CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE

PDEV 1013: Understanding the Self

AY 2024-2025

Lesson 2: Unpacking The Self

Topic: The Sexual Self

Learning Outcomes: At the end of this module, you are expected to:

At the end of this learning module, the student is expected to:

a. Explore the sexual aspects of self and identity
b. Demonstrate critical, reflective thought in integrating the various aspects of the sexual self and identity
c. Identify the different forces that impact the development of sexual self and identity
d. Promote cultural sensitivity and protection of human rights (specifically on sexuality)

INTRODUCTION

Sexuality is one of the fundamental drives behind everyone’s

feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. It defines the means of biological
reproduction, describes psychological and sociological representations of
self, and orients a person’s attraction to others. Further, it shapes the brain
and body to be pleasure-seeking. Yet, as important as sexuality is to being
human, it is often viewed as a sensitive topic for personal or scientific inquiry.

This module presents an opportunity for you to think openly and

objectively about sex. Without shame or sensitivity, using science as a lens, we examine fundamental
aspects of human sexuality— including gender, sexual orientation, fantasies, behaviors, paraphilia, and
sexual consent.

Sexuality is commonly defined as “the ways people experience and express themselves as sexual
beings” (King, 2014, p. 373).

The World Health Organization (WHO) provides a working definition of the term “sexuality” that
encompasses or specifies much more.

Sexuality is a central aspect of being human throughout life encompasses sex, gender identities and
roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Sexuality is experienced and
expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, practices, roles and
relationships. While sexuality can include all of these dimensions, not all of them are always
experienced or expressed (WHO, 2006a as cited in “Defining Sexual Health”, 2018, para. 6).

Sex influences the way we dress, talk and behave. In many ways, sex defines who we are. It is so
important that the eminent neuropsychologist Karl Pribram (1958) described sex as one of four basic human
drive states. Drive states motivate us to accomplish goals. They are linked to our survival. According to
Pribram, feeding, fighting, fleeing, and sex are the four drives behind every thought, feeling, and behavior.
Since these drives are so closely associated with our psychological and physical health, you might assume
people would study, understand, and discuss them openly. Your assumption would be generally correct for
three of the four drives (Malacane & Beckmeyer, 2016).

Ignorance about sex and sexuality is deadly and may cause serious problems. Sex education may not
yet have been implemented in the country in a full blast but it doesn’t mean that learning cannot take place. If
more Filipinos would continue to learn, whether formally or informally, about proper sex education, than it may
be indirectly passed on to young children through teaching proper hygiene or through being discerning of a
child’s actions, reactions, questions, or comments about sex. Sex education is not to promote sexual
intercourse but to promote good sexual health and safety from sexual violence. “Withholding information
about sex and sexuality will not keep children safe; it will only keep them ignorant” (Hauser, 2013, para.
2).

*The Genderbread Person (Killerman, 2016)

SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT

As one grows up, one experiences many changes. There are changes in the body; in the way one
behaves and the way others expect one to be. There are also changes in interests and preoccupations. All of
this is normal. It is part of growing up, but growing up is not easy. This is a time when one has many questions
and hardly any answers. It is difficult to talk about the things upper-most in your mind. Why is my body
changing? Why do I get an erection? Why do I feel attracted to the opposite sex? Many older people are not
willing to discuss these issues openly. As a result, your friends (peer group), TV, films, magazines and
imagination become your sources of information.

In order to deal with the confusion, we need to know the facts of growing up, distinguish between myths
and realities and come to terms with change. This module deals with these issues.

“It’s natural for everyone to become more sexually aware, but it doesn’t mean you are ready to have
sex” (Cole, 2009, p. 11).

