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Topic: The Sexual Self- Part II

Learning 1. To discuss the roles of the brain and sexual hormones in sexual activity;
Targets: and
2. To understand the diversity of sexual behavior.

References: Otig, V., Gallinero, W., Bataga, N., Salado, F., & Visande, J. (2018). A holistic
approach in understanding the self: A workbook -textbbook for College
Students. Mutya Publishing House, Inc.

TO ENGAGE

They say, it’s wrong to say “I love you with all my heart,” rather, we should say, “I love you
with all my limbic system.”

TO EXPLORE
As we all know, our heart is a muscular organ that pumps blood throughout However, our
limbic system is an area of the brain that is responsible for our emotion and memory. The
processes of the limbic system control our physical and emotional responses to
environmental stimuli. Therefore, it is safe to say that our emotions are emitted from our
brain and not from our heart.

How amazing the brain works, right?

TO EXPLAIN
In understanding our sexual self, it is important that we should get to know what are the other
parts involved in our sexual behavior. Just like knowing what parts of the brain are involved
in our sexual activities.

Our largest sex organ controlling the biological urges, mental processes, as well as the
emotional and physical responses to sex, is the brain.

Sexual behavior is regulated in various part of the brain, including the hypothalamus. This
structure is in our emotional control center which also regulates hunger, appetite, thirst, and
body temperature. Basically, the hypothalamus is responsible for the short-term and long-
term survival of our bodies, and thus the viability of the species. Without food or water, or
without the ability to regulate our body temperature, we would not survive long. Without
sex, there would be no procreation of our species.

In continuation to the previous module, we will now explore the role of the brain in sexual
activity and also how diverse sexual behavior is.
 TO ELABORATE

Sex and the Brain. What parts are involved?

Primarily, sex is the process of combining male and female genes to form an
offspring. However, complex systems of behavior have evolved the sexual process from its primary
purpose of reproduction to motivation and rewards circuit that root sexual behaviors.

Roles of the brain in sexual activity:

1. The brain is responsible for translating the nerve impulses sense by the skin
into pleasurable sensations.
2. It controls the nerves and muscles used in sexual activities.
3. Sexual thoughts and fantasies are theorized to lie in the cerebral cortex, the
same area used for thinking and reasoning.
4. Emotions and feelings (which are important for sexual behavior) are believed
to originate in the limbic system.
5. The brain releases the hormones considered as the physiological origin of
sexual desire.

Roles of hormones in sexual activity

The hypothalamus is the most important part of the brain for sexual functioning. One
reason the hypothalamus is important in human sexual activity is its relation to the pituitary
gland. The pituitary gland secretes the hormones produced in the hypothalamus.

Here are the hormones related to sexual activity:

1. Oxytocin
 Also known as the “love hormone” and believed to be involved in our
desire to maintain close relationships.
 It is released during sexual intercourse when orgasm is achieved.

2. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)

 Responsible for ovulation in females.
 The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Durham,
N.C., discovered that sexual activity is more frequent during a woman’s
fertile time.
 3. Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
 Is crucial in regulating the testes in men and ovaries in women.
 In men, the LH stimulates the testes to produce testosterone ( which
appears to be a major contributing factor to sexual motivation)

4. Vasopressin
 Involved in the male arousal phase.
 The increase of vasopressin during erectile response is believed to be
directly associated with increased motivation to engage in sexual
behavior.

5. Estrogen and Progesterone

 Typically regulate motivation to engage in sexual behavior for females,
with estrogen increasing motivation and progesterone decreasing it.

Much of what we know about the physiological mechanisms that underlie sexual behavior
and motivation comes from animal research. The hypothalamus plays an important role in motivated
behaviors, and sex is no exception. Laboratory rats that were physiologically incapable of coupling
were observed to nevertheless seek receptive females. This finding suggested that the ability to
engage in sexual behavior and the motivation to do so may be mediated by neural systems in the
brain.

Animal research suggests that limbic system structures such as the

amygdala and nucleus accumbens are especially important for sexual
motivation.

Amygdala is the integrative center for emotions, emotional behavior,

and motivation.

Nucleus accumbens (also referred to as the pleasure center) plays a

role in motivation and cognitive processing of aversion, it has a significant
role in response to reward and reinforcing effects, translating emotional
stimulus into behaviors.

The Diversity of Sexual Behavior

Like food, sex is an important part of our lives. From an evolutionary perspective, the reason
is obvious—perpetuation of the species. Sexual behavior in humans, however, involves much more
than reproduction.

