Masters and Johnson

Masters and Johnson, a marred couple, developed a 4-phase sexual response cycle. Based on a common physiological or physical sequence men and women experiece when having sexual relations.

Two Definitions:
* Vasocongestion- refers to the filling or enlargement of the genital area.
*Myotonia- refers to muscle tension

4-Phase Sexual Response Cycle:

1) Excitement
Men- penis erects, testes enlarge and elevate
Women- Lubrication, erection of clitoris, breasts increase in size and elevate.
Both- mytonia, increased heart rate and increased blood pressure.

2) Plateau
Men- Testes further elevated into position for ejaculation, Cowper`s Gland secrets a few drops of viable semen.
Women- Outer one-third contracts, inner two-thirds expands, uterus increases in size and elevates, clitoris withdraws or disappears.

3)Orgasmic
Men- Contractions to gather semen in place for ejaculation, relaxation of the Sphincter muscle to allow release o fluid.
Women- 3-15 contractions in the plevic muscles around the vaginal barrel and uterus leading to a release.
Both- Body spasms, increas in heart rate and breathing rate.

4) Reolution
Men- Blood withdraws from genitals, penis relaxes.
Women- Release of blood in genitals and breasts.
Both- Muscular tension releases.

**After experiencing the 4 phases, Men need a resolution. Women are capable of multiple cycles without a resolution**

**If orgasm doesn`t occur then it takes longer to return to phase 1 which could cause `Blue Balls`**

**Resolution time depends on the age of the person**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZcYTCo-D9s

Here is a video clip about Masters and Johnson, developing research about men and women, orgasms and the phases of sex.

The Male Anatomy and Physiology

The Male Anatomy Mediated through society, culture and political dimensions.

Opposing the Vagina Monologues we watched a video on the male perspective called:
Private Dicks: Men Exposed

This short clip is a peek at just one of the many men's stories.
Each man in the video shared with us many personal details about his sexual life. Including things such as penis size, ejaculation, masturbation, sex, etc. We even had the oppotunity to view each man's penis using this to compare each to another. Hearing their personal stories in a very serious manner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjYv07anfhMp

Reflection Activity:

*How do you compare Private Dicks to The Vagina Monologues?
-->Private Dicks was much more serious, touching on real issues of the male. This video showed us a more "naked" picture of the male form, and gave us the oppotunity to understand personal issues. The men in this film discussed personal information and memories with us allowing us to understand private details about life as a man. This film was shown in a Situational Interpretive manner. Whereas The Vagina Monologues was more about one woman portaying many universal issues in a more Critical Theorectic manner (Feminism).

Kinsey, Feminism and The Vagina Monologues

Alfred Kinsey was born in 1894, and died in 1956. Kinsey developed some large-scale interview research which was not represented from the overall population but mostly from white/middle class people.

The following video clip is a trailer from the movie Kinsey (2004)

Once we had a chance to view a few clips from the film, we were given a question to answer:

What is Kinsey's view of sexual normalcy?

--> I believe that in Kinsey's mind there is no sexual normalcy. That everything is normal and everything is accepted. That it is normal to explore sexually, and normal to expand one's knowledge.

My Thoughts....

Is there really any normalcy about human sexuality? In my opinion no, there is no real view of what sexual normalcy is or isn't. In the bible there is, this normalcy is achieved by a man and woman, this couple is married. The purpose of sex for this couple is for the conception of a child or for the hopes of procreation. The bible does not mention homosexuals, bisexuals, asexuals or transexuals, only heterosexuals. Most religious faith groups or nationalities agree with the bible. Nationalities among cultures believe that any sexual orientation other than heterosexuality is not normal and otherwise not accepted.

Four Waves of Feminism:

1. Early 20th Century--> issue was with women not having the right to vote.

2. 1960's-1990's-->Women's Liberation Movement; broadening and expanding equal rights between men and women. Such as, education, politics and health care.

3. Post-Feminism-->Poster woman for this wave was Madonna, the thought for this one was that sexual representation was not degrading it was empowering.

4. Modern--> Spirituality/Faith Groups/Uniting People

The Vagina Monologues:

--> Women talking about their bodies freely and openly in a cultural environment that discourages it.

Of these monologues we watched:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPH6LzlED6I

Avtivity..

-How do you respond? This monolgue is very out-spoken and opinionated.

