The word “sex” refers to the categories of male or female, or (in more recent usage) the entire phenomenon of sexual attraction and behavior. The word “gender” refers to the constellation of mental and behavioral traits that differ between males and females.
Sexual relationships are highly diverse: They may be motivated by a variety of different factors, they may be brief or durable, and they may be socially approved or stigmatized. Most sexual relationships involve some degree of mismatch or conflict that challenges the participants’ adaptability and communication skills. Engaging in sexual relationships also requires ethical decisions—decisions that, while influenced by knowledge and reason, are based ultimately on a personal sense of what is right and wrong.
Many aspects of sex influence our sense of who we are—our identity. These include characteristics such as male, female, lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual, transgendered, and many others. Sexual identities influence our place in society far beyond the sphere of people with whom we have actual sexual contact.
Sexuality can be studied with a wide variety of approaches. The biomedical approach has elucidated many of the anatomical structures and physiological processes that underlie sexual and reproductive life. It has also sought to characterize and treat disorders of sexual desire and behavior, but this effort has involved controversial judgments as to the normality or abnormality of various forms of sexual expression.
The psychological approach falls into several subdisciplines. Social psychologists concern themselves with the diverse ways in which sex influences interpersonal relations. Psychobiologists focus on the biological underpinnings of sexual behavior, and often study this behavior in laboratory animals rather than humans. Cultural psychologists study how cultural diversity affects sexual expression. Clinical psychologists and sex therapists deal with problems affecting sexual desire or performance.
Sociologists are concerned with the interactions between the sexuality of individuals and larger demographic groupings. Sex surveys are an important tool in this approach. An example of a theoretical social-science approach is sexual script theory: the notion that, as a result of constant interaction with others, people learn to play certain sexual roles. Sociologists also do fieldwork in the environments where sexual transactions take place.
Feminists have greatly influenced attitudes about sex. Feminist ideas that have entered mainstream thinking include the belief that women are capable of and entitled to sexual pleasure, have a right to contraception and abortion, are entitled to protection from sexual violence, and are as capable as men in all spheres of life. Feminists have generally favored the idea that sexual attitudes—especially insofar as they differ between the sexes—result from socialization rather than from innate differences.
Sexology or sex research is gradually asserting itself as an independent and multidisciplinary field of study. National and international organizations, conferences, and journals are devoted to a rational, evidence-based approach to human sexuality.
Educators have faced a difficult struggle to communicate basic information about sex. Even today, there is a widespread fear that instruction in sexual matters, including techniques to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy, may be seen as permitting or even encouraging sexual behavior by teenagers. The amount and nature of sex education provided by public schools varies greatly by location.
Ethical traditions can be broadly characterized as sex-negative (such as early Christian views on sex) or sex-positive (such as the attitudes of some Polynesian societies.) The basis for ethical judgments may change over time, leading to a revision of beliefs concerning what is right and wrong in the sphere of sexual behavior.
