Portal:Human sexuality
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Welcome to the human sexuality portal
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied with historical contexts over time, it lacks a precise definition. The biological and physical aspects of sexuality largely concern the human reproductive functions, including the human sexual response cycle.
Someone's sexual orientation is their pattern of sexual interest in the opposite and/or same sex. Physical and emotional aspects of sexuality include bonds between individuals that are expressed through profound feelings or physical manifestations of love, trust, and care. Social aspects deal with the effects of human society on one's sexuality, while spirituality concerns an individual's spiritual connection with others. Sexuality also affects and is affected by cultural, political, legal, philosophical, moral, ethical, and religious aspects of life.
Interest in sexual activity normally increases when an individual reaches puberty. Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support, there is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males. Hypothesized social causes are supported by only weak evidence, distorted by numerous confounding factors. This is further supported by cross-cultural evidence because cultures that are tolerant of homosexuality do not have significantly higher rates of it.
Evolutionary perspectives on human coupling, reproduction and reproduction strategies, and social learning theory provide further views of sexuality. Sociocultural aspects of sexuality include historical developments and religious beliefs. Some cultures have been described as sexually repressive. The study of sexuality also includes human identity within social groups, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and birth control methods. (Full article...)
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The concept of "lesbian", to differentiate women with a shared sexual orientation, is a 20th-century construct. Throughout history, women have not had the same freedom or independence to pursue homosexual relationships as men, but neither have they met the same harsh punishment as homosexual men in some societies. Instead, lesbian relationships have often been regarded as harmless and incomparable to heterosexual ones unless the participants attempted to assert privileges traditionally enjoyed by men. As a result, little in history was documented to give an accurate description of how female homosexuality is expressed. When early sexologists in the late 19th century began to categorize and describe homosexual behavior, hampered by a lack of knowledge about homosexuality or women's sexuality, they distinguished lesbians as women who did not adhere to female gender roles and incorrectly designated them mentally ill—a designation which has been reversed in the global scientific community. (Full article...)
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Did you know
- ... that Kanhopatra (temple burial site pictured) is venerated as a saint in the Varkari sect of Hinduism, despite spending most of her life as a courtesan?
- ... that sex workers across the world have organised since the mid-1970s to demand sex workers’ rights, including the decriminalisation of prostitution and equal protection under the law?
- ... that the application of a spray-on condom was based on the logistics of a drive-through car wash?
- ... that homosexuality has been labeled by some communists as a product of bourgeois decadence?
January - July 2009
Human sexuality in the news
- 16 April 2025 – Transgender rights in the United Kingdom, For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers
- The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom rules that legal gender is based upon biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010. (BBC News)
- 14 April 2025 – LGBTQ rights in Hungary
- The Hungarian government passes several constitutional changes that affect LGBTQ rights, including a provisional law that says people can only be male or female and codifying a law that bans LGBTQ events, including Budapest Pride. (DW)
- 9 April 2025 – 2028 Summer Olympics
- The International Olympic Committee announces the program for the upcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles with new events in multiple sports and mixed gender events. (USA Today)
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For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Human sexuality-related articles, see WikiProject Sexology and sexuality.
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Tasks
- Cleanup listing for WikiProject Sexology and sexuality — bot-generated list of articles within the scope of this WikiProject tagged as needing attention
- Cleanup listing for WikiProject LGBT studies — bot-generated list of articles within the scope of this WikiProject tagged as needing attention
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