bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Resonance structure and mode transition of quarter‐wave ULF pulsations around the dawn terminator
Authors: Obana Yuki , Waters Colin L. , Sciffer Murray D. , Menk Frederick W. , Lysak Robert L. , Shiokawa Kazuo , Hurst Anthony W. , Petersen Tanja
Published: April 2015

Quarter‐wave modes are standing shear Alfvén waves supported along geomagnetic field lines in space. They are predicted to be generated when the ionosphere has very different conductance between the north compared with the south ionosphere. Our previous observation reported that the resonant frequency is sometimes very low around the dawn terminator and suggested these were due to quarter‐wave modes. In this paper, we examine the resonance structure that provides further evidence of the presence of quarter‐wave modes. Data from three magnetometers in New Zealand were analyzed. Four events are discussed which show extraordinarily low eigenfrequencies, wide resonance widths, and strong damping when the ionosphere above New Zealand was in darkness while the conjugate northern hemisphere ionosphere was sunlit. Later in the morning, the eigenfrequencies and resonance widths changed to normal daytime values. The wide resonance width and the strong damping of the quarter‐wave modes arise from strong energy dissipation in the dark side ionosphere. One event exhibited field line resonance structure continuously through a transition from very low frequency to the normal daytime values. The frequency change began when the dawn terminator passed over New Zealand and finished 1 h later when the ratio of the interhemispheric ionospheric conductances decreased and reached ~5. These observations are strong evidence of the presence of quarter‐wave modes and mode conversion from quarter‐ to half‐wave resonances. These experimental results were compared with the ULF wave fields obtained from a 2.5‐dimensional simulation model.
Possibilities of Coil Springs and Fiber‐Reinforced Suspension Parts
Authors: Neubrand Joerg
Published: April 2015

Helical compression springs (coil springs) have represented the best spring design for the vertical dynamics of passenger cars. They took over suspension functions and because of their advantages regarding weight and installation space they replaced leaf springs almost completely.

This chapter contents a summary of conventional analytical as well as numerical methods of spring calculation. The numerical spring calculation and its usage for a new spring design with a homogenized stress distribution are shown. This new generation spring design is explained for the application on side load springs used inMcPhersonstruts and rear axle spring where the spring seats deflect along a spatial curve. The new generation spring design offers a significant weight reduction combined with an increased robustness.

The robustness of springs can be further increased using a method for improving the mechanical properties of the rim of the wire. The surface layer modification is using an inductive hardening and tempering process of the spring wire, which allows a hard core and a tough rim. Moreover, measures to improve the properties by alloying are described.

Finally, this chapter contents the application of fiber composite materials for springs. While leaf spring is an optimal application for unidirectional glass fibers, suspension springs such as coil spring are not that much optimal because of complex stress situation and difficult geometry, which does not allow efficient and automated production methods.
Automotive Torque Converters
Authors: Maddock Donald
Published: April 2015

This chapter examines the automotive torque converter, the turbomachine utilized to transmit power from the engine to the gear system in the preponderance of planetary automatic transmissions. After a brief discussion of the history and attributes of the device, the typical mechanical and hydraulic configuration is described and the customary nomenclature established. One‐dimensional equations relating the converter's internal geometry, the rotating speed of its components, and the torques thus generated are presented, and methodologies for empirically assessing a unit's behaviour are documented. Graphical procedures for analyzing the converter's interaction with the engine and the resulting vehicle performance implications are detailed and techniques for altering the converter's design to optimize vehicle performance parameters are explained using one‐dimensional energy loss models. Finally, pressure vessel structural issues and energy saving clutching devices are discussed.
ATControl—Actuation Methods and System Integration, Gear Choice, Gear Shift Strategy and Process, Adaptive Features
Authors: Shibayama Takashi
Published: April 2015

In order to obtain good fuel economy and good driving performance, theATcontrol is very important. TheATprovides ratio changes during vehicle driving. The ratio change timing (shift schedule) and the ratio change feeling (shift feel) are two key performance attribute ofATs. Therefore, in this chapter, the basic concept and outline for the shift schedule control design and the shift feeling control design are described. Actuation methods and system integration, gear choice, gear shift strategy and process, and adaptive features are the major topics. Recently, integrated control, for example, engine‐ATintegrated control becomes more popular, so the integrated control is also described. Detail time charts forATshift calibration are also discussed, which may useful for theATshift calibrators.
Data Fusion
Authors: Leonhardt Axel , Catalá‐Prat Álvaro
Published: April 2015

With the recent developments of intelligent transportation systems and intelligent vehicles, data fusion gains more and more attention as a technique to make optimal use of the various in‐vehicle and roadside sensors. Applications include various approaches for object and incident detection, state estimation, and state forecasting. In general, data fusion can be described as the intelligent processing and combination of information from many diverse sources. In particular, data fusion is applied to gather information by combining various sources that is of higher value than information from only one source. This chapter gives an overview of data fusion methods and applications from the vehicular as well as the roadside perspectives. First of all, an introduction of the main concepts of data fusion is given. Then, commonly used methods are described. The main part consists of two sample applications, one from the area of vehicle automation and the other from the area of traffic state estimation and prediction. Finally, a summary and an outlook on sensor data fusion are given.
Migration
Authors: Agustín Laura
Published: April 2015

