Sex and sexuality a cultural taboo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sex and sexuality a cultural taboo - Essay Example (Bristow 2) Sex is the physical course of action of the process of intercourse where as sexuality is how you feel, perceive or experience it. Studies have shown that when individuals move from one culture to another, the impact of culture on the sexuality of females is much greater than that on males. Christensen and Carpenter, (as cited in McAnulty and Burnette, 2006) argue that recently more information is being accumulated on the subject of sex and how it differs across different cultures and this will increase the knowledge database on the subject which wasn’t available in such a quantity in the past, the information provided by studies conducted on such matters gives proof that there is not much unevenness between the cross-cultural practices of men and women but when comparing the two one can conclude that that women tend to be at variance a lot more across those cultural margins in comparison to the male individuals. The basic concept and understanding of sexuality cann ot be altered in any manner no matter how much the society attempts to do so (Aggleton 188). The impact of sexual cultural practices on general health and the lives of its members: People have varying cultural practices regarding sex and sexuality; their beliefs and culture depend upon their religion, beliefs, social customs and area in which they are living. Where their cultural practices offer benefits, they also pose high risks for the individuals undergoing them e.g. FGM is mostly done in unhygienic conditions and also without anaesthesia, it is an extremely painful procedure and if things don’t go well, it could result in infection, diseases, infertility or even death. Also it permanently deprives the child of sexual pleasure for without her genitalia she will never be able to enjoy her sexual life. It is a cultural norm for those people, and any girl who is not circumcised loses her chance of marriage as it is considered disgraceful to marry a girl who is open. The topi cs of sex and sexuality are considered taboo topics in most cultures as well as religions. The youngsters when growing up and going through physical change have many questions regarding sex and sexuality but are unable to discuss them since it is an unmentionable topic they are inquisitive about their sexuality and how they perceive themselves in that manner but they end up keeping their queries and fears to themselves since they don’t have the opportunity to discuss. Female circumcision is a brutal practice and requires our attention to be curbed. The various cultural practices can be better explained as follows: Male circumcision: Circumcision is basically a small operation performed on the male`s penis to remove the skin covering the tip of his penis (Milos & Macris 1994). It was thought that young babies don’t have their senses fully developed and are unable to feel pain which is why it was recommended that circumcision be performed preferably on infants. But later it was discovered that infants are fully capable of experiencing pain and they can very well feel the excruciating pain inflicted upon them during the circumcision process (Northrup 2004). Circumcision has been practiced for