Influences on Human Sexuality

So, what causes these changes in our understandings about sex and sexuality? A number of different factors!

• Sex and sexuality are influenced by:
• Evolution
• Social Structures (e.g., religion, laws, social stratification)
• Geographical changes
• Attitudes toward and understanding of marriage
• The way in which researchers approach the study of sex/sexuality

You will see examples of the above influences throughout this course. To give you a quick introduction as to how these influences work together to transform our understanding of aspects of sex/sexuality over time, watch the short video below (narrated by out comedian, Wanda Sykes) and try to identify examples of some of the above influences.