Is Sex Innate?

[Ayodhya]

Are we born with the process of sex at birth or we do have to be taught it?

If a boy and a girl of sexual maturity were never given any sexual education whatsoever, but felt the urge to have sex, would they know that the penis has to enter the vagina?

In animals, for example, the whooping crane could be used as an example. Whooping cranes are currently endangered, but one way to replenish the population was to use surrogate mothers of a similar species, the Sandhill crane. The problem with this, however, was that the baby birds did not know how to reproduce, meaning that perhaps the parents are involved in sex education.

Where do we get it from? Porn?

[draqon]

Are we born with the process of sex at birth or we do have to be taught it?

If a boy and a girl of sexual maturity were never given any sexual education whatsoever, but felt the urge to have sex, would they know that the penis has to enter the vagina?

In animals, for example, the whooping crane could be used as an example. Whooping cranes are currently endangered, but one way to replenish the population was to use surrogate mothers of a similar species, the Sandhill crane. The problem with this, however, was that the baby birds did not know how to reproduce, meaning that perhaps the parents are involved in sex education.

Where do we get it from? Porn?


yes its programmed in us. The attraction is what guides us... its like having a homing missile guided by the ground laser coming from a house that is to be hit. :D

[leopold]

If a boy and a girl of sexual maturity were never given any sexual education whatsoever, but felt the urge to have sex, would they know that the penis has to enter the vagina?

did anyone ever show you how to screw your partner befor you actually did it?

[draqon]

did anyone ever show you how to screw your partner befor you actually did it?

The instructions in the book told me to do so! :eek:

[James R]

Watch Blue Lagoon.

[John Connellan]

did anyone ever show you how to screw your partner befor you actually did it?

I'd say most people were indirectly "instructed" on how to perform the act long before they actually did!

[Prince_James]

There seems to be a natural connection, but I do not know if they would know how to do it.

In "The Blue Lagoon" they sure did, though.

Ah, teenage sexuality. How blissful a thing you are.

[Prince_James]

Ha. James R., when I was posting that I did not see you write that. Good that we are on the same page.

[Billy T]

Old joke:
Scene: a dark room.
He: May I stick my finger in your belly button?
She: That is not my belly button.
He: That is not my finger.

[Oniw17]

If you buy a dog as a puupy, and it gets loose later on, it's likely to have sex. Sexual education is there for prevention, because kids fuck up your life, STDs fuck up your life, and people don't want their kids having sex.

[BenTheMan]

I'm pretty sure that isolated kids could figure out "Tab A" and "Slot B", but maybe not the Kama Sutra.

[Ayodhya]

did anyone ever show you how to screw your partner befor you actually did it?

No, because I've never had sex.

It seems that the answer is unanimously in favor of innate. Apparently, this was a stupid question.

[river-wind]

there was at least one case in Japan where a young couple had been sleeping together for two years, but couldn't have a kid.

Turned out that they slept int he same bed, and thought that, by the definition of the term "sleeping together", it was enough to create a pregnancy.

IIRC, I heard this story on NPR during an interview w/ a western GP who had moved to Japan to practice while her husband was in the Military.


So I agree that sex is a natural process that does not need to be taught *most of the time*; however, in some cases, the details are not obvious.

[Oniw17]

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard about.

[francois]

Sure, sex is innate, but it should would be an interesting experiment to see exactly to what extent the sexual instinctive knowledge of the mechanics of sex is. If take a compatible man and woman and put them together in the right environment, I'm sure they'll couple and mate, very naturally--without any knowledge about the mechanics of sex pass on through culture, society, relationships, etc. Animals do it, right?

We progressed from monkeys, didn't we? And they surely know how to get it on. However, even the case of monkeys, the same experiment might be interesting. Because surely, like humans, monkeys learn from others. How much fiddling around would it take for them to figure things out on their own? I'm sure eventually it will be done. But... still an interesting thought.