Sexual orientation is defined as an individual’s general disposition toward partners of the

same sex, the opposite sex, or both sexes. There has been much interest in sexual desire as an index
of sexual orientation. Researchers generally believe that lesbian, gay, and bisexual orientations are
characterized by persistent and intense experience of same-sex desire that are stable over time.
 Gender Identity

Many people fuse sexual orientation with gender identity into one group because of
stereotypical attitudes that exist about homosexuality. In reality, though these two are related, they
are actually different issues.

Sexual orientation is a person’s emotional and erotic attraction toward another

individual. On the other hand, gender identity refers to one’s sense of being male or female.

What is LGBTQ+?

It is an umbrella term for a wide spectrum of gender identities, sexual orientations,

and romantic orientations.

L stands for Lesbian. These are females who are exclusively attracted to
women.
G stands for Gay. This can refer to males who are exclusively attracted to
any other males. It can also refer to anyone who is attracted to his or her
same gender.
B stands for Bisexual or someone who is sexually/romantically attracted to
both men and women.
T or Trans*/Transgender is an umbrella term for people who do not identify
with the gender assigned to them at birth. Trans woman is an identity label
adapted by male to female trans people to signify that they identify
themselves as women. A trans man is an identity label adapted by female to
male trans people to signify that they identify themselves as men.
Q stands for queer. It is a useful term for those who are questioning their
identities and are unsure about using more specific terms, or those who
simply do not wish to label themselves and prefer to use a broader umbrella
term.
+ The plus is there to signify that many identities are not explicitly
represented by the letters. This includes (but not limited to) intersex or
people who are born with a mix of male and female biological traits that can
make it hard for doctors to assign them a male or female sex; and asexual or
a person who is not interested in or does not desire sexual activity.

Regardless of how sexual orientation is determined, there is preliminary empirical

research that strongly suggests sexual orientation is not a choice. Rather, it is a relatively
stable characteristic of a person that cannot be changed. Just as the majority of the
heterosexual people do not choose to be attracted to the opposite sex, the large majority of
the LGBTQ+ people also do not choose theirs. The only real choice that the LGBTQ+
community has to deal with is whether to be open about their orientation.
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues

There’s a lot more to being a male, female, or any gender than the sex assigned at
birth. Your biological or assigned sex does not always tell your complete story.

Sex is a label –male or female- that you’re assigned by a doctor at birth based on the
genitals you’re born with and the chromosomes you have. It goes on your birth certificate.

Gender is not determined biologically as a result of sexual characteristics of either

women or men, but is constructed socially.

Issues of sexual orientation have long fascinated scientists interested in determining

what causes one individual to be straight while another is gay. For many years, people
believed that these differences arose because of different socialization and familial
experiences.

Sociocultural Factors

In the Philippines and most of its Southeast Asian neighbors view heterosexuality as
the norm. However, there are countries that are culturally not as restrictive with their human
sexual/romantic relationship attitudes.

For example, in New Guinea, young boys are expected to engage in sexual behavior
with any other boys for a given period because it is believed that doing so is necessary for
these boys to become men (Baldwin & Baldwin, 1989).

In the Philippines, an individual is classified as either male or female only. However,

Thailand recognizes more than two categories- male, female, and kathoey (an individual
who would be described as transgender in western cultures)

Family Influences

There are also studies that asserted how children’s upbringing and social
environment influences their developing gender identities. It was found out that children’s
interests, preferences, behaviors, and overall self-concept are strongly influenced by parental
and authority figure teachings regarding sexual stereotypes. Thus, children whose parents
adhere to strict gender-stereotyped roles are, in general, more likely to take on those roles
themselves as adults than are peers whose parents provided less stereotyped, more neutral
models for behaving.

Urban Setting

Another research also discovered that homosexuality positively correlated with

urbanization. The correlation though was more substantial in men than in women. The study
concluded that large cities seem to provide a friendlier environment for same-gender interest
to develop and be expressed, than in rural areas. These cities host venues or areas where
people with specific sexual orientations socialize and become a support group.

Below are the highlighted challenges of LGBTQ+ people who are living in rural
areas:
 High levels of intolerance
 Limited social and institutional supports; and
 Higher incidence of social isolation
In summary, the brain is the largest sex organ controlling the biological urges, mental process, as well as the emotional and