Week 7 Blog

     This week we talked about sexual intimacy and how women and men have different needs when it comes to sex, and how pornography can affect the sexual relationship between a couple. The first discussion we had was about the need for affection and an emotional connection during sex. Woman have a lot stronger need for an emotional connection during sex than men. Men have a stronger sexual need and because of that they are able to have a sexual relationship and be aroused without having a connection to his sex partner. It was mentioned that woman need to feel safe, warm, and close before they can even begin the sexual arousal process for sexual intimacy. 

    In sex there is also an importance to recognize if you are feeling passion or lust when having a sexual relationship. In my opinion since men don't need an emotional connection with the person they are having sex with I think there would be a higher chance that a man may be having sexual intimacy just because he is lusting for the feeling than women are to lust. On the other side of things, since women want and need an emotional connection there is a better chance then when they are having sex they will be feeling passion for the person they are having sex with. It is also important to not make sex a competition. Sex is a way to express love and to create life. 

    We discussed how pornography can affect a relationship. Nowadays pornography is not uncommon, and it can really change the feelings felt within sexual intimacy. If you watch pornography then when you are being sexually intimate with your partner it will not seem as exciting because pornography will put an image in your head of how sex should be, when in real sexual relations it is not that way at all. Watching pornography can also be a form of infidelity which can cause big problems within a relationship or marriage, but we also discussed that infidelity can sometimes play a role in creating a stronger relationship in the future. If the person that messed up has the desire to change and the other partner is willing to forgive they will work harder to make their relationship work and to overcome the temptations such as pornography. 

    There are three natural drugs that we talked about that are involved with sexual intimacy. The first is dopamine, google tells us that dopamine is a neurohormone that "The neurotransmitter dopamine is produced in response to sexual stimulation, and thanks to dopamine, we really do feel enjoyment." so without dopamine we wouldn't feel the sexual excitement we feel when having sexual intimacy. The second drug is oxytocin. Google describes oxytocin as "Oxytocin is a hormone and a neurotransmitter that is involved in childbirth and breast-feeding. It is also associated with empathy, trust, sexual activity, and relationship-building. It is sometimes referred to as the “love hormone,” because levels of oxytocin increase during hugging and orgasm." So oxytocin might be more applicable in post sex situations once a child is born, but it can play a role in orgasm. The last drug is serotonin, google gives us the definition of serotonin saying "This affects sexual behavior. Generally speaking, high levels of serotonin (either administered directly into the brain, or as the result of genetic absence of the transporter), inhibit sexual behavior. This means that antidepressants which increase serotonin cause problems like longer time to ejaculate in men." as you can see, these three drugs play different roles in sexual intimacy.

    This topic was an interesting one to read and study about, but it led to some great discussion during class.

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