[Dr_Zinj]

Humans can learn masturbation on their own because it feels good.

Humans can learn mutual masturbation for the same reasons.

There have been numerous cases where uninformed partners thought they were having reproductive sex when they were having anal sex and in some cases, urethral. (imagine how painful that was for the woman.)

We have to be taught, either formally from classes, or informally from friends, family, or an experienced other.

[GeoffP]

If you buy a dog as a puupy, and it gets loose later on, it's likely to have sex. Sexual education is there for prevention, because kids fuck up your life, STDs fuck up your life, and people don't want their kids having sex.

Or their dogs, apparently.

[river-wind]

Do what Bob Barker tells you!

[Kumar]

What about sex at current intensity? Is it natural? Is it meant just for enjoyment or for reproduction?

[Free_Matt_417]

Both...enjoyment and reproduction...us and dolphins i believe, are the only animals who "fuck for fun"

[draqon]

Both...enjoyment and reproduction...us and dolphins i believe, are the only animals who "fuck for fun"

dolphins???

what about elephants?

and guess what I found in waves of internet:

http://www.sexwork.com/family/dolphins1.html

and this message

"To: George W. Bush

We, the undersigned, feel Dolphin sex should be legal, for many reasons. Dolphin sex cures cancer, prevents unwanted birth, and lastly, is strangely erotic. Even George Washington had dolphin sex.


We shall send this to the President Of The United States, and maybe even Canada, once we reach 50 signatures.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned
"

http://www.petitiononline.com/Dolphi/petition.html

[Kumar]

Both...enjoyment and reproduction...us and dolphins i believe, are the only animals who "fuck for fun"

The real purpose behing sex can be for reproduction, naturally. How many times sex is needed just for reproduction in a year?

Some religious ntity indacte, things done for real need may not be counted as sin but for luxuary, fun etc. can be sonted as sin .draqon may be knowing it.

[draqon]

draqon may be knowing it.

I never had sex in my entire life. knowing what?

[francois]

Both...enjoyment and reproduction...us and dolphins i believe, are the only animals who "fuck for fun"

I'm not so sure of this. How can we be so arrogant as to claim to know something like that?
Reminds me of a dumb hippy psychology teacher I had one time. She said "Humans are the only animal that eats past satiation." I think she was sufficiently happy to show us that she knew how to use a word the majority of the kids in the class room did not. But I mean, really. How stupid is that? How arrogant is that statement? I mean, obviously she didn't/doesn't have a dog. Dogs eat on full-stomachs. Dogs are gluttons in the true sense of the word. It makes sense too. You eat when you're not hungry when food is available. That behavior is useful in survival. Why should it be exclusive to humans? Dumb woman.

[river-wind]

We are as closely related to the primate group 'bonobo' as we are to chimps.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonobo

While chimps are very violent, and infantcide is common, bonobos are comparibly docile (though certainly not pacifistic). Their social structure is largely run by the females, and everyone has sex with everyone. All the time. Often, they will have sex for quick 20-second sessions just as we might hug someone after a frightening incident - to calm them.
Infantcide is largely unheard of (not surprising, since no male can easily tell if a child is his own), and both homo sexual and heterosexual sex is common.
They have sex for fun, as well.

[Kumar]

I never had sex in my entire life. knowing what?

Sorry to know that.

Sorry, mistake, I meant Ayodhya. I think Lord Krishna told that.

[WashingUp]

Maybe the knowledge of sex is innate, but perhaps the knowledge of the consequences of the action are not. How many times do you hear/read of young girls suddenly becoming pregnant and having no idea of how it happened.

My mother knew a girl while growing up (say 16 years old) who was going out with a boy but didn't know why he wanted to put his hands there ... she knew it felt wrong, but didn't know what he was up to, until my mother explained it, despite this girl having older sisters.

It is imperative for self protection that all be given lessons on sex education.