Puberty could have been less stressful if only we were properly oriented of what to expect physically
and emotionally. Just by reading few books on sexuality, we would be comforted to know how normal the
things and feelings we thought were abnormal. Though puberty is normal, it is not a one size fits all
experience. It could manifest in varying rates and specific ages. Every individual “develops and reacts in
different ways” due to factors like stress, weight, nutrition, hormonal activity, and inherent characteristics”
(Cole, 2009, p. 4).
 People have been scientifically investigating sex for only about 125 years. The first scientific
investigations of sex employed the case study method of research. Using this method, the English physician
Henry Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) examined diverse topics within sexuality. From 1897 to 1923, his findings
were published in a seven-volume set of books titled Studies in the Psychology of Sex. Among his most
noteworthy findings is that transgender people are distinct from homosexual people. Ellis’s studies led him to
be an advocate of equal rights for women and comprehensive human sexuality education in public schools.

Using case studies, the Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud

(1856-1939) is credited with being the first scientist to link sex to
healthy development and to recognize humans as being sexual
throughout their lifespans, including childhood (Freud, 1905).

Freud believed that personality develops during early childhood.

For Freud, childhood experiences shape our personalities and behavior
as adults. Freud viewed development as discontinuous; he believed
that each of us must pass through a serious of stages during
childhood, and that if we lack proper nurturance and parenting during a
stage, we may become stuck, or fixated, in that stage. Freud’s stages
are called the stages of psychosexual development. According to Freud, children’s pleasure-seeking urges are
focused on a different area of the body, called an erogenous zone, at each of the five stages of development:
oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.

While most of Freud’s ideas have not found support in modern research, we cannot discount the
contributions that Freud has made to the field of psychology. Psychologists today dispute Freud’s
psychosexual stages as a legitimate explanation for how one’s personality develops, but what we can take
away from Freud’s theory is that personality is shaped, in some part, by experiences we have in childhood.

According to Freud, each of these stages could be passed through in a healthy or unhealthy manner. In
unhealthy manners, people might develop psychological problems, such as frigidity, impotence, or anal-
retentiveness.
 THE DIVERSITY OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

Applying for a scholarship or filling out a job application requires your name, address, and birth-date.
Additionally, applications usually ask for your sex or gender. It’s common for us to use the terms “sex” and
“gender” interchangeably. However, in modern usage, these terms are distinct from one another.

Sex describes means of biological reproduction. Sex includes sexual organs, such as ovaries—
defining what it is to be a female—or testes—defining what it is to be a male. Interestingly, biological sex is
not as easily defined or determined as you might expect (see the section on variations in sex, below). By
contrast, the term gender describes psychological (gender identity) and sociological (gender role)
representations of biological sex. At an early age, we begin learning cultural norms for what is considered
masculine and feminine. For example, children may associate long hair or dresses with femininity. Later in
life, as adults, we often conform to these norms by behaving in gender-specific ways: as men, we build
houses; as women, we bake cookies (Marshall, 1989; Money et al., 1955; Weinraub et al., 1984).

Because cultures change over time, so too do ideas about gender. For example, European and
American cultures today associate pink with femininity and blue with masculinity. However, less than a
century ago, these same cultures were swaddling baby boys in pink, because of its masculine associations
with “blood and war,” and dressing little girls in blue, because of its feminine associations with the Virgin Mary
(Kimmel, 1996).

An explanation of the diversity of human sexuality and sexual orientation

Sex and gender are important aspects of a person’s identity. However, they do not tell us about a
person’s sexual orientation (Rule & Ambady, 2008). Sexual orientation refers to a person’s sexual attraction
to others. Within the context of sexual orientation, sexual attraction refers to a person’s capacity to arouse
the sexual interest of another, or, conversely, the sexual interest one person feels toward another.