Undocumented migration via human smuggling is nowadays often associated with prostitution and the sex industry. A range of push‐pull factors affect all migrants who travel to work in other countries, including women migrants who sell sex. The concepts of feminization of migration and labor migration suggest more women migrate now with the intention of working abroad. Selling sex during a migration or after arrival has become common and is causing concern about possible human trafficking. The chief problem for undocumented migrants of all kinds is the loss of citizenship rights.
Military and sexuality, the
Authors: Feitz Lindsey
Published: April 2015

This entry explores the various ways sexuality has been deployed as a weapon of war in the twenty‐first century. Scholars and human rights activists note an increasing “militarization” of sexuality in war and peace‐keeping zones, especially with regard to the widespread use of rape against civilian women and girls. Frequently mass rape is part of a broader ethnic cleansing program or simply a means of inflict psychological and physical terror on civilians and their families. Other research has examined various ways sexuality has shaped the policies in the U.S. Armed forces (i.e., the recent repeal of “Don't Ask; Don't Tell”); increased incidents of gender and sexual‐based violence amongst female soldiers by their male comrades; and the sexualized representations of female soldiers in the “War on Terror” and war in Iraq.
Mizer, Robert (Bob) Henry (1922–1992)
Authors: Bell Dennis
Published: April 2015

Bob Mizer was a photographer and filmmaker best known for his provocative images of gay men. For five decades he produced first black and white then color photos and films for his Athletic Model Guild, and published
Physique Pictorial
, the United States’ first, and most explicitly gay physique magazine.
Moll, Albert (1862–1939)
Authors: Haeberle Erwin J.
Published: April 2015

The Berlin physician Albert Moll was, next to Iwan Bloch and Magnus Hirschfeld, the third great pioneer of sexology. Like Hirschfeld, he was of Jewish descent (baptized as a Protestant), and had been examined by Rudolf Virchow for his medical doctorate. Like Hirschfeld, he also travelled to the United States as a young man, eventually reaching San Francisco in 1889. Moll also remained unmarried, but there the similarity ends.
Native American Two Spirits
Authors: Hollimon Sandra E.
Published: April 2015

“Two‐Spirit” and “berdache” identities are alternate terms for the third and fourth genders in Native North American societies. Major historical and theoretical perspectives on the gender variation and gender systems of Native North American cultures are described. Major characteristics such as dress, sexuality, and occupational specialization are traits associated with third and fourth genders in these cultures.
Natural selection
Authors: Frederick David A. , Lynn Justin T.
Published: April 2015

Natural selection is a causal process that leads to the emergence and evolution of biological traits. This process leads to some animals to survive and reproduce more effectively within their environment by enhancing or reducing certain traits that can be passed on to offspring.
Orgasm (primates)
Authors: Teichroeb Julie A.
Published: April 2015

Orgasmic responses have been demonstrated in both human and nonhuman primates. For humans, the orgasmic response in men and women has been described as occurring in four phases: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution. Male orgasm and its tie to ejaculation and reproduction have made it less controversial than female orgasm, which does not have to occur for females to become pregnant. Thus, the potential adaptive functions of female orgasm, or lack thereof, are continually debated.
Ovulation, concealed
Authors: Pawłowski Bogusław
Published: April 2015

Concealed ovulation (i.e., a lack of ovulation signals) is supposed to have evolved under specific sexual selection pressure and is considered an important trait that has influenced social and mating systems in human evolution. However, the presumption that signals, or cues of ovulation, have been lost and the meaning of potential consequences of disclosing fertility status on human sexuality are still debatable.
Packing
Authors: Troka Donna
Published: April 2015

There are many reasons why someone might pack. Some drag kings believe they need a bulge in their trousers to make their performance of masculinity complete. Some trans men believe that in order to “pass” as male they must urinate standing up (stand to pee packy) and/or penetrate a partner (hard packy). While others may find sexual pleasure by packing something in their underwear or may be supplementing what they see as an insufficient “bulge.” Within a Euro‐American context, packing is not a new phenomenon, but the science and technology of the “packy” has developed tremendously in the last 20 years with the rise of social media and the mainstreaming of the transgender rights movement. Over the last century, options have moved from rolled up cloth or phallus‐shaped vegetables to a plethora of dildos and packys that serve many different purposes.
Pansexuality
Authors: Rice Kim
Published: April 2015

