WOMEN’S EXTERNAL SEX STRUCTURES AND ORGANS: CLITORIS AND CLITORAL HOOD. FEMALE CIRCUMCISION
Clitoris and Clitoral Hood
Located toward the top of the vulva, in the soft folds where both labia meet, is a very important organ. It is caned the clitoris. The only purpose of the clitoris is to give girls and women sexual pleasure.
The tip of the clitoris is called the glans. The size of the clitoris varies from woman to woman, but it Ь often about the size of a pea.
The shaft that supports the glans of the clitoris separates into two “legs” that straddle each side of the vagina inside the woman’s body. The shaft and glans of the clitoris are covered by a clitoral hood. The glans of the clitoris is extremely sensitive to the touch. The clitoris contains corpus cavernosa tissue that causes it to swell with blood during sexual activity.
Female circumcision
Female circumcision is performed in some African, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian countries—and in the United States among immigrants from these countries who still follow customs of their original cultures. Female circumcision is an operation that removes the clitoral hood, the clitoris, and, often, the labia. Female circumcision is practiced for cultural reasons. It is often done in unsanitary conditions, can lead to severe health problems, and reduces sexual sensitivity. For these reasons, there is a growing international movement to ban the practice. Female circumcision is often called clitoridectomy or FGM (female genital mutilation). There are no health or medical reasons to perform FGM. Although they can still lead a sexual life, women who have been circumcised will not enjoy the same clitoral sensations during sex play.
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SEXUAL ANATOMY OF WOMEN. WOMEN’S EXTERNAL SEX STRUCTURES AND ORGANS
Vulva and Mons Pubis
The external sex organs of girls and women are nearly hidden from view. A girl will see only some of her external structures—an indentation with two folds of tissue on each side. Her external sex and reproductive organs and structures are inside this area, which is called the vulva. A mature or adolescent woman looking in a mirror will also see her vulva, but it will be covered with pubic hair. Above a woman’s vulva is an area of fatty tissue that helps protect the sex and
reproductive organs inside her body. This is called the mons pubis. The best way for women and girls to see the parts of their vulvas is to use a mirror and move and separate the folds of the vulva. The parts inside the vulva are:
• the outer lips (labia majora)
• the inner lips (labia minora)
• the clitoris
• two Bartholin’s glands
Labia Majora and Labia Minora
The labia majora and labia minora are two
folds of fleshy tissue on the outermost part of the vulva. The labia majora—the outer lips—are on the outermost part of the vulva, closer to the legs. Pubic hair often grows on the labia majora of adolescents and adults. The labia majora contains fatty tissue, so it is thicker than the labia minora. The fatty tissue helps protect the rest of the vulva.
If you hold back the labia majora, you will have a clear view of the labia minora lying inside.
The labia minora surround and protect the rest of the inner vulva. They do not have pubic hair. The inner and outer lips meet at the top and bottom of the vulva. The size and shape of women’s labia may vary greatly.
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OUR SEXUAL JOURNEY AS CHILDREN. EMOTIONAL CHANGES. EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Emotional Changes during Childhood
We develop our basic attitudes about sexuality during childhood. As infants, we form attachments with our parents or other caregivers. How they bond with us is very important to the way we shape our future relationships. Whether they are warm, secure, and loving or cold, insecure, and indifferent affects how we develop our emotional lives into adulthood. Many of our earliest experiences with love and attachment directly reflect our bonds with our parents and caregivers.
Our parents are under a lot of social pressure to try to raise us to be sexually responsible individuals. Some parents try to stop any kind of sexual experimentation by children. They may become upset if they notice their child touching his or her genitals and might say things like “That’s not nice” or “Don’t touch yourself down there.” They may give nonverbal negative messages by slapping or pushing a child’s hand away from her or his genitals.
We may become confused if our parents encourage us to be proud of our growing bodies but discourage us from taking satisfaction in our genitals. Such disapproving messages may cause children to develop negative feelings about their bodies and themselves. The message they receive is that sexuality is bad and so are they.
On the other hand, parents can foster positive feelings about sexuality by acknowledging their children’s autoerotic pleasure. They can smile to their infants and coo, “That feels good, doesn’t it?” To older children, they can say, “I know that feels good, but that’s a private pleasure. We do that when we’re alone—in private.” These approving messages can help children develop positive feelings about their bodies and themselves. The message they receive is that sexuality is good and so are they.
Educational Needs and Responsibilities during Childhood
The sexual curiosity of a child may be surprising to us. It is a good idea to act calmly no matter how surprised we may be. We must be prepared to answer questions. If they are old enough to ask, then they
are old enough to receive an answer. When parents don’t know the answer, it helps to be honest and admit it. We can invite our children to help us look up the answer, or we can find it by ourselves.
The bottom line is to give the child an accurate and simple answer as soon as possible. In all our conversations with our children, we should try to use proper terminology for all body parts, including the vagina, penis, anus, and breasts. Using slang terms gives the impression that we think there is something shameful about these parts of the body.
