmen have had homosexual orgasm), differences and similarities between men and woman,
and more.
John Money (New Zealand, 1921-2006) was a psychologist and sexologist. He did groundbreaking
clinical empirical studies on gender identity development among intersex children.
He introduced the term ‘gender’ (1955): all those things that a person says or does to disclose himself
or herself as having the status of man or woman. It includes, but is not restricted to, sexuality in the
sense of erotism.
He was critized for e.g. David Reimer sex reassignment study (raised a boy as a girl, he changed to boy
back at age 15 and veeery unhappy, as adult took his life)
Then came the flower power sexual revolution!
William Masters & Virginia Johnsen:
1966: ‘discovery’ of the human sexual response cycle:
stage 1: excitement
stage 2: plateau
stage 3: orgasm
stage 4: resolution
A natural physiological process, can be blocked by psychological inhibitions.
They used controversial methods: observing people having sex in the lab. They layed the foundations
for behavioral therapy of sexual dysfunctions.
In the 70s: Michel Foucault, Jonh Gagnon, William Simon, Shere Hite, Susan Brownmiller
Emergance of social-constructivist perspectives
dismissal of the Freudian idea of ‘sexual instinct
‘Growing attention for sexual violence, sexual equality (m/f)
Sexuality = product of societal regulation, norms, meaning, and the freedom/right to express
themselves
sexual behavior = social behavior sensitive for interpersonal and intra-psychological cultural scripts
1974: removal of homosexuality from the DSM!!
afted heated debate, 58% of 10000 APA psychiatrists voted that homosexuality is no longer a mental
disorder:
increased awareness of:
- what is normal and abnormal?
- what is sexual ‘defiance’ or ‘variation’?
1998/2005: ‘discovery’ of the full anatomy of the clitoris – Helen O’Connell, US urologist
In pursuit of pleasure
Ellen Laan (1962-2021): groundbreaking research into female sexual arousal. She is a
psychologist/sexologist/professor/founder of Sexual Wellbeing Nederland.
Some myths maintaining sexual inequalities
1. Men are from Mars, women from Venus
- of 30 sexual behaviors, only 4 moderate differences, and 80,26% overlap (Petersen & Hyde, 2010)
2. Penis and vagina are important for reproduction and therefore for sexual pleasure
- penis-in-vagina sex does not facilitate women’s orgasms
, 81% of women vs 43% of men had experienced coercion and sexual violence. more about that in
later lectures.
Sexual similarity observations:
Men and woman are similar in the capacity to experience sexual pleasure: responsivity to sexual
stimuli, sexual desire, sex drive/hormones (no, men aren’t always in the mood)
BUT: men and woman have different opportunities for sexual pleasure (in heterosexual relationships):
gendered scripts, coital imperative; penis-in-vagina sex does not facilitate women’s orgasms)
How to move toward sexual equality:
- a priotization of pleasure for all health benefits
- diversity/inclusion
Lecture 1b
Sexual development is a life-long process, it is multidimensional and it is context related.
There is an interaction between individual and context!
For this reason, sexual development has many paths.
Early childhood: 0-5yo
Context: happens a lot, development in attachment/physical skills/language/toilet training/self-
awareness and appreciation
Sexual development:
Discovering:
⁃ own body and that of others
⁃ Language for genitals
⁃ Gender
⁃ Social rules
Parents observation: behavior is focused on exploring bodies
Daycare observations: these behavior are seen often -> it is normal
6-12yo
Context: see dia
Sexual development: start masturbating, insecurity and shame about (naked) body, end of stage is
lot of curiosity about sexuality (in looove, basic knowledge first)
Talk to your children in this timeframe! It gets harder later in adolescence.