Pansexual refers to a person who is sexually, emotionally, romantically, or spiritually attracted to others, regardless of biological sex, gender expression (of masculine or feminine characteristics), or sexual orientation. Pansexuality may be distinguished from bisexuality in that it specifically rejects the “either/or” notion that people have to choose between male and female, or what is known as the gender binary, a spectrum of gender on which males are on one end and females on the opposite end. Pansexuality moves beyond the concept of “only two” genders and recognizes that there is flexibility and fluidity with respect to gender identity and expression; a person can fall anywhere on the gender spectrum at any time.
Parental investment
Authors: Shenk Mary K.
Published: April 2015

Reproduction is among the most fundamental of behaviors, yet human parents face especially complex tradeoffs when deciding how many children to have and how much to invest in each of them. The wide variety of ecologies and economic systems in which humans live, coupled with the complexity of human social systems, results in a multitude of behavioral options for individuals. Straightforward rules of optimization, such as investing more in the sex of offspring that is likely to have more children, lead to a great deal of variation in observed behaviors across different types of societies and the different social strata within them. Hallmarks of parental investment in humans include unusually high levels of paternal investment, an important role for alloparenting, and strong tradeoffs between offspring in terms of number, gender, and birth order, especially in the context of social stratification and heritable wealth.
Pedophilia
Authors: Berlin Fred S.
Published: April 2015

Human erotic orientation is not the product of a volitional decision. In maturing, personsdiscoverthe nature of their own sexual attractions. Pedophilia is an unchosen sexual orientation that is directed either exclusively or in part toward prepubescent children. The desire to be sexual with children, as is true of sexual desire in general, is energized by a powerful biological drive that recurrently craves satisfaction. In the case of pedophilia, society insists that that drive not be enacted. Some, but not all, persons manifesting a pedophilic makeup may need psychiatric assistance in order to be able to consistently resist enacting their temptations. Having a pedophilic erotic makeup is not synonymous with “child molestation,” nor is it synonymous with a “flawed moral compass.”
Penile implants
Authors: Wright Jaime D.
Published: April 2015

Penile beading is the practice of inserting small objects in the penile shaft. The objects inserted subcutaneously in the penile shaft vary across time and region. While this practice has a long history in Asia, it is relatively new in contemporary Europe and North America. Techniques have been improved upon within the sterile and surgical environments of the contemporary body piercing studio. Motivations for this procedure have been cited as primarily erotic; however, other motivations include group status, male potency, and peer pressure.
Polari
Authors: Baker Paul
Published: April 2015

Polari is a form of secret, spoken language used mainly by gay men in the early to mid‐twentieth century. It originated from a wide range of older forms of slang spoken by stigmatized and itinerant social groups. It provided gay men with a means of protecting themselves, identifying each other, and expressing a camp worldview. It fell into decline after the 1960s, although by the end of the twentieth century it was viewed as an important part of gay social history.
Politics of labeling
Authors: McConnell‐Ginet Sally
Published: April 2015

Labeling is political because it is embedded in social practice. Interests, sometimes conflicting, are involved in
what
gets labeled (e.g., identities based on match or mismatch of sex of preferred partners as opposed to other possible classifications),
which
labels are chosen (e.g.,
lesbian
,
homosexual
, or
queer
), and
when
labels are used (e.g., avoiding labels for sexual acts or organs, introducing labels like
cis gender
to challenge pathologizing of gender transitioning).
Pornography use as a clinical issue
Authors: Klein Marty
Published: April 2015

The use of sexually explicit materials (SEM) is emerging as one of the twenty‐first century's most common clinical issues in both individual and (especially) couples counseling. Popular norms and narratives about porn and porn consumers are in many ways antithetical to the principles of good therapy; thus, therapists need to be careful that they do not slip into these common assumptions and beliefs when working with issues surrounding the use of SEM. Many of the issues involved when SEM is a clinical concern are familiar to therapists in other, non‐SEM arenas: power struggles, impulsive decision‐making, secrecy, emotional isolation, poor communication, and anger. But because of the strength of the porn‐is‐bad narrative that virtually all therapists grow up in and are trained in, therapists are vulnerable to overlooking these common therapeutic issues when pornography is a clinical subject. Developing porn literacy is as important for therapists as it is for consumers, their partners, and societal decision‐makers.
Pornography, Bukkake
Authors: Ingraham Natalie
Published: April 2015

Bukkake is a type of pornography featuring the act of one or more (often many) men ejaculating on a woman. Bukkake is a specific kind of sex act called a facial, where a man ejaculates semen onto the face of one or more sexual partners. It has also been featured in gay pornography, where multiple men ejaculate on one man or alternatively many women ejaculate on another woman.
Pornography, definition of
Authors: Graves Thomas
Published: April 2015

AbstractDisagreements over the definition of pornography originate from three components within most definitions, including those used by U.S. courts to determine laws governing erotic media: sexual explicitness (i.e., what constitutes explicitness in a given society at a given time), producers’ intent (i.e., primarily or exclusively to elicit sexual interest), and offensiveness or implied harm (i.e., obscenity, indecency, and degradation of women). Some feminists argue sexual degradation alone is sufficient to define pornographic works.
Pornography, gay male
Authors: Rzepczynski Brian
Published: April 2015

