Human sexuality

Sexual behaviors of humans is broadly called human sexuality.

Glossary

• Bisexual:  A person who is attracted to both people of their own gender and other genders.

• Cisgender:  Individuals whose current gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth.

• Gay:  A person who is attracted primarily to members of the same gender. Gay is most frequently used to describe men who are attracted primarily to other men, although it can be used for men and women.

• Gender Expression:  How an individual chooses to present their gender to others through physical appearance and behaviors, such as style of hair or dress, voice, or movement.

• Gender Identity:  An individual’s sense of their self as man, woman, transgender, or something else.

• Gender Minority:  Individuals whose gender identity (man, women, other) or expression (masculine, feminine, other) is different from their sex (male, female) assigned at birth.

• Gender Nonbinary:  Individuals who do not identify their gender as man or woman.  Other terms to describe this identity include genderqueer, agender, bigender, gender creative, etc.

• Gender Nonconforming:  The state of one’s physical appearance or behaviors not aligning with societal expectations of their gender (a feminine boy, a masculine girl, etc.).

• Gender:  The cultural roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes expected of people based on their sex.

• Heterosexual or Straight:  A man who is primarily attracted to women or a woman who is primarily attracted to men.

• LGBTQ:  Acronym that refers to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning community.

• Lesbian:  A woman who is primarily attracted to other women.

• Queer:  An umbrella term sometimes used to refer to the entire LGBT community.

• Questioning:  For some, the process of exploring and discovering one’s own sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

• SGMY:  Acronym for sexual and gender minority youth.

• SGM:  Acronym for sexual and gender minorities.

• SMY:  Acronym for sexual minority youth.

• Sex:  An individual’s biological status as male, female, or something else.  Sex is assigned at birth and associated with physical attributes, such as anatomy and chromosomes.

• Sexual Minority:  Individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, or who are attracted to or have sexual contact with people of the same gender.

• Sexual Orientation:  Refers to a person’s sexual and emotional attraction to another person and the behavior and/or social affiliation that may result from this attraction (lesbian, gay, bisexual, etc.)

• Transgender:  Individuals whose current gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

• age of consent - noun the minimum age for marrying without parental consent or the minimum age for consensual sexual relations; intercourse at an earlier age can result in a charge of assault or statutory rape; the age differs in different states of the Union

• anal sex - noun intercourse via the anus, committed by a man with a man or woman

• aristocrat - noun a member of the aristocracy

• asexuality - noun having no evident sex or sex organs

• bareback - adj. riding without a saddle; adv. without a saddle

• barefoot - adj. without shoes; adv. without shoes on

• birth control - noun limiting the number of children born

• bisexuality - noun sexual activity with both men and women; showing characteristics of both sexes

• celibacy - noun an unmarried status; abstaining from sexual relations (as because of religious vows)

• cunnilingus - noun oral stimulation of the vulva or clitoris

• cyberpunk - noun a genre of fast-paced science fiction involving oppressive futuristic computerized societies; a writer of science fiction set in a lawless subculture of an oppressive society dominated by computer technology; a programmer who breaks into computer systems in order to steal or change or destroy information as a form of cyber-terrorism

• cybersex - noun sexual arousal involving communication on the internet

• daoism - noun philosophical system developed by of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events

• diversity - noun the condition or result of being changed; noticeable heterogeneity

• dress code - noun a set of rules specifying the correct manner of dress while on the premises of the institution (or specifying what manner of dress is prohibited)

• edging - noun border consisting of anything placed on the edge to finish something (such as a fringe on clothing or on a rug)

• erection - noun a structure that has been erected; an erect penis; the act of building or putting up

• erotica - noun creative activity (writing or pictures or films etc.) of no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire

• ethereal - adj. characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy; of or containing or dissolved in ether; characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; as impalpable or intangible as air; of heaven or the spirit

• europe - noun the nations of the European continent collectively; the 2nd smallest continent (actually a vast peninsula of Eurasia); the British use `Europe' to refer to all of the continent except the British Isles; an international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members

• exhibitionism - noun the perverse act of exposing and attracting attention to your own genitals; extravagant and conspicuous behavior intended to attract attention to yourself

• extramarital sex - noun sexual intercourse between individuals who are not married to one another

• facial - adj. of or pertaining to the outside surface of an object; of or concerning the face; noun care for the face that usually involves cleansing and massage and the application of cosmetic creams; cranial nerve that supplies facial muscles

• family planning - noun limiting the number of children born

• fellatio - noun oral stimulation of the penis

• female - adj. being the sex (of plant or animal) that produces fertilizable gametes (ova) from which offspring develop; for or pertaining to or composed of women or girls; characteristic of or peculiar to a woman; noun an animal that produces gametes (ova) that can be fertilized by male gametes (spermatozoa); a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies

• fetishism - noun sexual arousal or gratification resulting from handling a fetish (or a specific part of the body other than the sexual organs); a belief in the magical power of fetishes (or the worship of a fetish)

• fingering - noun touching something with the fingers; the placement of the fingers for playing different notes (or sequences of notes) on a musical instrument

