Human sexuality is how people experience the erotic and express themselves as sexual beings; the awareness of themselves

as males or females; the capacity they have for erotic experiences and responses.[1] Human sexuality can be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person of the opposite sex (heterosexuality), to the same sex (homosexuality), to both sexes (bisexuality), or attracted to no sexes in a sexual way (asexuality).[2] It used to be believed that human sexual behavior was different from the sexual behavior of most other animals, in that it was practiced for reasons besides copulation. Current understanding is that many species that were formerly believed monogamous have now been proven to be promiscuous or opportunistic in nature; a wide range of species appear both to masturbate and to use objects as tools to help them do so, where procreation is not the aim. See animal sexual behaviour. The term human sexuality can also cover cultural, political, legal and philosophical aspects. It may also refer to issues of morality, ethics, theology, spirituality or religion and how they relate to all things sexual.

Sexual behavior
Main article: Sexual behavior Human sexual behavior, driven by the desire for pleasure, encompasses the search for a partner or partners, interactions between individuals, physical, emotional intimacy, and sexual contact that may lead to foreplay, masturbation and ultimately orgasm.[17] Human sexual activities or human sexual practices or human sexual behavior refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts from time to time, and for a wide variety of reasons. Sexual activity normally results in sexual arousal and physiological changes in the aroused person, some of which are pronounced while others are more subtle. Sexual activity also includes conduct and activities which are intended to arouse the sexual interest of another, such as strategies to find or attract partners (mating and display behavior), and personal interactions between individuals, such as flirting and foreplay. Human sexual activity has biological, physical and emotional aspects. Biologically, it refers to the reproductive mechanism as well as the basic biological drive that exists in all species and can encompass sexual intercourse and sexual contact in all its forms. Emotional aspects deal with the intense personal bonds and emotions generated between sexual partners by a sexual activity. Physical issues around sexuality range from purely medical considerations to concerns about the physiological or even psychological and sociological aspects of sexual behaviour.

Introduction

Human sexuality plays a major role in everyone's life. Regardless, whether we are young or old, man or woman, American or Japanese, it is an integral part of what we do and who we are. There has been much done by way of research and scholarly writing examining human sexuality (e.g., Abramson & Pinkerton, 1995; Beach, 1976; Diamond, 1997; Reinisch et al., 1990; Stalcup, 1995; Tiefer, 1995). This paper will explore the topic of human sexuality as a motivation. Of course, there are many emotions associated with human sexuality, but the primary aim of this particular paper will be a general overview of sexuality with special attention to the various perspectives, including the: 1) biological perspective, 2) cognitive perspective, and 3) learning perspective. All the while, the lens through which we summarize these perspectives will be with the understanding that human sexual behavior is a motivation. Next to sleeping and eating, it seems that it is one of the most important drives we have to deal with as humans. That is, it takes up so much of our time in thought and behavior that it sometimes seems that every facet of our life revolves around this to a certain extent. Human sexual behavior is different from the sexual behavior of other animals, in that, it seems to be governed by a variety and interplay of different factors. That is, while "lower" animals or species are driven by a "force" to reproduce and therefore partake in sexual behavior. Humans are not sexually active just for the sake of reproduction, rather, there are a variety of complex factors that lead people to have sex. Human Sexuality. Human sexuality is the way in which we experience and express ourselves as sexual beings (Rathus et al., 1993). There are many factors that help develop our sexuality, arguably one of the most important, is our actual gender. Whether, I am a male or female will likely have a major influence on the development of my individual sexuality. Furthermore, sexuality is an integral part of our personalities whether we are aware of it or not. Why study human sexuality? This may seem like a rather simple-minded question, but one of the questions that should always be posed before any endeavor is, "why do it?" and "what do we hope to gain from it?" The former will be addressed here and the latter will hopefully become clear as we move along in our journey. An important reason to study human sexuality is that it is a primary source of motivation. Just consider the amount of time spent thinking and planning for sex, let alone the time spent in sexual behavior itself (Rathus et al., 1993). Sexual motivation does to some extent influence human behavior. Another reason for studying human sexuality is that we may face various personal and social problems involving sexuality, such as, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and sexual harassment (Aral & Holmes, 1991; Rathus et al., 1993). This should sound especially timely during the times in which we live.