Pornography has been an extensive aspect of life for the gay male community since its inception. Through a commentary on the history, long‐standing debates over its benefits versus dangers from politicians and scholars, and discussion of the gay porn industry culture and its players, it will be demonstrated that pornography has played a significant function for gay men as an erotic tool, as a validation of their sexuality, and as a form of evolving documentation of the community's history in its collective identity development.
Pornography, genres of
Authors: Ingraham Natalie
Published: April 2015

This entry describes various types or genres of pornography. Many of these are labeled according to the sexual act occurring in the pornography, such as anal sex, double penetration, or fisting. Others are named for characteristics of the performers involved in the pornography, including age (teen), gender (transsexual), sexual identity (lesbian, queer), body features (breasts, butts), or race (ethic, interracial).
Pornography, laws regarding
Authors: DeWitt Clyde
Published: April 2015

Although no federal and just one state antipornography law existed in the postrevolutionary United States, states gradually enacted their own obscenity statutes beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century. However, the federal government did not consider the issue of the First Amendment's effect on those laws until 1957, in the companion cases of
Alberts v. California
and
Roth v. United States
, which were the basis for the U.S. Supreme Court's attempts to define what is meant by “obscene speech,” which attempts largely concluded with its decisions in a quintet of cases, most importantly
Miller v. California
.
Pornography, the narrative of public health
Authors: Klein Marty
Published: April 2015

The public discussion of pornography and its alleged harms has changed dramatically since approximately the mid‐1970s. Whereas the dangers of pornography used to be framed primarily in terms of immorality, they are now framed primarily as a public health problem. This narrative makes contemporary criticism of pornography seem more relevant and practical. However, this approach depends on unproven assumptions, junk science, and stereotypes about both gender and sexuality. The public health narrative is actually just a disguised moral panic. But since it appears to be value‐neutral (unlike “morality” and “immorality,” which are completely expressions of values), this narrative can be used by people who disagree about other aspects of sexuality and gender—such as pro‐empowerment feminists and anti‐empowerment religious fundamentalists.
Pregnancy: relationships and miscarriage
Authors: Boynton Petra M.
Published: April 2015

While information on managing care in pregnancy loss is well documented, particularly in terms of signposting to support services and explaining miscarriage, the impact of pregnancy loss on intimate relationships is not addressed so thoroughly in health‐care or self‐help sources. A summary of common relationship effects and suggestions for assisting relationships is discussed here.
Primate sexuality
Authors: Dixson Alan
Published: April 2015

This article considers patterns of sexual behavior in the various nonhuman primates, and their possible relevance to understanding the origins of human sexuality. Copulatory patterns and frequencies vary, depending upon effects of sexual selection as well as natural selection, in various types of primate mating systems. Many monkeys and apes also employ sexual behavior in the wider context of social communication, and exhibit same‐sex mounting in a variety of socio‐sexual and bisexual contexts. Rhythmic changes in sexual behavior during menstrual cycles in the Old World monkeys and apes are discussed in relation to the human menstrual cycle and behavior.
Prostitution (transgender)
Authors: Duchesne Natalie
Published: April 2015

Transgender prostitution is a global phenomenon, which over recent years has been receiving increased attention from sociologists, policy analysts, and epidemiologists. Their work brings forth that although transgender prostitutes have many similar experiences as nontransgender prostitutes, there are also some particularities. The majority of transgender prostitutes are on the female‐to‐male spectrum, and concentrated in metropolitan areas. They are known to experience high levels of violence, as well as a high prevalence of HIV. They are also active in community building and activism.
Pubic hair
Authors: Ramsey Sara
Published: April 2015

The evolutionary persistence of pubic hair is not understood, though theories include a role in pheromonal signaling and friction reduction. Pubic hair develops under control of androgens, and this development can be graded using the Tanner scale. Evidence of body hair and pubic hair removal date back to ancient Egypt, though pubic hair removal has become increasingly common this century. Preference for hairless genitals is known as acomoclitism. Pubic hair removal may hold benefits regarding sexual satisfaction, though little factual evidence exists. Allegedly, the current practice of removing the majority of pubic hair originated in South America; hence the term “the Brazilian.” Terms such as “Brazilian,” “Hollywood,” and “Boyzillian” are used to describe the extent of pubic hair removal, but no consensus exists.
Queer theory
Authors: Rasmussen Mary Lou
Published: April 2015