-How did the audience respond? The audience seemed to be enjoying and encouraging it by laughing and clapping.

-How can we support women in developing healthy self-concepts related to their sexual anatomy?

At early ages when kids are learning about sex and anatomy for the first times, maybe have the health and sex ed classes divided. This way the girls are in a non-threatening environment and are more willing to participate and ask questions.

Habermas' Paradigms and Principles of Critical Thinking

Habermas' Paradigms...



Empirical-Analytic: Scientific Paradigm. Evidence is important, prediction and control.

Critical Theoretic: Political Paradigm.

Situational Interpretive: Personal Paradigm; Person's lived reality.

Paradigm Activity:

For this activity we were to chose any phenomenon relating to human sexuality and explain how that phenomenon looks from the perspective of each paradigm.
Here is my example:

Phenomenon: STD's

Empirical Analytic: This paradigm would look at statistics about STD's in the population.
Critical Theoretic: This paradigm would be a political view on the use of conraception and safesex to lower STD rates.
Situational Interpretive: This paradigm would take a look at a specific individuals life and reality of living with an STD and how it affects them.

Principles of Critical Thinking:

1. Be skeptical-->Do not accept any unsupported opinion as fact,
2. Examine Definitions of Terms--> Some statements are true whena term is defined in one way but are untrue when defined in another.
3. Exxamine the assumptions or premises of arguments--> A statement can be true until the many assumptions are dicovered.
4. Be cautious in drawing conclusions from evidence-->Eg. Research establishes that adolescents who listen to music with sexually explicit lyrics often engage in sex at an early age.
5.Consider alternative interpretations of research evidence-->Same example from 4, this shows that correlations between events do not necessarily reveal cause and effect.
6. Consider the kinds of evidence--> Personal opinions are not evidence.
7.Do not oversimplify-->Eg. Homosexuality is a result of being exposed to it, Do not simplify to just one reason.
8. Do not Overgeneralize--> Opposite of 7. Eg. All gay men are feminine and all lesbians are masculine.

*After going through all eight principles it is obvious that nothing can be assumed, all things must have accurate evidence to be true, and that evidence must be supported.

Human Sexuality Research Activity:

i) What is your research activity?
Are homosexuals a result of exposure at a young age?

ii) Hypthesis?
I predict that perhaps a small majority is a result of exposure.

iii) Testing the Hypothesis.
Conduct a survery/ interview of homosexuals to reveal reasons behind their choices.

iv) Drawing Conclusions.
Most homosexuals choose homosexuality without any influences, however some choose homosexuality based on exposure.

This research activity helps us realize that assumptions shouldn't be made without evidence, it is often proven that an ssumption is wrong.

Introduction to Family Studies

A Little About Me....

My name is Kayla Keessar. I am 19 years old, and this is my second year at Red Deer College. When I graduated from Stettler in 2009 I came directly to Red Deer in hopes of becoming a Teacher. I have known since about grade one that I wanted to be a teacher, changed my mind a few times, but managed to find my way back. So far I love the Bachelor of Education program, I hope to become a grade three teacher.

Introduction to Family Studies...

What is Human Sexuality?

"The term human sexuality refers to matters of gender, sexual behaviour, sexual feelings, and the biology of sex. Human sexuality concerns the ways in which we experience and express ourselves as sexual beings. The study of human sexuality draws upon the expertise of anthropologists, biologists, medical researchers, sociologists, psychologists, and other scientists. Our pluralistic society embraces a wide range of sexual attitudes and values." (Pearson Education Textbook, Human Sexuality in a World of Diversity).


I had no idea that human sexuality was made up of so much. I thought it just consisted of the biology (anatomy) of the human body, as well as sexual behaviour. But there is so much more to it. Im excited to learn about everything in between.





First Day of Class...

On the first day of Family Studies we did a writing activity, "What are some different ways to look at human sexuality?" During this activity we discovered many different perspectives that can be taken when exploring human sexuality, such as:

Biologically--> One could view human sexuality in a biological perspective, viewing the anatomy of the human body, and functions of those different components.
Socially--> One could view human sexuality in a social perspective, looking at the politics behind individual rights and opinions.
Personally--> One could view human sexuality in a personal perspective, viewing personal opinions about things such as, sexual orientation, abortion and homosexuality.

Human Sexuality may be viewed differently throughout different ages, races, genders and cultures.