[TimeTraveler]

yes its programmed in us. The attraction is what guides us... its like having a homing missile guided by the ground laser coming from a house that is to be hit. :D

Don't be a slave to your dick, physical attraction is meaningless, just as attraction to paper is meaningless.

[TimeTraveler]

Maybe the knowledge of sex is innate, but perhaps the knowledge of the consequences of the action are not. How many times do you hear/read of young girls suddenly becoming pregnant and having no idea of how it happened.

My mother knew a girl while growing up (say 16 years old) who was going out with a boy but didn't know why he wanted to put his hands there ... she knew it felt wrong, but didn't know what he was up to, until my mother explained it, despite this girl having older sisters.

It is imperative for self protection that all be given lessons on sex education.


Thats odd. Most people instinctively know what sex is and not only that, most people want to have it, and not only that. If you ask the average person, they'd want to have sex every minute of every day if their body could handle it.

Seriously, if there were no STDs, and no risks involved, people would be having Roman style orgies in public.

[river-wind]

I'd say it isn't odd that a person who isn't told about sex has the innate urge to do something, without understanding what or why.

Accidental pregnancies are very common, and unprotected sex is even more common amongst abstinance-only programs. So I agree 100% with TimeTraveler. All evidence suggests that sex education introduces the idea of sex significantly less than it introduces the idea of responsibility for an innate desire.

[TimeTraveler]

I'd say it isn't odd that a person who isn't told about sex has the innate urge to do something, without understanding what or why.

Accidental pregnancies are very common, and unprotected sex is even more common amongst abstinance-only programs. So I agree 100% with TimeTraveler. All evidence suggests that sex education introduces the idea of sex significantly less than it introduces the idea of responsibility for an innate desire.

I think we need gender education not sex education. People need to learn to understand the psychology of the opposite sex/gender, not just how to fuck properly.

[Ayodhya]

I think we need gender education not sex education. People need to learn to understand the psychology of the opposite sex/gender, not just how to fuck properly.

I think government couldn't give a damn if we understand the opposite sex or not.

Kumar -

I didn't understand the statement you supposedly said to me. Could you rephrase it?

[TimeTraveler]

I think government couldn't give a damn if we understand the opposite sex or not.

A government that cares about national security, would care. You are right not all governments give a damn about this, but how secure can a country be when both genders have no understanding about each other? A country is only as secure as it's families are.

[Kumar]

I think government couldn't give a damn if we understand the opposite sex or not.

Kumar -

I didn't understand the statement you supposedly said to me. Could you rephrase it?

In one episode on TV, in Rukmani/Radha? and Lord Krishna dialogues, What is right sex or whether sex is sin(most sperms die/killed) was asked to which lord told "any sex done for need/reproduction is not seen but done just for other than it will be sin. Since your avtar is lord Krishna, I thought yopu might be knowing. I hope it is clear now.

[Fraggle Rocker]

"Both...enjoyment and reproduction...us and dolphins i believe, are the only animals who fuck for fun."
I'm not so sure of this. How can we be so arrogant as to claim to know something like that?It's not arrogance. Dolphins have been studied intensively. We have learned by observing them that dolphin females, like human females, are physically capable of intercourse when they are not in estrus or "heat." (We are not the only two species of mammals like that but they are very few and I have never seen the others listed.) In most female mammals the vagina simply cannot expand to permit penetration at other times.

To say they do it for "fun," however, is a bit of anthropomorphism. Many female mammals, including one of the gorilla species, use copulation as a way of establishing and maintaining pack hierarchy. Others, such as bonobos and dogs, use it non-hierarchically as a way of strengthening the bonds between pack members. For example female dogs mate with every male in the pack so they will all feel protective of "their" puppies. In these species of course copulation can only be performed in estrus.

Observation of dolphin females in the wild suggests that they also perform sex to reinforce the camaraderie of the pack. Since they are capable of performing outside of estrus this makes their mating habits appear similar to our own if only because of the frequency. Clearly the males enjoy it at some level or the females would not give it to them during an infertile period as a way to create feelings of loyalty and affection. But we can only hypothesize about the females enjoying it since it is they who appear to be fulfilling an ulterior motive.