• flirting - noun playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest

• foreplay - noun mutual sexual fondling prior to sexual intercourse

• free love - noun sexual intercourse between individuals who are not married to one another

• gender identity - noun your identity as it is experienced with regard to your individuality as male or female; awareness normally begin in infancy and is reinforced during adolescence

• gymnosophy - noun the doctrine of a sect of Hindu philosophers who practiced nudity and asceticism and meditation

• health - noun the general condition of body and mind; a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease

• heterosexuality - noun a sexual attraction to (or sexual relations with) persons of the opposite sex

• homosexuality - noun a sexual attraction to (or sexual relations with) persons of the same sex

• identity - noun the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity; exact sameness; the individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known; an operator that leaves unchanged the element on which it operates

• incest - noun sexual intercourse between persons too closely related to marry (as between a parent and a child)

• insemination - noun the introduction of semen into the genital tract of a female; the act of sowing (of seeds in the ground or, figuratively, of germs in the body or ideas in the mind, etc.)

• intersex - noun one having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made

• libido - noun (psychoanalysis) a Freudian term for sexual urge or desire

• macabre - adj. shockingly repellent; inspiring horror

• marriage - noun the act of marrying; the nuptial ceremony; two people who are married to each other; the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce); a close and intimate union

• massage - noun kneading and rubbing parts of the body to increase circulation and promote relaxation; verb give a massage to; manually manipulate (someone's body), usually for medicinal or relaxation purposes

• masturbation - noun manual stimulation of the genital organs (of yourself or another) for sexual pleasure

• modesty - noun formality and propriety of manner; freedom from vanity or conceit

• mormonism - noun the doctrines and practices of the Mormon Church based on the Book of Mormon

• naturism - noun going without clothes as a social practice

• new wave - noun an art movement in French cinema in the 1960s; any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)

• north america - noun the nations of the North American continent collectively; a continent (the third largest) in the western hemisphere connected to South America by the Isthmus of Panama

• nudity - noun the state of being without clothing or covering of any kind

• obscenity - noun an obscene act; the trait of behaving in an obscene manner; an offensive or indecent word or phrase

• occult - adj. hidden and difficult to see; having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding; noun supernatural practices and techniques; supernatural forces and events and beings collectively; verb hide from view; become concealed or hidden from view or have its light extinguished; cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention

• oral sex - noun oral stimulation of the genitals

• orgasm - noun the moment of most intense pleasure in sexual intercourse

• paraphilia - noun abnormal sexual activity

• philippines - noun an archipelago in the southwestern Pacific including some 7000 islands; a republic on the Philippine Islands; achieved independence from the United States in 1946

• physiology - noun processes and functions of an organism; the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms

• pornography - noun creative activity (writing or pictures or films etc.) of no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire

• pregnancy - noun the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus

• promiscuity - noun indulging in promiscuous (casual and indiscriminate) sexual relations

• prostitution - noun offering sexual intercourse for pay

• quickie - noun hurried repair

• romance - adj. relating to languages derived from Latin; noun a novel dealing with idealized events remote from everyday life; the group of languages derived from Latin; an exciting and mysterious quality (as of a heroic time or adventure); a story dealing with love; a relationship between two lovers; verb tell romantic or exaggerated lies; have a love affair with; talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions; make amorous advances towards

• romanticism - noun impractical romantic ideals and attitudes; an exciting and mysterious quality (as of a heroic time or adventure); a movement in literature and art during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that celebrated nature rather than civilization

• safe sex - noun sexual activity (especially sexual intercourse) with the use of measures (such as latex condoms) to avoid the transmission of disease (especially AIDS)

• sex segregation - noun the traditional Hindu or Muslim system of keeping women secluded

• sexual abuse - noun a statutory offense that provides that it is a crime to knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat

• sexual arousal - noun the arousal of sexual desires in preparation for sexual behavior

• sexual assault - noun a statutory offense that provides that it is a crime to knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat

• sexual intercourse - noun the act of sexual procreation between a man and a woman; the man's penis is inserted into the woman's vagina and excited until orgasm and ejaculation occur

• sexual - adj. having or involving sex; of or relating to or characterized by sexuality; involved in a sexual relationship

• sexuality - noun the properties that distinguish organisms on the basis of their reproductive roles

• south america - noun the nations of the South American continent collectively; a continent in the western hemisphere connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama

• strip-search - verb search (someone) for weapons or drugs by having the person remove their clothes

• stripper - noun a performer who provides erotic entertainment by undressing to music; a worker who strips the stems from moistened tobacco leaves and binds the leaves together into books; a chemical compound used to remove paint or varnish; an oil well whose production has declined to less than ten barrels a day

• striptease - noun a form of erotic entertainment in which a dancer gradually undresses to music; a performer who provides erotic entertainment by undressing to music

• swinging - adj. characterized by a buoyant rhythm; noun changing location by moving back and forth

• tribadism - noun a form of lesbianism that simulates heterosexual intercourse

• urology - noun the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the urinary tract or urogenital system

• voyeurism - noun a perversion in which a person receives sexual gratification from seeing the genitalia of others or witnessing others' sexual behavior

Human sexuality Resources
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