Queer theory initially drew ironically on the pejorative queer to draw attention to the labels we use to describe genders and sexualities in different historical and cultural contexts. Queer theorists have also mounted critiques of essentialism (the belief in a true or authentic self) within scholarship on gender, sex, and sexuality. Consequently, binaries such as man–woman, feminine–masculine, heterosexual–homosexual are perceived as powerful regulatory fictions that have been troubled in order to highlight the incoherence in sex/gender/desire. A critique of antidemocratic lesbian and gay political movements, drawing on notions of homonormativity and homonationalism, has also been attempted by queer theorists in order to draw attention to the failure of research on sex, sexuality, and gender to attend to disability, class, race and gender, and nationalism. Two key figures associated with queer theory are Judith Butler and Michel Foucault.
Rape fantasies
Authors: Jozkowski Kristen N.
Published: April 2015

Rape fantasies are defined as sexual fantasies that involve the use of physical force, threat of force, or incapacitation (through sleep or intoxication) to coerce someone into sexual activity against their will. There are two main types of rape fantasies: aversive rape fantasies, which usually involve the use of force to coerce sex and often contain painful violence with no sexual arousal; and erotic rape fantasies, which typically involve low to moderate levels of fear with no realistic violence. Rape fantasies seem to be a social enigma. There are various theories that attempt to rationalize the occurrence of rape fantasies. However, additional research is needed to provide empirical support for such conceptualizations.
Reproduction
Authors: Browner Carole H. , Withers Mellissa
Published: April 2015

Although sexuality and reproduction have been inextricably linked since the dawn of time, every known human society has techniques to control reproductive outcomes. Newly emergent assisted reproductive technology (ART), such as in‐vitro fertilization, enable infertile individuals and others traditionally blocked from becoming parents (e.g., homosexuals, partnerless, and post‐menopausal women) to have genetically related children.These technologies, however, do not necessarily lead to greater reproductive freedom for women, in that they can be a source of pressure, perpetuate gender inequalities, and reinforce women's primary roles as mothers. Surrogacy, in particular, has been decried as a commodification of reproduction. By attending to the broader social and global contexts of women's and men's reproductive activities, we can critically assess the nature of the rapidly changing relationship between sex and reproduction.
Rubin, Gayle (1949–)
Authors: Storms Gregory
Published: April 2015

Gayle Rubin is a cultural anthropologist and historian whose work centers on the politics of sexuality. She has conducted ethnographic research since the 1970s on gay male fetish subcultures as well as historical research ranging in topics from gay male leather history to the history of social scientific research on sexual subcultures. Rubin is perhaps best known for her two essays, “The Traffic in Women: Notes on the ‘Political Economy’ of Sex” and “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality,” both of which continue to be influential works in feminist and queer studies. Rubin has also been a critical figure in feminist and queer activism, especially during the Feminist Sex Wars of the 1980s.
Safer sex
Authors: Gómez Cynthia A. , Browe Dennis
Published: April 2015

Safer sex
refers to the use of condoms and other barrier methods and sexual behavioral strategies that are designed to reduce the likely transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). It contrasts with
risky sex
, which represents a hierarchy of sexual acts drawn on the basis of risks associated with STI transmission: anal sex is the most risky, followed by vaginal sex, and then by oral sex. Safer sex as a concept was first used by gay activists during the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and is now widely used by public health practitioners at all societal levels. Ideological battles over the formula “safer sex” and its implications have been ongoing; the Christian right, in alignment with conservative and religious values, was advocating for an abstinence‐only education, while public health practitioners have pushed for a comprehensive sexuality education and for evidence‐based interventions. Today innovative technologies continue to expand the possibilities for safer‐sex practices and sex education.
Same‐sex couples
Authors: Fingerhut Adam W. , Frost David M.
Published: April 2015

Same‐sex couples, or couples where both the partners are of the same sex or gender, have long existed, though recent changes in the social and political climate have brought these couples into the spotlight. Researchers interested in studying same‐sex couples have examined the dynamics in these couples and have explored similarities and differences between same‐sex and different‐sex couples. Generally there is large overlap between same‐sex and different‐sex couples on such measures as liking and loving, as well as in how the relationships evolve with time. Despite this, there are some differences between the couple types. Ideas for future research are explored, especially in the context of a need to better understand differenceswithinsame‐sex couples as opposed tobetweensame‐sex and different‐sex couples.
Sanger, Margaret Higgins (1879–1966)
Authors: Hajo Cathy Moran
Published: April 2015

Margaret Sanger was an early twentieth‐century activist for birth control, sex education, and women's reproductive freedom. Sanger's almost sixty‐year campaign for birth control redefined women's sex roles by separating sex from reproduction and encouraged women to understand their bodies and to demand sexual satisfaction in marriage.
Satisfaction, sexual
Authors: Kettrey Heather Hensman , Carpenter Laura M.
Published: April 2015

Sexual satisfaction refers to the level of gratification that individuals obtain from sexual activity. Most research has focused on physical pleasure, measured via frequency of sexual intercourse or orgasm. Increasingly scholars are exploring the emotional and relational dimensions of sexual satisfaction and examining more subjective measures. Behavioral and social scientists often apply evolutionary or rational choice/exchange perspectives to the study of sexual satisfaction, but life course studies are proliferating. Sexual satisfaction is patterned by gender, relationship status, sexual exclusivity, and expectations of relationship duration, but not by sexual orientation. Historically, women's sexual pleasure/satisfaction has been deemed more “unspeakable” than men's.
Sex and politics
Authors: Mesli Rostom
Published: April 2015