We live in an era when sex, gender, and sexual orientation are controversial religious and political
issues. Some nations have laws against homosexuality, while others have laws protecting same-sex
marriages. At a time when there seems to be little agreement among religious and political groups, it makes
sense to wonder, “What is normal?” and, “Who decides?”
 The international scientific and medical communities (e.g., World Health Organization, World Medical
Association, World Psychiatric Association, Association for Psychological Science) view variations of sex,
gender, and sexual orientation as normal. Furthermore, variations of sex, gender, and sexual orientation
occur naturally throughout the animal kingdom. More than 500 animal species have homosexual or bisexual
orientations (Lehrer, 2006). More than 65,000 animal species are intersex—born with either an absence or
some combination of male and female reproductive organs, sex hormones, or sex chromosomes (Jarne &
Auld, 2006). In humans, intersex individuals make up about two percent—more than 150 million people—of
the world’s population (Blackless et al., 2000). There are dozens of intersex conditions, such as Androgen
Insensitivity Syndrome and Turner’s Syndrome (Lee et al., 2006). The term “syndrome” can be misleading;
although intersex individuals may have physical limitations (e.g., about a third of Turner’s individuals have
heart defects; Matura et al., 2007), they otherwise lead relatively normal intellectual, personal, and social
lives. In any case, intersex individuals demonstrate the diverse variations of biological sex.

Just as biological sex varies more widely than is commonly thought, so too does gender. Cisgender
individuals’ gender identities correspond with their birth sexes, whereas transgender individuals’ gender
identities do not correspond with their birth sexes. Because gender is so deeply ingrained culturally, rates of
transgender individuals vary widely around the world.

Sexual orientation is as diverse as gender identity. Instead of thinking of sexual orientation as being two
categories—homosexual and heterosexual—Kinsey argued that it’s a continuum (Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin,
1948). He measured orientation on a continuum, using a 7-point Likert scale called the Heterosexual-
Homosexual Rating Scale, in which 0 is exclusively heterosexual, 3 is bisexual, and 6 is exclusively
homosexual. Later researchers using this method have found 18% to 39% of Europeans and Americans
identifying as somewhere between heterosexual and homosexual (Lucas et al., 2017; YouGov.com, 2015). Of
the 39 countries covered by a global survey, only 17 countries had majorities that accepted homosexuality,
with the Philippines ranking at number 10 among the 17 (https://globalnation.inquirer.net/).

THE BASIC BIOLOGY OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR: TEEN SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

The change from child to adult is an especially

dangerous time for adolescents in our society. From their
earliest years, children watch television shows and
movies that insist that "sex appeal" is a
personal quality that people need to develop
to the fullest (focusas.com/SexualBehavior-
Range.html, 2008). While adolescents and
their parents generally agree about many
issues and aspects of life, they hold strikingly
different views on sex. Parents, based on
their perspective from greater experience,
urge caution and restraint.

Adolescents, experiencing strong

sexual desire for the first time and eager for
all pleasures life can offer, are frequently
tempted to throw caution to the wind and
indulge (Tria, et al., 2012). TV, movies, and
music are not the only influences the Internet
provides teens with seemingly unlimited
access to information on sex as well as a steady supply of people willing to talk about sex with them. Teens
may feel safe because they can remain anonymous while looking for information on sex. Sexual predators
know this and manipulate young people into online relationships and, later, set up a time and place to meet.
(commercialexploitation.org/factsheets/ccfc-factsmarketingsex.pdf, 2008).

What about sexual orientation and coming out during the adolescence?

Adolescence is a period when people separate from their parents and families begin to develop
autonomy. Adolescent can be a period of experimentation and many youth may question their sexual feelings.
Becoming aware of sexual feelings is a normal developmental task of adolescence. Sometimes adolescent
have same sex feelings or experiences that cause confusion about their sexual orientation. This confusion
appears to decline over time, with different outcomes for different individuals. Some adolescents desire and
engage in same sex behaviour but do not identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, sometimes because of the
stigma associated with a non-hetero sexual orientation.

