Sexuality and Integrity

Sexuality
We

all know what sex is. But sex is

only a small part of who we are as
sexual beings. Even people who are
not having sex are sexual beings.
And so theres another word that you
should know and use too. That word
is sexuality.

 Here

are some of the things that are

included when we talk about sexuality:
1. Sexuality is much more than body parts and

sex (though it includes these things, too).

2. Sexuality includes our gender identity (the
core sense that we are female or male).
3. Sexuality includes gender role (the idea of
how we should behave because we are a
female or male).
4. Sexuality includes our sexual orientation
(heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual).

 5. Sexuality includes how we feel about our bodies. We call that

body image, and poor body image can have a profound effect
on our ability to have healthy relationships. A person with poor
body image may not think they deserve a good partner, and so
they may be willing to settle for someone who will not respect
them or who may even abuse them.
6. Sexuality includes our sexual experiences, thoughts, ideas,
and fantasies.
7. Sexuality includes the way in which the media, family,
friends, religion, age, life goals, and our self-esteem shape our
sexual selves.
8. Sexuality includes how we experience intimacy, touch, love,
compassion, joy, and sorrow.
9. We like this quote: Sexuality is expressed in the way we
speak, smile, stand, sit, dress, dance, laugh, and cry.

Integrity
IntegrityThe

quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral

uprightness.
Integrity

is a personal choice, an uncompromising and predictably consistent

commitment to honor moral, ethical, spiritual and artistic values and principles.

Inethics,

integrity is regarded by many people as the honesty

andtruthfulnessoraccuracyof one's actions. Integrity can stand in opposition
tohypocrisy,in that judging with the standards of integrity involves regarding
internal consistency as a virtue, and suggests that parties holding within
themselves apparently conflicting values should account for the discrepancy or
alter their beliefs.

The

wordintegrityevolved from the Latin adjectiveinteger,

meaningwholeorcomplete.In this context, integrity is the inner sense of
"wholeness" deriving from qualities such ashonesty and consistency ofcharacter.

As

such, one may judge that others "have integrity" to the extent that they act
according to the values, beliefs and principles they claim to hold.

 In

short, sexuality is an integral part of

who we are, what we believe, what we
feel, and how we respond to others.

For

parents:
Which means that whether you like it or
not and whether you say anything or not,
you will have a strong influence on the
sexuality of your children. Silence may
even speak louder than words.

Notion of Sex and

Sexuality
Sex:Refers

to the biological features of a person

such as penis, vagina, breasts etc. Sex is
determined by a complex relationship of genes,
hormones and anatomy. For example, some people
have the "male" XY chromosomes, but are born
with a female body because they lack a gene
needed to make the body respond to testosterone.
Sexuality:Is about sexual feelings (who we are
emotionally and sexually attracted to), sexual
behaviour (how we express our sexual feelings)
and sexual identify (who we say we are to
ourselves and others based on our internal beliefs).

 Sexrefers

to whether or not a person is male or female, whether a

person has a penis or vagina. Many of you may have noticed on
different forms you have completed for school or at the doctors office
that there is often a question on the form called "Sex." You are required
to check either male or female. Sex is also commonly used as an
abbreviation to refer to sexual intercourse.
Sexualityrefers to the total expression of who you are as a human
being, your femaleness or your maleness. Our sexuality begins at birth
and ends at death. Everyone is a sexual being. Your sexuality is an
interplay between body image, gender identity, gender role, sexual
orientation, eroticism, genitals, intimacy, relationships, and love and
affection. A person's sexuality includes his or her attitudes, values,
knowledge and behaviors. How people express their sexuality is
influenced by their families, culture, society, faith and beliefs.
Sources of Sexual Learning:These include parents, friends, religion,
culture, media, environment, law, school, teachers, books, etc.

Meaning of Sex to the

Individual
:

the state of being male or female

: men or male animals as a group or
women or female animals as a group
: physical activity in which people
touch each other's bodies, kiss each
other, etc. : physical activity that is
related to and often includes sexual
intercourse

 "Sexuality"

is different from "sex." Sexuality is a much

broader term, has many components, and includes much
more than sexual intercourse. Everyone is a sexual
being. Sexuality begins at birth and ends at death.

People

begin learning about sexuality from birth. People

learn about sexuality from a variety of sources their
family, their community, their faith, friends, and the
media to name a few. It's important to question and
think critically about the different messages we receive
about sexuality, especially those messages from the
popular media.

 People

have different feelings and opinions about

sexuality. We have seen that even when people grow
up near each other and share a similar culture or faith,
they may have different values about sexuality.

This

helps us to be aware of the many differences we

have about sexuality. It's important for each of us to
show respect for people and opinions that are different
from our own, particularly as we learn more about
sexuality in the lessons ahead.

Our

sexuality is a normal and healthy part of our lives.

 Because

sex is ultimately grounded in the body, it is a rightbrain, non-linear experience, not a left-brain, cognitive one. Of
course, sex can be analyzed, evaluated, and so on, but not as
part of the experience. Having sex and understanding sex are
two separate activities, much like eating and understanding
nutrition are two separate activities. Trying to understand
nutrition or digestion while eating undermines the sensuality
and enjoyment offered by the experience of dining.
Sex is not limited to intercourse; not even limited, in fact, to
genital activities. In reality, sex describes a huge range of
activities. This is half of a dialectic: many things can be sex
because sex has whatever meaning we experience moment by
moment; and sex has an infinite range of meanings because
the scope of activities that can properly be called sexual is so
vast.