This entry traces the discourses that, over the course of the twentieth century, transformed sex from a medical topic into a political one. It analyses how Freud understood instinctual repression to be of critical import to civilization. It then shows how radical psychoanalysts drew from this notion to argue that instinctual repression was necessary, not for civilization itself, but for authoritarian societies. These theories paved the way for the 1960s and 1970s radical notion that sex is political. Through a presentation of radical feminism and lesbian feminism, the entry describes the multiple ways in which the relations between sex and politics were understood by activists, as well as the possibilities and the pitfalls created by some of those understandings.
Sex coaching
Authors: Britton Patti
Published: April 2015

Sex coaching is an alternative to psychotherapy or sex therapy as a short‐term approach for helping clients to overcome obstacles that keep them from sexual and relationship fulfillment. It was founded in order to address the pathologizing medical viewpoint of sexual concerns as diseases and in response to client demands for a fresh approach beyond therapy. This holistic pathway to guiding and directing clients toward resolving sexual concerns or dysfunctions is depathologizing, nonmedicalized, whole person‐centered, proactive, and client‐driven toward specified sexual goals. This approach embraces the full spectrum of human sexual expression, is value‐neutral, and moves toward enhanced pleasure and improved skill levels.
Sex laws
Authors: Lindemann Danielle J.
Published: April 2015

Laws involving sex and sexuality date back to the first known legal writings. However, regulations regarding sexual behaviors have differed both diachronically and synchronically—at different stages in history and in different parts of the globe. Some societies have prohibited activities that others have encouraged or ignored, and the same crimes have been defined differently under the law in different jurisdictions. Changing technologies have also influenced sex laws. In the United States, proscriptions against same‐gender sexual activity have had a long history, culminating in the Supreme Court decisionLawrence v. Texas(2003), which effectively struck down the country's remaining anti‐sodomy laws.
Sex reassignment
Authors: Bockting Walter O.
Published: April 2015

Sex reassignment
refers to the process of reassigning the sex or gender assigned at birth. Sex reassignment has been shown to be effective in alleviating gender dysphoria—that is, incongruence between this initial assignment and one's gender identity. Sex reassignment may involve a change in gender role, feminizing or masculinizing hormone therapy, and/or sex reassignment surgery. Other common names for sex reassignment surgery are gender reassignment surgery, gender confirmation surgery, and gender affirmation surgery. Sex reassignment services are guided by the Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People set forth by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.
Sex tourism (female)
Authors: Taylor Jacqueline Sanchez
Published: April 2015

Female sex tourism is a contested concept. “Sex tourism” often refers to commercial sexual relationships between tourists and locals, but few female tourists enter into explicitly commodified cash‐for‐sex exchanges. As a result, some researchers have emphasized the emotionality and intimacy of tourist women's sexual relationships with locals and have described their practice as “romance tourism” rather than “sex tourism.” Other researchers disputed the distinction between male sex tourism and female romance tourism and explored the ways in which sexualized racisms and global structures of inequality impact on the options, motivations, and desires of local men and tourist women in tourist settings. Recent research focuses on questions related to women's agency as well as on love, desire, intimacy, and emotionality, the ways in which female tourists imagine and narrate their transnational sexual relationships, and the impact of sex tourism on gendered identities. Less attention has been paid to the wider structural factors that constrain actors and shape sexual encounters.
Sex toys and aids
Authors: Maines Rachel P.
Published: April 2015

Sex toys have formed part of global material culture for more than 12,000 years. They are evident in documents and archaeology from ancient Greece and Rome, northern Europe, China, Japan, and the Americas. Traditional genres include dildos and other penetrative devices, merkins (artificial vaginas), penis rings, bondage and discipline gear, and sex furniture, including swings. In the nineteenth century vibrators entered the marketplace, first powered by steam and later by electricity. In the twentieth century the global market for sex toys has grown steadily as cultural stances on sexuality have liberalized, and the proportion of women consumers has increased, especially since the 1970s. The world market for sex toys is expected to reach $60 billion by 2020.
Sexual dysfunction
Authors: Zamboni Brian D.
Published: April 2015

Sexual dysfunction refers to a disruption in typical sexual behavior processes and is grouped into four categories: disorders of sexual desire, disorders of sexual arousal, disorders of orgasm, and sexual pain disorders. There can be sexual dysfunctions that do not fall neatly into one of these categories, such as the persistent genital arousal syndrome or a culture‐bound syndrome.
Sexual identity and sexual orientation
Authors: Kovic Alex , Hampson Paige , Gonsiorek John C.
Published: April 2015