Some adolescents experience continuing feelings of same-sex attraction but do not engage in any
sexual activity or may engage in heterosexual behavior for varying lengths of time. Because of the stigma
associated with same-sex attractions, many youths experience same-sex attraction or many years before
becoming sexually active with partners of the same sex or disclosing their attractions to others. For some
young people, this process of exploring same-sex attractions leads to a lesbian, gay, or bisexual identity. For
some, acknowledging this identity can bring an end to confusion. When these young people receive the
support of parents and others, they are often able to live satisfying and healthy lives and move through the
usual process of adolescent development. The younger a person is when she or he acknowledges a non-
heterosexual identity, the fewer internal and external resources she or he is likely to have. Therefore, youths
who come out early are particularly in need of support from parents and others. Young people who identify as
lesbian, gay, or bisexual may be more likely to face certain problems, including being bullied and having
negative experiences in school. These experiences are associated with negative outcomes, such as suicidal
thoughts, and high-risk activities, such as unprotected sex and alcohol and drug use. On the other hand, many
lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths appear to experience no greater level of health or mental health risks. Where
problems occur, they are closely associate with experience of bias and discrimination in their environments.
Support from important people in teen’s life can provide a very helpful counterpart to bias and discrimination.

CIRCLES OF SEXUALITY
Adapted from Life Planning Education, a comprehensive sex education curriculum. Washington, DC: Advocates for Youth, 2007.
 Sexuality is much more than sexual feelings or sexual intercourse. It is an important part of who a
person is and what she/he will become. It includes all the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors associated with
being female or male, being attractive and being in love, as well as being in relationships that include sexual
intimacy and sensual and sexual activity. It also includes enjoyment of the world as we know it through the five
senses: taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight.

Circle
#1—

Sensuality

Sensuality is awareness and feeling about your own body and other people's bodies, especially the body of
a sexual partner. Sensuality enables us to feel good about how our bodies look and feel and what they can do.
Sensuality also allows us to enjoy the pleasure our bodies can give us and others. This part of our sexuality
affects our behavior in several ways.

• Body image—Feeling attractive and proud of one's own body and the way it functions influences many
aspects of life. Adolescents often choose media personalities as the standard for how they should look,
so they are often disappointed by what they see in the mirror. They may be especially dissatisfied when
the mainstream media does not portray or does not positively portray physical characteristics the teens
see in the mirror, such as color of skin, type or hair, shape of eyes, height, or body shape.

• Experiencing pleasure—Sensuality allows a person to experience pleasure when certain parts of the
body are touched. People also experience sensual pleasure from taste, touch, sight, hearing, and smell
as part of being alive.

• Satisfying skin hunger—The need to be touched and held by others in loving, caring ways is often
referred to as skin hunger. Adolescents typically receive considerably less touch from their parents than
do younger children. Many teens satisfy their skin hunger through close physical contact with peers.
Sexual intercourse may sometimes result from a teen's need to be held, rather than from sexual desire.
 • Feeling physical attraction for another person—The center of sensuality and attraction to others is not
in the genitals (despite all the jokes). The center of sensuality and attraction to others is in the brain,
humans' most important "sex organ." The unexplained mechanism responsible for sexual attraction
rests in the brain, not in the genitalia.

• Fantasy—The brain also gives people the capacity to have fantasies about sexual behaviors and
experiences. Adolescents often need help understanding that sexual fantasy is normal and that one
does not have to act upon sexual fantasies.

Circle #2—Sexual Intimacy

Sexual intimacy is the ability to be emotionally close to another human being and to
accept closeness in return. Several aspects of intimacy include

• Sharing—Sharing intimacy is what makes personal relationships rich. While sensuality is about physical
closeness, intimacy focuses on emotional closeness.
• Caring—Caring about others means feeling their joy and their pain. It means being open to emotions
that may not be comfortable or convenient. Nevertheless, an intimate relationship is possible only when
we care.

• Liking or loving another person—Having emotional attachment or connection to others is a

manifestation of intimacy.\

• Emotional risk-taking—To have true intimacy with others, a person must open up and share feelings
and personal information. Sharing personal thoughts and feelings with someone else is risky, because
the other person may not feel the same way. But it is not possible to be really close with another person
without being honest and open with her/him.

