a. How is biological sex determined?
i. Chromosomal sex (genetic determination of sex) - this is determined at conception, giving rise to two distinct biological types: the masculine and the feminine.
ii. Gonadal sex (formation of the gonads, the genital passages and external genital organs) - the chromosome make-up of the individual will determine the type of gonads (primary sex organs) which an embryo will develop.
iii. Hormonal sex (emergence of secondary sexual characteristics) - With the onset of puberty, the gonads produce sexual hormones (the ovaries produce estrogen and progesterone while the testicles produce testosterone) that affect the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
b. Significance of biological aspects to the overall understanding of human sexuality
i. The biological aspects of human sexuality are an indispensable part of human sexuality. However, it would be wrong to reduce sexuality to the biological or genital as well as completely disregard the biological aspects.
ii. The biological aspects introduce three dimensions into human sexuality:
procreation, superabundance, and pleasure.
iii. Procreation
1. Human procreation is not automatically regulated by instinct but rather it ought to be responsibly regulated.
2. Human sexuality is not reducible to procreation.
3. There is a relation between the unitive and procreative ftinctions of human sexuality. The ethical criteria that regulate the relation of these functions should be based on an anthropology that is fully human.
iv. Superabundance
1. Human reproduction carries with it the aspect of superabundance of fertilizing elements, This superabundance must be taken into consideration by sexual ethics. For example, the loss or conservation of seminal fluid should not be given exaggerated importance as a factor in moral evaluation of the rightness or wrongness of certain sexual acts.
v. Pleasure
1. We should avoid two extremes: reducing sexuality to simply a source of pleasure and denial of the place of sexual pleasure in human sexuality
2. We should liberate sexual pleasure from its incorrect association with original sin, which is misunderstood by many as having rendered all human pleasure as depraved, so that pleasure came to be called concupiscence, with a pejorative meaning.
3. We should not thin k of sexual pleasure as a kind of “loving trap” that God has placed in the path of humans in order to induce them to comply with the duty to procreate.
4. We should not think of sexual pleasure as radically separated from procreation, which is one of the dimensions of human sexuality. Christian sexual ethics seeks to integrate the dimension of pleasure with the procreative dimension of the biological aspects of human sexuality.
c. Some ethical implications of the biology of sexuality
i. Human sexuality differs qualitatively from that of other animals.
1. Sexual behavior in humans does not depend on hormonal influences like other animals. Human sexual biology is a human activity guided by reason and human freedom, allowing for moral.
ii. Initial bisexuality of the human individual.
I. In the early stages of development, the human fetus is characterized by sexual bipotentiality. This bipotentiality disappears in the onset of sexual differentiation through the prevalence of either male or female characteristics.
2. This initial bipotentiality remains in the organism , though in regressive form, and may reappear during certain vulnerable stages in life, such as
puberty, menopause or old age.
3. Since bisexuality is a characteristic of immature or decadent stages of sexual development, and since human development involves passage from initial bisexuality to sexual differentiation, there is prima facie basis for the obligation to achieve sexual differentiation and consistently live out one’s masculinity or femininity.
iii. Asceticism and love in sexual relations
1. Wholesome sexual behavior in the setting of marriage needs the following:
a. The practice of asceticism, which is self-control rather than apathy; lack of sexual self control mdehumanizes and degrades sexuality.
b. The avoidance of egoism, since sex should always be in the context of an interpersonal relationship that involves self-donation
c. Attention to the special characteristics of the sexual partner for sexual intercourse to be a language or sign of human love and
charity.
iv. The question of the biological necessity of sexuality
1 Male sexual desire and activity depend upon a psychological process. It is not provoked by the production or accumulation of sperm. The various gland-the testicle, the prostate, and others--constantly function at a steady but low rate of activity. Their products are naturally evacuated or absorbed without the individual being aware of it. It is only when psychological excitation occurs, whether the person is conscious or unconscious (as in sleep), that a serious of reactions and reflexes are set in motion leading to sexual activity.
2. For females, sexual desire is directed by psychological factors.
3. Therefore, the laws of animal behavior should not be applied indiscriminately to human behavior. To do so would be simplistic and prone to error.
4. Biological factors are important but are not in themselves decisive in sexual morals.
5. The genital expression of sexuality is not absolutely necessary for the health of the human organism. The drive to genital expression, though strong, is not an absolute necessity and can be foregone for sufficient reason without harming the human person.
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