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Welcome to the human sexuality portal
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied with historical contexts over time, it lacks a precise definition. The biological and physical aspects of sexuality largely concern the human reproductive functions, including the human sexual response cycle.
Someone's sexual orientation is their pattern of sexual interest in the opposite and/or same sex. Physical and emotional aspects of sexuality include bonds between individuals that are expressed through profound feelings or physical manifestations of love, trust, and care. Social aspects deal with the effects of human society on one's sexuality, while spirituality concerns an individual's spiritual connection with others. Sexuality also affects and is affected by cultural, political, legal, philosophical, moral, ethical, and religious aspects of life.
Interest in sexual activity normally increases when an individual reaches puberty. Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support, there is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males. Hypothesized social causes are supported by only weak evidence, distorted by numerous confounding factors. This is further supported by cross-cultural evidence, because cultures that are tolerant of homosexuality do not have significantly higher rates of it.
Evolutionary perspectives on human coupling, reproduction and reproduction strategies, and social learning theory provide further views of sexuality. Sociocultural aspects of sexuality include historical developments and religious beliefs. Some cultures have been described as sexually repressive. The study of sexuality also includes human identity within social groups, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and birth control methods. (Full article...)
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Pedophilia or paedophilia is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children, generally age 11 years or younger. As a medical diagnosis, specific criteria for the disorder extends the cut-off point for prepubescence to age 13. A person who is diagnosed with pedophilia must be at least 16 years of age, but adolescents who are 16 years of age or older must be at least five years older than the prepubescent child before the attraction can be diagnosed as pedophilia.
Pedophilia has a range of definitions, as found in psychiatry, psychology, the vernacular, and law enforcement. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) defines it as a "disorder of adult personality and behaviour" in which there is a sexual preference for children of prepubertal or early pubertal age. It is termed pedophilic disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and the manual defines it as a paraphilia in which adults or adolescents 16 years of age or older have intense and recurrent sexual urges towards and fantasies about prepubescent children that they have either acted on or which cause them distress or interpersonal difficulty. (Full article...)
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Did you know
- ... that Kanhopatra (temple burial site pictured) is venerated as a saint in the Varkari sect of Hinduism, despite spending most of her life as a courtesan?
- ... that sex workers across the world have organised since the mid-1970s to demand sex workers’ rights, including the decriminalisation of prostitution and equal protection under the law?
- ... that the application of a spray-on condom was based on the logistics of a drive-through car wash?
- ... that homosexuality has been labeled by some communists as a product of bourgeois decadence?
January - July 2009
Human sexuality in the news
- 15 April 2024 – 2021 Australian Parliament House sexual misconduct allegations
- Former Australian political staffer Bruce Lehrmann loses his defamation case against Network 10 and journalist Lisa Wilkinson for broadcasting an interview with Lehrmann's former coworker Brittany Higgins in which she claimed that Lehrmann raped her. (The Guardian)
- 3 April 2024 – LGBT rights in Uganda
- Uganda's Constitutional Court upholds the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023, which prescribes the death penalty for certain homosexual acts. (South China Morning Post)
- 27 March 2024 – Recognition of same-sex unions in Thailand
- The Thai House of Representatives approves a bill to legalize same-sex marriage by a vote of 400–10, with five abstentions. (AP via MSN News)
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For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Human sexuality-related articles, see WikiProject Sexology and sexuality.
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- Cleanup listing for WikiProject Sexology and sexuality — bot-generated list of articles within the scope of this WikiProject tagged as needing attention
- Cleanup listing for WikiProject LGBT studies — bot-generated list of articles within the scope of this WikiProject tagged as needing attention
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