Sexually Transmitted Diseases - I. I. Mavrov 2005

Deviations from the Norm in Sexual Life
Norms of Sexual Life

Sexual dysfunctions in men and women can significantly impact their lives by disrupting family relationships, raising moral questions, and fostering various prejudices and illnesses, including sexual disorders. At the same time, some medical professionals hold the view that deep knowledge in this field—particularly concerning deviations in sexual life, pathological disturbances in the direction of sexual drive, or Methods of its gratification—is harmful. It is important to emphasize that this perspective is entirely incorrect. It is self-evident that a reasonable understanding of deviations in sexual life does not harm healthy feelings; on the contrary, it sometimes prevents various behavioral aberrations and fosters an appropriate attitude toward individuals experiencing sexual dysfunction.

This primarily concerns the developmental features of sexual drive and The Structure of romantic love, as deviations in sexual life can be directly linked to abnormalities in the development and realization of the yearning for sexual intimacy.

Providing a precise Definition of the concept of "sexual drive" is no easy task. Grounded in the biological instinct of reproduction, the human yearning for sexual intimacy is so deeply shaped by our social nature that interpreting this concept purely from a biological standpoint remains incomplete and fails to capture the most Specific features of sexual drive unique to humans.

Without pretending to resolve the fundamental nature of sexual desire, the author nevertheless believes that the yearning for sexual intimacy (sexual drive) is a subjective experience that arises independently of consciousness, stimulating and giving direction to human activity while being influenced by internal and external factors.

The existence of hereditarily fixed mechanisms that determine The Emergence of sexual drive and its development toward the act of intercourse is associated with A wide variety of manifestations of the yearning for sexual intimacy, which creates difficulties in defining METABOLISM/2.html">THE CONCEPT OF "normal sexual drive."

Attitudes toward Various Forms of sexual drive are determined, on the one hand, by the Current state of scientific research on the problem and, on the other, by prevailing societal views that constantly evolve alongside changing moral, ethical, and aesthetic norms. Consequently, the concept of "normal sexual activity" is extremely unstable.

From a biological perspective, any manifestation of sexual drive that contributes to Fertilization is considered normal. However, human sexual activity largely does not pursue reproduction as its ultimate biological goal, as it also fulfills communicative and emotional Functions. Therefore, drawing a clear boundary between normal and abnormal sexual activity is not always possible. Sexual drive manifests across a continuum of numerous transitions from normal to abnormal. These transitions are subtle and can occur in both sexually normal and abnormal individuals. Sexual deviations are defined as behaviors in which genital functions play a minor role or are entirely absent.

Thus, the concept of "perversion" is sometimes distorted to such an extent that Stekel’s assertion becomes valid: "There is no such thing as an erotically normal person. Everyone deviates from the norm to some degree. Yet, one cannot speak of deviations in sexual life as an illness, because in that case, three-quarters of humanity would have to be considered sick."

From a psychological perspective, deviations from normal sexual drive can be classified only on The basis of their external forms of expression. Sexual deviations cannot be systematized by psychogenetic structure, psychogenesis, or on the basis of their characterological, individual, or even clinical forms. Standard terminological Classification in this case accounts only for the external appearance of the phenomena.

In terms of origin, sexual deviations are caused partly by abnormal functioning of the Endocrine glands and The Nervous system, and partly by environmental factors. The latter exert a stronger influence the more favorable the ground—prepared by Hormones and other factors—upon which they fall. During adolescence and particularly in childhood, when the sexual drive is either undeveloped or in its early stages, conditions are most frequently established for the subsequent development of sexual aberrations.

Various concepts of sexual normality exist. The statistical norm dictates that what most people do is normal, and what only a few do is abnormal. However, relying on the formula "normal means frequent, abnormal means rare" in sexual life is nonsensical.

The subjective norm suggests that what I do and consider right, what suits my taste, is normal; all other inclinations are abnormal. This is the most convenient and, consequently, the most widespread interpretation of normality, yet it is far from always correct.

The moral norm considers correct and normal whatever aligns with the needs and desires of both partners without harming either of them or wounding their feelings. Since sexual intercourse belongs to the most intimate sphere of human life, moral criteria can only be used to measure the relationship between partners, but by no means the specific method they use to satisfy their sexual needs.

The medico-psychological norm defines normality as healthy behavior—that is, behavior that promotes the physical, mental, and social well-being of the partners. In this aspect, any sexual union is normal if it consists of physical actions between two individuals of different sexes, stems from a position of conscious mutual responsibility, and brings them a sense of physical satisfaction and happiness without causing suffering.

Genital contact (coitus, sexual intercourse) is the most common variant of satisfying sexual drive and meets the needs of the majority of men and women. However, genital contact between two partners cannot be viewed as the sole form of normal sexual activity, nor can the degree of abnormality be determined by how much their behavior deviates from what leads to conception.

The decisive factor in defining sexual activity is not the method chosen by the partners, but rather the motive and the outcome. If sexual activity brings both partners pleasure, joy, happiness, and satisfaction, deepens and enriches the feeling of love, and strengthens their bond, then regardless of the form the sexual act takes, it is normal.