Despite a rich theory base about ways to define and understand sexual orientation and sexual identity, there is little consensus about these. This may well be due to the significant and unresolved problems in how one measures sexual orientations; likely gender differences in the nature of sexuality, especially the degree of sexual fluidity; and the possibility of considerable variance within categories of bisexuality, homosexuality, and heterosexuality. Such theories have long split along biological (essentialist) and environmental (social constructionist) lines. The best current estimate is that sexual orientations are more complex that has previously been recognized, with both biological and social components, but with likely gender variation of the relative degrees of contributions from these broad components.
Sexual magic
Authors: Wilkie Laurie A. , Eichner Katrina C. L.
Published: April 2015

This entry provides a brief overview of the history of sympathetic magical practices related to fertility and love spells.
Sexual periodicity
Authors: Teichroeb Julie A.
Published: April 2015

Many mammals show yearly reproductive cycles that are controlled by melatonin responses to changes in day length. There is debate about the extent to which these photoperiodic cycles affect human sexual activity. However, women unquestionably show monthly cycling in their sexual interest, with peaks around the time of ovulation. Men show daily fluctuations in testosterone, the major sex hormone; but it is not known if this overtly influences sexual activity.
Sexualities, South Asia
Authors: Dutta Aniruddha
Published: April 2015

This entry describes normative and variant forms of sexuality in South Asia, primarily focusing on the colonial and postcolonial periods. It outlines the relation of regional forms of social stratification, such as caste, with sexuality and gender, and it shows how colonialism and nationalism were important forces in contributing to the emergence of sexual and gender norms. It surveys the tense relations between nationhood, religion, and sexuality in the postcolonial period. Finally, it sketches the increasing visibility of gender‐variant and same‐sex desiring persons and communities and the emergence of an organized movement for their rights.
Sexuality and sociophonetics
Authors: Lawson Robert
Published: April 2015

Early work in the field of sociophonetics and sexuality attempted to show how the speech of gay men and women was quantitatively different from the speech of straight men and women. This approach was based on the idea that social constructs such as class and age influence patterns of linguistic variation. Since the early 1990s, researchers have moved away from a deterministic view of language use and have adopted a more social constructionist approach to sexuality. Recent research has also considered how speakers manipulate their speech in the construction of their social identity, the extent to which speech functions as an indicator of a person's sexual orientation, and how the manipulation of speech can impact on the perception of a speaker's sexuality and gender. This entry outlines some of the major developments in the study of sexuality and sociophonetics.
Sexuality: ancient Europe
Authors: Sánchez Romero Margarita
Published: April 2015

Sexuality is constructed socially and culturally, in different ways by different human groups. This means that sexual practices and orientation and the sex/gender system are not only related to biological considerations but are linked to the very identity of the society in question. Throughout this entry, different aspects of sexuality in ancient Europe are discussed: the body as a key element in understanding sexuality, the influence of heteronormativity in our interpretations of sexuality in prehistory, how identities such as masculinity are constructed, and how sexual policies are shaped and transformed.
Sexuality: ancient indigenous Australia
Authors: Leiuen Cherrie De
Published: April 2015

Sexuality in ancient indigenous Australia was represented in practices such as rock, sand and body painting. It was also expressed through sacred objects, by body modification, and through song, dance, ceremonies and rituals. There is archaeological evidence that indigenous people have occupied the continent of Australia for at least 50,000 years. However, a Euro‐American focus on themes such as marriage and ritual may have obliterated patterns and nuances of meaning and material evidence of sexuality. Sex was linked to sophisticated social organization and cultural practices, but the meanings of and the evidence for sexuality are often considered objects of sacred knowledge and hence barred from public disclosure.
Sexuality: classical world
Authors: Spencer‐Wood Suzanne M.
Published: April 2015

Most classical art forms express the patriarchal sexuality of the Greek and Roman empires that dominated the ancient Mediterranean world. Androcentrism in classics resulted in the discipline's focus on men's activities, viewpoints, and beliefs as representative of the whole society, until feminist critiques starting in the mid‐1970s. Feminist research has analyzed how men's sexuality was valorized in many depictions, including phalli, small to huge in many contexts, pederasty, rape, sexual exploitation of prostitutes and slaves, and conflations of sex and death in depictions of Greek warriors killing Amazons. Lesbian sexuality is seldom depicted.
Spanking
Authors: Block Susan M.
Published: April 2015

The word “spank” has been in English language usage since the 1700s. To spank, according to Webster's, means “to strike or slap the buttocks, usually with the palm of the hand.” Spanking may be administered for real punishment—as in spanking children against their will—or for pleasure—as in spanking between consenting adults. The pain‐laced pleasures of adult “erotic spanking” range from light slaps on the derriere during lovemaking to more formal, over‐the‐knee role‐play to a mistress smacking her slave's reddened rear within the couple's dominance and submission lifestyle. People enjoy spanking for many reasons, including physiological stimulation of the buttocks, sexual arousal, endorphin release, fulfillment of sadomasochistic desires, power exchange, exciting associations with childhood, erotic fantasy role‐play, and therapeutic benefits. These are discussed in more detail in this entry.
Sprinkle, Annie M. (1954–)
Authors: McNulty Kate
Published: April 2015