• Vulnerability—To have intimacy means that we share and care, like or love, and take emotional risks.
That makes us vulnerable—the person with whom we share, about whom we care, and whom we like
or love, has the power to hurt us emotionally. Intimacy requires vulnerability, on the part of each person
in the relationship.

Circle #3—Sexual Identity

Sexual identity is a person's understanding of who she/he is sexually,

including the sense of being male or of being female. Sexual identity consists of
three "interlocking pieces" that, together, affect how each person sees
him/herself. Each "piece" is important.

• Gender identity—Knowing whether one is male or female. Most young children determine their own
gender identity by age two. Sometime, a person's biological gender is not the same as his/her gender
identity—this is called being transgender.

• Gender role—Identifying actions and/or behaviors for each gender. Some things are determined by the
way male and female bodies are built or function. For example, only women menstruate and only men
produce sperm. Other gender roles are culturally determined. In some countries like the Philippines, it
 is considered appropriate for only women to wear dresses to work in the business world. In other
cultures, men may wear skirt-like outfits everywhere.

There are many "rules" about what men and women can/should do that have nothing to do with the
way their bodies are built or function. This aspect of sexuality is especially important for young
adolescents to understand, since peer, parent, and cultural pressures to be "masculine" or "feminine"
increase during the adolescent years. Both young men and young women need help sorting out how
perceptions about gender roles affect whether they feel encouraged or discouraged in their choices
about relationships, leisure activities, education, and career.

Gender bias means holding stereotyped opinions about people according to their gender. Gender bias
might include believing that women are less intelligent or less capable than men, that men suffer from
"testosterone poisoning," that men cannot raise children without the help of women, that women cannot
be analytical, that men cannot be sensitive. Many times, people hold fast to these stereotyped opinions
without giving rational thought to the subject of gender.

• Sexual orientation—Whether a person's primary attraction is to people of the other gender

(heterosexuality) or to the same gender (homosexuality) or to both genders (bisexuality) defines his/her
sexual orientation. Sexual orientation begins to emerge by adolescence although many gay and lesbian
youth say they knew they felt same sex attraction by age 10 or 11. Between three and 10—percent of
the general population is probably exclusively homosexual in orientation. Perhaps another 10 percent
of the general population feel attracted to both genders.

Heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth can all experience same-gender sexual attraction
and/or activity around puberty. Such behavior, including sexual play with samegender peers, crushes
on same-gender adults, or sexual fantasies about same-gender people are normal for pre-teens and
young teens and are not necessarily related to sexual orientation.

Negative social messages and homophobic culture in the society can mean that young adolescents
who are experiencing sexual attraction to and romantic feelings for someone of their own gender need
support so they can clarify their feelings and accept their sexuality.

Circle #4—Reproduction and Sexual Health

These are a person's capacity to reproduce and the behaviors and attitudes that
make sexual relationships healthy and enjoyable.

• Factual information about reproduction—Is necessary so youth will understand how male and female
reproductive systems function and how conception and/or STD infection occur. Adolescents often have
inadequate information about their own and/or their partner's body. Teens need this information so they
can make informed decisions about sexual expression and protect their health. Youth need to
understand anatomy and physiology because every adolescent needs the knowledge and
understanding to help him/her appreciate the ways in which his/her body functions.

• Feelings and attitudes—Are wide-ranging when it comes to sexual expression and reproduction and to
sexual health-related topics such as STD infection, HIV and AIDS, contraceptive use, abortion,
pregnancy, and childbirth.
 • Sexual intercourse—Is one of the most common behaviors among humans. Sexual intercourse is a
behavior that may produce sexual pleasure that often culminates in orgasm in females and in males.
Sexual intercourse may also result in pregnancy and/or STDs. In programs for youth, discussion of
sexual intercourse is often limited to the bare mention of male-female (penile-vaginal) intercourse.
However, youth need accurate health information about sexual intercourse—vaginal, oral, and anal.