By the time we are six years old, sex play between our friends and ourselves is a common way of being curious and learning about the differences in our bodies. “Playing doctor” is just one way that we learn about the physical differences between boys and girls while we satisfy our curiosity. We are also aware of the many social restrictions on our sexual expression, so we probably try to hide our activities from our parents and other adults.
One of the greatest responsibilities that our parents have during our childhood is to make sure we know what is socially appropriate behavior and what is not. Parents can integrate discussions about sexuality into family life in a balanced, frank, matter-of-fact way that allows them to deal with sexual topics openly, whenever appropriate. They can set reasonable limits on our sexual behavior as children just as they set rules for other behaviors. They can also present sexuality as a healthy and positive part of life as they present information about sexual risks and responsibilities.
A balanced view of sexual pleasure and responsibility will help children learn to develop positive decision-making skills.
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SEXUAL JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE.
We begin our sexual journey through life in childhood. It continues through our adolescence, our young
adulthood, and our senior years. Our journey is shaped by gender, sexual orientation, disability, special needs, or lifestyles such as the religious life or the physical, emotional, and social changes we experience. The meanings of love, friendship, and life partnership may also change for us along the way. Although all of us are on this voyage, none of our adventures will be exactly the same.
Our sexual journey as children
As children, we may not think of ourselves as being on the beginning of a sexual journey, but we are. We may start our trip by just being curious about our bodies asking our parents where we came from, or noticing that
girls and boys are different from one another. Eventually, we notice the physical changes that our bodies are going through. The timing of the changes is different for each of us, but we all go through them.
Traditionally, childhood sexuality was seen incorrectly as either dangerous or nonexistent. Many still become uncomfortable with a child’s normal sexual interest. They may be concerned for various reasons:
• They worry that their children’s sex normal or is bad.
• They are uncertain or worried about how to deal with their children’s sexuality.
• They might be dealing with their own sexual conflicts.
• They fear their own normal curiosity about their children’s sexuality.
Rest assured that sexuality in childhood is normal and is also healthy and natural. Our sexual reflexes are already at work when we are babies. We experience and enjoy physical closeness with our parents through hugging, clinging, and cuddling. We are really too young to be aware of the connections that are being made to our sexuality. But we do learn that physical closeness and expressions of affection feel good.
Physical Changes during Childhood
As we grow, the physical changes in our bodies become quite obvious. We lose our baby fat and develop quite distinctive physical features. We learn to walk, talk, dress ourselves, and feed ourselves. We grow taller and stronger month by month. It happens to each of us at different rates. That’s why everyone in our fourth-grade class pictures seems to be of different heights.
These changes in growth are not the same as the changes that happen later during adolescence. They do, however, affect our sense of ourselves and our sense of our sexuality. Are we bigger than girls should be? Are we smaller than boys should be? The answers we learn can deeply affect our sense of our femininity or masculinity.
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SEXUAL DYSFUNCTIONS. HEALTH CONDITIONS AND OUR SEXUAL FUNCTION
Sexual Dysfunctions
Dysfunction means to not work well. A sexual dysfunction can be either physical or mental. Or it can be both. It means that a sexual process or response is not functioning normally. For example, if a man is not able to get an erection for some time, his penis is not functioning normally. This is commonly called impotence. It can be caused by physical problems—the penile tissue may be damaged, for example. It can also be caused by mental problems such as anxiety, fear, stress, and depression. For example, a man who is very fearful of impregnating a woman may not be able to get an erection. The correct term for impotence is inhibited arousal. In women, inhibited arousal results in a lack of lubrication. Inhibited arousal can also be caused by certain drugs and medications.
There are numerous sexual dysfunctions that affect our sexual abilities. Dysfunction can happen at any point during the first three phases of the sexual response cycle—desire, excitement, or plateau.
Health Conditions and Our Sexual Function
All illnesses and diseases can affect our sexuality. An illness can make us too exhausted to join in or enjoy sexual intimacy. It can also cause physical problems that affect our sexual response cycle and our ability to perform. Disease and illness also affect how we view our bodies. We can develop a poor body image if we feel our bodies are unhealthy, unattractive, or unresponsive.
Our sexuality is also affected by medications that are prescribed to treat illness and disease. Medications can affect us physically and psychologically. They can also affect how we view ourselves sexually and how we perform. Some medications have side effects that can decrease our sexual desire or performance. They may also be used, however, to treat illnesses such as depression that affect our moods and sense of ourselves. They may help us feel better about ourselves and positively affect our sex lives.
It is important for people who take medications to talk with their health care professionals about the effects any medication may have on their sex lives. Very often health care professionals fail to consider their patients’ sex lives. If they do not begin the conversation, make sure that you do.
In the table on the previous page, a few health conditions are listed with the effects these conditions may have on sexual health. If you need more information about these or other health concerns, contact a health care professional or visit your local library.
Our sexuality and our sexual bodies go through many changes during our lives. In the next chapter, we will look at some of those changes as they occur over the life span.
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