[draqon]

It's not arrogance. Dolphins have been studied intensively. We have learned by observing them that dolphin females, like human females, are physically capable of intercourse when they are not in estrus or "heat." (We are not the only two species of mammals like that but they are very few and I have never seen the others listed.) In most female mammals the vagina simply cannot expand to permit penetration at other times.

To say they do it for "fun," however, is a bit of anthropomorphism. Many female mammals, including one of the gorilla species, use copulation as a way of establishing and maintaining pack hierarchy. Others, such as bonobos and dogs, use it non-hierarchically as a way of strengthening the bonds between pack members. For example female dogs mate with every male in the pack so they will all feel protective of "their" puppies. In these species of course copulation can only be performed in estrus.

Observation of dolphin females in the wild suggests that they also perform sex to reinforce the camaraderie of the pack. Since they are capable of performing outside of estrus this makes their mating habits appear similar to our own if only because of the frequency. Clearly the males enjoy it at some level or the females would not give it to them during an infertile period as a way to create feelings of loyalty and affection. But we can only hypothesize about the females enjoying it since it is they who appear to be fulfilling an ulterior motive.

well c0uld we monit0r hormone in dolphins responsible for pleasure? endorphin?

[river-wind]

I think we need gender education not sex education. People need to learn to understand the psychology of the opposite sex/gender, not just how to fuck properly.

I would certainly hope that sex education covered spent more time covering biology and anatomy that it did on technique.

[francois]

It's not arrogance. Dolphins have been studied intensively. We have learned by observing them that dolphin females, like human females, are physically capable of intercourse when they are not in estrus or "heat." (We are not the only two species of mammals like that but they are very few and I have never seen the others listed.) In most female mammals the vagina simply cannot expand to permit penetration at other times.

To say they do it for "fun," however, is a bit of anthropomorphism. Many female mammals, including one of the gorilla species, use copulation as a way of establishing and maintaining pack hierarchy. Others, such as bonobos and dogs, use it non-hierarchically as a way of strengthening the bonds between pack members. For example female dogs mate with every male in the pack so they will all feel protective of "their" puppies. In these species of course copulation can only be performed in estrus.

Observation of dolphin females in the wild suggests that they also perform sex to reinforce the camaraderie of the pack. Since they are capable of performing outside of estrus this makes their mating habits appear similar to our own if only because of the frequency. Clearly the males enjoy it at some level or the females would not give it to them during an infertile period as a way to create feelings of loyalty and affection. But we can only hypothesize about the females enjoying it since it is they who appear to be fulfilling an ulterior motive.

Thanks for the info, Fraggle. But it's not so much that I don't think dolphins don't enjoy sex; it's the statement that only humans and dolphins do it for fun that puts me off a bit. It's a bit of a bold statement, considering there are many animals of which we know nothing about.

[Ayodhya]

A government that cares about national security, would care. You are right not all governments give a damn about this, but how secure can a country be when both genders have no understanding about each other? A country is only as secure as it's families are.

In a time of international crisis, this seems a wee bit useless for the time being.
Of course, the federal government wouldn't be involved, would it?
Each school board (for each county) votes on its own sexual education program, right?

So, technically, it wouldn't even come down the government. You'd need to scale it down a bit to rural areas versus cosmopolitan (Virginia probably won't have it... California seems the most likely candidate for the Kama Sutra in Sex Ed)

[Kumar]

Thanks for the info, Fraggle. But it's not so much that I don't think dolphins don't enjoy sex; it's the statement that only humans and dolphins do it for fun that puts me off a bit. It's a bit of a bold statement, considering there are many animals of which we know nothing about.

Whether dolphins or any other species, while doing sex, interfere in purpose of reproduction? Do they use condoms or otherwise restricts?