• Reproductive and sexual anatomy—The male and female body and the ways in which they actually
function is a part of sexual health. Youth can learn to protect their reproductive and sexual health. This
means that teens need information about all the effective methods of contraception currently available,
how they work, where to obtain them, their effectiveness, and their side effects. This means that youth
also need to know how to use latex condoms to prevent STD infection. Even if youth are not currently
engaging in sexual intercourse, they probably will do so at some point in the future. They must know
how to prevent pregnancy and/or disease.

Finally, youth also need to know that traditional methods of preventing pregnancy (that may be
common in that particular community and/or culture) may be ineffective in preventing pregnancy and
may, depending on the method, even increase susceptibility to STDs. The leader will need to determine
what those traditional methods are, their effectiveness, and their side effects before he/she can discuss
traditional methods of contraception in a culturally appropriate and informative way.

• Sexual reproduction—The actual processes of conception, pregnancy, delivery, and recovery following
childbirth are important parts of sexuality. Youth need information about sexual reproduction—the
process whereby two different individuals each contribute half of the genetic material to their child. The
child is, therefore, not identical to either parent. [Asexual reproduction is a process whereby simple
one-celled organisms reproduce by splitting, creating two separate one-celled organisms identical to
the original [female] organism before it split.] Too many programs focus exclusively on sexual
reproduction when providing sexuality education and ignore all the other aspects of human sexuality.

Circle #5—Sexualization

Sexualization is that aspect of sexuality in which people behave

sexually to influence, manipulate, or control other people. Often called the
"shadowy" side of human sexuality, sexualization spans behaviors that range
from the relatively harmless to the sadistically violent, cruel, and criminal.
These sexual behaviors include flirting, seduction, withholding sex from an
intimate partner to punish her/him or to get something, sexual harassment,
sexual abuse, and rape. Teens need to know that no one has the right to
exploit them sexually and that they do not have the right to exploit anyone else sexually.

• Flirting—Is a relatively harmless sexualization behavior. Nevertheless, upon occasion it is an attempt to

manipulate someone else, and it can cause the person manipulated to feel hurt, humiliation, and
shame.

• Seduction—Is the act of enticing someone to engage in sexual activity. The act of seduction implies
manipulation that at times may prove harmful for the one who is seduced.

• Sexual harassment—Is an illegal behavior. Sexual harassment means harassing someone else
because of her/his gender. It could mean making personal, embarrassing remarks about someone's
 appearance, especially characteristics associated with sexual maturity, such as the size of a woman's
breasts or of a man's testicles and penis. It could mean unwanted touching, such as hugging a
subordinate or patting someone's bottom. It could mean demands by a teacher, supervisor, or other
person in authority for sexual intercourse in exchange for grades, promotion, hiring, raises, etc. All
these behaviors are manipulative. The Philippine laws of the {provide protection against sexual
harassment. Youth should know that they have the right to file a complaint with appropriate authorities if
they are sexually harassed and that others may complain of their behavior if they sexually harass
someone else.

• Rape—Means coercing or forcing someone else to have genital contact with another. Sexual assault
can include forced petting as well as forced sexual intercourse. Force, in the case of rape, can include
use of overpowering strength, threats, and/or implied threats that arouse fear in the person raped.
Youth need to know that rape is always illegal and always cruel. Youth should know that they are
legally entitled to the protection of the criminal justice system if they are the victims of rape and that
they may be prosecuted if they force anyone else to have genital contact with them for any reason.
Refusing to accept no and forcing the other person to have sexual intercourse always means rape.

• Incest—Means forcing sexual contact on any minor who is related to the perpetrator by birth or
marriage. Incest is always illegal and is extremely cruel because it betrays the trust that children and
youth give to their families. Moreover, because the older person knows that incest is illegal and tries to
hide the crime, he/she often blames the child/youth. The triple burden of forced sexual contact,
betrayed trust, and self-blame makes incest particularly damaging to survivors of incest.

