THE PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL SELF

HUMAN SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

HUMAN SEXUAL
BEHAVIOR
Human sexual behavior is defined as any activity solitary, between two
persons, or in a group--that induces sexual arousal (Gebhard, P.H. 2017).
There are two major factors that determine human sexual behavior: the
inherited sexual response patterns that have evolved as a means of
ensuring reproduction and that become part of each individual's genetic
inheritance, and the degree of restraint or other types of influence
exerted on the individual by society in the expression of his sexuality.
 TYPES OF BEHAVIOR

The various types of human sexual behavior are usually classified according to the
gender and number of participants. There is solitary behavior involving only one individual,
and there is sociosexual behavior involving more than one person.
Sociosexual behavior is generally divided into heterosexual behavior (male with female)
and homosexual behavior (male with male or female with female). If three or more
individuals are involved, it is, possible to have heterosexual and homosexual activity
simultaneously (Gebhard, P.H. 2017).
 TYPES OF BEHAVIOR
SOLITARY BEHAVIOR

Self-gratification means self-stimulation that leads to sexual arousal and generally,

sexual climax. Usually, most self-gratification takes place in private as an end in
itself, but can also be done in a sociosexual relationship.

Self-gratification, generally beginning at or before puberty, is very common among

young males, but becomes less frequent or is abandoned when sociosexual
activity is available. Consequently, self-gratification is most frequent among the
unmarried. There are more males who perform acts of self-gratification than
females. The frequency greatly varies among individuals and it usually decreases
as soon as they develop sociosexual relationships.
Majority of males and females have fantasies of some sociosexual activity
while they gratify themselves. The fantasy frequently involves idealized
sexual partners and activities that the individual has not experienced and
even might avoid in real life.

Nowadays, humans are frequently being exposed to sexual stimuli especially

from advertising and social media. Some adolescents become aggressive
when they respond to such stimuli. The rate of teenage pregnancy is
increasing in our time. The challenge is to develop self-control in order to
balance suppression and free expression. Adolescents need to control their
sexual response in order to prevent premarital sex and acquire sexually
transmitted diseases.
 TYPES OF BEHAVIOR
SOCIOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR

Heterosexual behavior is the greatest amount of sociosexual behavior that occurs

between only one male and one female. It usually begins in childhood and may be
motivated by curiosity, such as showing or examining genitalia. There is varying degree
of sexual impulse and responsiveness among children. Physical contact involving
necking or petting is considered as an ingredient of the learning process and eventually
of courtship and the selection of a marriage partner.

Petting differs from hugging, kissing, and generalized caresses of the clothed body to
practice involving stimulation of the genitals. Petting may be done as an expression of
affection and a source of pleasure, preliminary to coitus. Petting has been regarded by
others as a near-universal human experience and is important not only in selecting the
partner but as a way of learning how to interact with another person sexually.