Annie Sprinkle's career has spanned nearly four decades and encompassed multiple aspects of sexually expressive performance art and sociopolitical commentary. Sprinkle set an exceptionally creative path for herself and has continued to evolve and reinvent her persona through influences from current events and her contemporaries. As she has matured as an artist, the themes in her work have become increasingly generative, springing from significant global environmental concerns.
Stone tools
Authors: Casey Joanna
Published: April 2015

Lithics, or stone tools, are the first visible evidence of human culture. The durability of lithics has rendered them more important to archaeologists than they likely were to the people who made and used them. Lithic analysis has been dominated by neoevolutionary perspectives that have entrenched androcentric, heteronormative ideas about gender roles, particularly male dominance in hunting, provisioning women and children, and attracting sex partners. Recent research has reevaluated the position of women in relation to stone tool production and has also looked at the symbolism attached to lithic raw material and stone tools.
Striptease
Authors: Block Susan M.
Published: April 2015

Striptease is an erotic dance in which a clothed performer gradually disrobes until partially or totally nude. It is a powerful aphrodisiac, revealing the natural mysteries of the body in a suspenseful and viscerally exciting way. This entry considers the psychology, art, and mythology of striptease. It also examines its history, which includes erotic dance in prehistoric times, Salome's Dance of the Seven Veils, the ancient Athenian
aulētrides
, the Roman feast of Floralia, and the early Catholic church's vigorous, sometimes hypocritical condemnations. Public erotic dance made a comeback with the French can‐can and the burlesque, becoming modern striptease in the twentieth century. Prominent practitioners included Josephine Baker, Gypsy Rose Lee, Bettie Page, and Tempest Storm. The sexual revolution of the 1960s brought “go‐go dancing,” Carol Doda being the first topless—then bottomless—go‐go girl. As go‐go began to “take it all off,” modern stripping was born.
Tantric sex
Authors: Olson Carl
Published: April 2015

In contrast to orthodox Hinduism and Buddhism, Tantra represents a radical departure from these traditions by promoting forbidden practices, such as consumption of meat products, hallucinogenic drugs, and illicit sexual encounters. Instead of fleeing from or controlling sexual biological urges, Tantric teachers emphasize engaging in sexual encounters to hasten progress to spiritual liberation. Thus, sexual desire is used to reach a spiritual goal within a tightly controlled ritual context.
Tattoos
Authors: DeMello Margo
Published: April 2015

When tattooing was rediscovered by Europeans during the Age of Exploration, tattooed bodies were seen as exotic, and sometimes erotic. Nonindustrialized peoples wearing tattoos were displayed as sideshow attractions in Europe and the United States, and when Europeans and Americans began getting tattooed, they too tapped into the notion that tattoos were marks of exotic sexuality. In the industrialized world, tattoos have also been about “deviance,” and in the twentieth century that “deviance” became sexualized, as psychologists and others began to associate tattooing with deviant sexuality and homosexuality. In the 1960s and 1970s, tattoos became a means by which people marked their sexuality, with gays and lesbians leading the way in terms of using tattooing to mark their sexual orientation and desires. The BDSM community and the modern primitives movement also use tattooing as a way to highlight nonnormative sexual practices and ideologies.
Testosterone
Authors: Campbell Benjamin
Published: April 2015

Testosterone (T) is a sex steroid associated with sexual behavior and libido in both male and female human and nonhuman primates. T also mediates the trade‐off between mating effort and parenting effort in males. Experimental work has established that both prenatal and adult exposure to T are critical for the full expression of male sexual behaviors in nonhuman primates. In addition, work in the common marmoset has found that male T levels vary in response to both potential mates and infants. In humans, T is critical to the expression of libido in both men and women. Furthermore, male T levels are responsive to both romantic relationships and fatherhood, suggesting a parallel with nonhuman primates. Women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia show increased rates of same‐sex orientation, which is thought to reflect the impact of prenatal androgens on the brain in utero.
Theories of conception and paternity
Authors: Delaney Carol Lowery
Published: April 2015

Theories of conception have to do with far more than the physical process of human coming into being. In all times and places, people have had ideas about the process, and these ideas are interrelated with ideas about gender, kinship, property, and religion. Such theories are culturally specific. The modern medical theory, seemingly neutral by focusing only on the physical aspects, nevertheless incorporates aspects of the premodern Euro‐American theory in which the male was thought to provide the “seed,” while the woman provided the nurturing medium. This folk theory, embedded in classical and biblical texts, determined the definition of the terms “mother,” “father,” “maternity,” and “paternity,” the meanings of which are neither neutral nor universal.