SEXUAL RESPONSE CYCLE

 SEXUAL HEALTH AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES INFECTIONS

The factual information about reproduction is necessary so youth will understand how male and female
reproductive systems function and how conception and or STD infection occur. Adolescents often have
inadequate information about their own and/or their partner's body Teens need this information so they can
make informed decisions about sexual expression and protect their health. Youth need to understand anatomy
and physiology because every adolescent needs the knowledge and understanding to help him/her appreciate
the ways in which his her body functions (advocatesforyouth.org/publications/Ipe/index.htm, 2008).

Sexual intercourse

Sexual intercourse is one of the most common behaviors among humans Sexual intercourse is a
behavior that may produce sexual pleasure that often culminates in orgasm in females and in males. Sexual
intercourse may also result in pregnancy and or STDs. ln programs for youth, discussion of sexual intercourse
is often limited to the bare mention of male-female (penile-vaginal) intercourse. However, youth need accurate
health information about sexual intercourse—vaginal, oral, and anal.

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS HAVING SEX

 all teens are having sex

 having sex makes you matured and an adult
 something is wrong with an older teen (17-1() who is not having sex
 a girl can’t get pregnant when she is menstruating
 a girl can’t get pregnant if it’s her first time
 you are a virgin can't have sexual intercourse --- oral sex doesn't count
  oral sex is not sex

Premarital Sex

Is sexual activity practiced by people who are unmarried. It can be any sexual relations a person has
prior to marriage. The alternative terms for premarital sex have been suggested, including non-marital sex
(which overlaps with adultery), youthful sex, adolescent and young adult sex.

A 2014 Pew study on global morality found that premarital sex was considered particularly
unacceptable in predominantly Muslim nations", such as Indonesia. Jordan, Pakistan and Egypt, each having
over disapproval, while people in Western European countries were the most accepting with Spain, Germany
and France expressing less than 10% disapproval. People who have premarital sex are recommended by
health professionals to tak precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
such as HIV/AIDS. There is also a risk of an unplanned pregnancy in heterosexual relationships

FACTORS THAT ENCOURAGE HAVING PREMARITAL SEX

 Having poorly educated parents

 Unsupportive family relationships
 Lack of Parental supervision
 Friends who are sexually active
 Poor school grades poor academic performance
 Poor spiritual exercises (not hearing mass, lack of church involvement
 Engaged in risky leisure activities

Sexually Transmitted Diseases/Infections

These are also known as Venereal Diseases (VD). They are passed through sexual contact or genital
through vaginal intercourse, oral sex and anal sex. The term STI evolved from "venereal disease" to "sexually
transmitted disease", then "sexually transmitted infection" which has a broader range of meaning: that it can be
passed without disease. (You don't have to be ill to infect others)

HIV/AIDS

HIV is "Human Immunodeficiency Virus". This is a retrovirus-genetic info @RNA than DNA. HIV is the
virus that causes AIDS and it is preventable and manageable but no curable. AIDS is "Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome". Since this is a syndrome, there are several manifestations of the breakdown in
body's immune system and have developed in people who have been infected by HIV.

How do people get AIDS? AIDS is developed through:

1) Bodily fluids (blood products--transfusions, semen and vaginal fluids)

2) Intravenous (IV) Drug Abuse (sharing needles and use of unsterilized blades)
3) Sexual intercourse (unprotected vaginal, oral and anal sex)

HIV/AIDS Situationer:
 In the Philippines, here is the number of HIV/AIDS cases reported:

2000 1 case in every 3 days

2009 2 cases in each day
2010 5 cases in each day
2012 1 in every 3 hours (8 cases in each day)
2014 17 cases in each day
2015 22 cases in each day

Around the World, there are 448 million new infections of curable sexually transmitted infections which
occur yearly.

