Portal:Human sexuality
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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 German politician Käte Strobel broke a taboo in 1967 by promoting sex education with a school book and the government-sponsored film Helga?
- ... that gender identity disorder in children is a diagnosis formally recognized in 1980 that often involves controversial therapeutic intervention?
- ... that Alliance for Open Society International, operator of drug rehabilitation programs for heroin addicts in Central Asia, sued the U.S. Government over the anti-prostitution pledge?
- ... that only three novels catering to soldiers' sexual proclivities during the American Civil War are known to still exist?
- ... that the World Charter for Prostitutes' Rights, adopted in 1985, calls for the right to unemployment insurance and decriminalization of adult prostitution?
July - December 2008
Human sexuality in the news
- 12 November 2024 – Anglican Communion sexual abuse cases
- Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, resigns over his handling of barrister John Smyth's sex abuse scandal. (NPR) (AP)
- 11 November 2024 –
- The International Criminal Court announces an investigation into prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan over accusations of sexual misconduct previously reported by The Guardian in October. (BBC News) (The Guardian)
- 5 November 2024 –
- Equatoguinean vice-president Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue warns that politicians caught having sex in their offices could face harsh consequences after a civil servant was caught having sex with multiple women while on the job. (BBC 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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