Concepts of Human Sexuality - Essay Example

Human sexuality is a general term used to describe the experiences and expressions of individuals as sexual beings. This encompasses behaviors expresses in a physical, emotional, erotic, biological, social and spiritual manner. Behaviors on human sexuality form the basis of this paper, which, its purpose is to analyze major psychological concepts on human sexual behaviors as learned in Psychology 312 class. To accomplish the above the paper will analyze a movie, The Scarlet Letter, to explain concepts such as attraction and love, sexual development and sexual aggression.

The Scarlet Letter is an American fictional movie based on Nathaniel Hawthorne novel. With its setting in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony at around the seventieth century, the book revolves around two main characters Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The book is an about a story of Hester Prynne who conceives a child through an affair which compels her to struggle with a life of repentance and restoring her dignity all her life.

In summary, Hester arrives at the Massachusetts Bay Colony with a major aim of finding a house for her family. Her husband, Doctor Roger Prynne, was residing in England was to follow later after Hester had secured a house for them. Later she secures a house in the woods. As she is busy fixing her new house, Hester makes friendship with the colony inhabitants and the Quakers who consider her to be both intelligent and independent. Taking a walk around her house in the woods, she comes across reverend Arthur swimming in the river nearby. Passion draws Hester to Arthur. The two entered into a secret love affair after discovering that Hester's husband had died and later they consummate their love. As a result, a child, Pearl, is born. The government finds out that Hester is pregnant and she is publicly humiliated by wearing a Scarlet Letter. Years later, the man thought to be dead, Rogers Prynne, makes an appearance having changed his identity to Chillingworth. Infuriated by the whole ordeal, Rogers seeks to find Hester's lover in a quest of taking revenge on Arthur and Hester herself.

The above story brings out several concepts discussed in the Psychology of Human Sexual behaviors. Attraction, an orientation towards a gender of the opposite sex or even at some cases towards the same gender and, which is key for love to develop, is a concept depicted by Hester when she takes a walk in the woods and meets the young Arthur, naked, swimming in the river. The latter arouses a sexual attraction, which makes Hester be in love with Arthur.

The concept of sexual behavior depicts itself whereby Hester and sexual behavior express their love experiences through the consummation of their love. The latter may not have occurred in a public place, but this is evident when Hester becomes pregnant and has to bear the burden. The latter is also evident for Dimmesdale when he had to confess of his deeds.

The second concept depicted is the gender issue. In the scarlet letter, gender is evident as Hester pays dearly for the sin committed. Unlike Dimmesdale, she finds it difficult to hide their act of adultery because she cannot hide her pregnancy. Gender portrays itself because Hester is must undertake her parenthood roles because no one was there to take care of her bay since Dimmesdale had frowned up. The inhabitants brand Pearl an Evil child, as they believe that nothing good might come out of a woman born in the act of adultery.

In conclusion, the story captures major concepts on human sexuality such as gender whereby it is a woman who bears the major burden if involved in adultery. Sexual development through the secret love affair between Hester and Dimmesdale and lastly attraction, which is the basis of the whole story whereby the two developed a secret love affair are the major concepts.