TEENAGE PREGNANCY

This is pregnancy in human females under the age of 20 at the time that the pregnancy ends. Pregnant
teenagers face many of the same obstetrics issues as other women. There are, however, additional medical
concerns for mothers aged below 15 years old. For mothers aged 15-19, risks are associated more with socio-
economic factors than with the biological effects of age. In teenage pregnancy, there are risks of low birth
weight, premature labor, anemia, and pre-eclampsia are connected to the biological age itself, as it was
observed in teen births. Every day in developing countries, 20,000 girls under age 18 give birth.

This amounts to 73 million births a year. And if all pregnancies are included, the number of adolescent
pregnancies is much higher

THINK ABOUT THESE:

 Having SEX isn't always a healthy choice. Impulsive decisions can lead to lifelong problems: serious
disease and infertility
 Abstinence is an OPTION. Choosing not to engage in sexual contact with another person can be a very
powerful personal choice.

Prevention of Teenage Pregnancy

Comprehensive sex education and access to birth control appear to reduce unplanned teenage
pregnancy. It is unclear if a single intervention is most effective. In the United States free access to a long
acting form of reversible birth control along with education decreased the rates of teen pregnancies by around
80% and the rate of abortions by more than 75%.

Education

The Dutch approach to preventing teenage pregnancy has often been seen as a model by other
countries. The curriculum focuses on values, attitudes, communication and negotiation skills, as well as
biological aspects of reproduction. The media has encouraged open dialogue and the health care system
guarantees confidentiality and a non-judgmental approach.

Abstinence only education

 Some schools provide abstinence-only sex education. Evidence does not support the effectiveness of
abstinence-only sex education. It has been found to be ineffective in decreasing HIV risk in the developed
world, and does not decrease rates of unplanned pregnancy when compared to comprehensive sex education.

FAMILY PLANNING/RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD

In Philippine education, the concept of Family Planning is a mandatory topic in the curriculum. Family
Planning, also called Responsible Parenthood, is as old as humankind. It is a simple way of regulating and
spacing the births of children. It is giving birth according to the health and economic conditions of the family,
giving birth of the mother according to her right age. Conception is not left to chance. Benefits derived from
Family Planning are identified as follows:

1. For the family to promote healthy, happy family.

2. For the mother - she can recover her health and strength after delivery.
3. For the child - a better chance of growing healthy and well cared.

Family Planning Methods / Methods of Contraception

Youth also need to know that traditional methods of preventing pregnancy (that may be common in that
particular community and/or culture) may be ineffective in preventing pregnancy and may, depending on the
method, even increase susceptibility to STDs. It should be determined what the traditional methods are, their
effectiveness, and their side effects and know traditional methods of contraception in a culturally appropriate
and informative way, (advocatesforyouth.org publications/Ipe/index.htm, 2008).

A concept linked to family planning is contraception, also known as birth control and fertility control.
This is a method or device used to prevent pregnancy. It is also defined as a deliberate prevention of
conception or impregnation. Family planning methods and/or contraception methods are presented as follows:

1. Natural Birth Control employs natural control methods that people do to help prevent an
unintended pregnancy are without the use of modern/artificial ways of contraception. These require
commitment when you make the decision, discipline and self-control for it to be effective. These include
abstinence, fertility awareness methods, the rhythm, calendar or standard days method, intercourse and
continued breastfeeding, all requiring discipline and responsibility which the Catholic Church approves.

2. Artificial Birth Control employs artificial control methods to help prevent unintended pregnancy use
modern/contemporary measures such as contraceptive or birth control pills, diaphragm, male and female
condoms, spermicide, cervical cap, today sponge, birth control patch, birth control shot, birth control implant,
intrauterine device (IUD), tubal ligation/vasectomy, tubal implants and emergency contraception pill.

The best way to avoid these infections is prevention. “Prevention is better than cure”.

** END of LESSON on THE SEXUAL SELF***