Study Publishes Link Between Same-Sex Sexual Orientation and Intimacy
Human sexual behavior, the way humans experience and expression of their sexuality is the way in which humans experience, understand and share their sexualities. Individuals engage in various sexual acts, ranging from spontaneous acts done alone, to structured acts with someone else for a number of reasons, for a broad range of reasons. In the process of doing these things, however, human beings also experience and learn about the nature of their own sexuality, and they attempt to define and explore it in different ways. One way to do this is through understanding and defining sexual behaviors and roles.
When we talk about sexual behavior and roles, we typically envision the act of having sex as being primarily an activity between adults who are married and/or sexually active. It has been said that the only way to have a satisfying sex life is to experience it as a partnership between a man and a woman. For thousands of years, it was understood that humans had to learn about their own sexuality and that there were certain rules they had to follow in order to make sex between themselves and their mates as pleasurable as possible. Those rules included the notion that the male, who was the “leader” of the sexual act, had to be in complete control and that the female, who was the “chievisor” had to be comfortable and confident enough to allow her partner to have his way and to feel safe and protected while doing so. Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks also understood that sex could be part of a relationship and that it also served as a way to bond and create trust between two people who were married.
Scientifically, this type of thinking is known as “sex-determination,” which attempts to explain why some individuals have a “male” genitalia and others do not. By using a model of sex determination, scientists hope to provide a biological basis for sexuality, which could in turn help them explain the phenomenon of gender identity. If the theory can be shown to be true, it would mean that genetics, hormones and neurological processes all have a biological basis, and that sexual orientation could be determined at the genetic level. Many in the medical field are excited by the prospect of using this concept to provide a biological underpinning for sexual orientation.
By using science to examine the role of genes and hormones in determining a person’s sexuality, doctors hope to discover how sex means different things for different people. If this concept is proved correct, it could help prevent certain syndromes and disorders that are associated with sexual disorders such as sexual dysfunctions and incontinence. It could also help prevent the onset of many physical conditions and diseases that are caused by hormonal irregularities or from excessive stress. Some are quick to point out that there is no sense in studying the behavior or genitals of someone because they have a different “identity.”
Still, others argue that studying the role of genes and hormones could prove beneficial to individuals who wish to change their sexual orientation. Perhaps a parent has chosen not to have children, but still feel that their chosen partner is a good person, despite their sexual preference. If this parent chooses to have children of the other gender, they could be helping to make that person happy by helping them understand that having a same-sex sexual orientation does not make them bad people. In fact, some studies have shown that same-sex sexual orientation is correlated with higher social status, better education and job opportunities. That sounds like a pretty good reason to have children of your own!
The study published in Nature Research was led sylvan Polk of the University of British Columbia in Canada. He and his team studied two groups of women: one group that had their sexual activity with a same-sex partner in the past and one that had never had sex before. After following them for just over a year, the researchers found that those who had a past sexual activity with same-sex partners were more likely to feel emotionally satisfied with their sexual activity and were also less likely to report feeling emotionally disconnected during sexual activity.