Sexual health and identity are versatile subjects with numerous sides and elements to consider. It concerns the majority of different social groups, from teenagers to older people, and intersects with other fields of human lives. In order to understand its core and view from various sides, the best option is to analyze it through several perspectives. Therefore, this paper aims to review sexual health and identity from the historical, the humanities, the natural social sciences to identify its impact on the institutions.
Historically it affected familial and healthcare institutions primarily, but there are not many outtakes on reproductive health among the medical specialist. Mainly they focus on the negative consequences of and possible issues caused by unsafe sex in order to stimulate people to use protection and be careful in practicing sexual relationships with their partner or several of them (Ford et al., 2019). The study confirmed that the lack of history-based knowledge results in the lack of safety and neglect of contraception (Castellanos-Usigli & Braeken-van Schaik, 2019). Eventually, it leads to abortions with lethal outcomes, the appearance of overcrowded orphanages, and dysfunctional families.
The topic of sexuality has been a taboo for many years of history, and individuals felt shame and indecision about having conversations or turning to medical institutions for help and consultation. The minorities, such as representatives of the LGBTQ community and transgender people, experienced a massive deficit of quality medical assistance. They were not recognized by society and could hardly get any help, so rarely did some of them have an opportunity to get the treatment (Castellanos-Usigli & Braeken-van Schaik, 2019). Therefore, it impacted the spread of venereal diseases and healthcare in general because historically, they could not access medical assistance.
Understanding the correlation between humanities and sexual health allows us to reveal the tendencies in the society that could stimulate violence and discrimination among certain social groups. Sexual health under the lens of humanities implies the recognitions of the unrepresented parties of the society, which include different ethnicities, sexual orientations, and races (Garden, 2019). Acceptance of the diversity of people and the ability to learn about the different cases and backgrounds to adapt to the treatment can provide possibilities for them to attend the medical services and feel safe.
Nevertheless, the growth of social media gave people, specifically teenagers, more information and insights on all aspects of sex. While many parents may still avoid the inconvenient conversation with their children about intimate relationships and their sexual identity, mass media serves as a substitute for this. Modern culture develops more examples and representations of sex education and health by writing about it on blogs, talking on the shows, making podcasts, and focusing on it on online series (Wadham et al., 2019). The internet sources gradually eliminate the stigma around the subject and bring awareness to the audience about different scenarios and situations regarding sexual interactions and identities.
Sexual health is also connected with biological factors since this is established in human nature and has to be perceived and treated the same way as other aspects of the human body. For instance, society skeptically thinks about the active sexual life between older people and may believe that the necessity and desire in it declines after a certain age. However, some studies demonstrate that even older adults have a psychological and physiological need for sex as a part of close relationships and signs of good health (Sinković & Towler, 2019). Thus, this population segment remains unrepresented, although sexuality is an integral part of the individual in most of their lives, and sexual health remains as important as physical or cardio (Castellanos-Usigli & Braeken-van Schaik, 2019). It impacts the family institution so that couples through the decent approach to sexual health and interactions have higher chances to maintain the strong union through time.
Various social groups demonstrate different factors that are included in sexual health and directly connected with sexual identity. Younger people tend to be more careless during the act and ignore the protection, not fully realizing the danger and the possible negative consequences it can bring (Paul Poteat, 2019). Sometimes intimate interactions are supplemented with alcohol or substance use which increases the risks of unprotected sex. Parents nowadays strive to provide their children with inclusive sexual education with objective facts and knowledge without any religious interactions (Cameron et al., 2020). This demand affects the educational system in general since it stimulates the institutions to implement more information regarding the issue into the programs. Religious establishments also appeared to be involved since, in many religions, intimate relations, childbirth, and marriage are sacral aspects. Therefore, it also encourages the representatives of a particular faith to express their outlooks and educate their parishioners on it.
Overall, the examples of different social groups and four lenses have identified the connection between sexual health and identity and institutions. Historical lence showed how it impacted the sexual minorities, their well-being, and access to healthcare due to the discrimination. Modern technologies allowed to creation of informative content such as blogs or television series that include and represent people with distinct sexual identities and the aspects of sexual health, removing the tabu status of the topic. From the natural sciences perspective, sexual health is portrayed as a necessary part of human biology and is essential in every age, even people who are considered elderly. In turn, social sciences illustrate how the interactions between different age groups considering the issue of sexual health may influence religion and educational institutions. Therefore, those examples demonstrate how the subject of sexual health and identity interconnects with many aspects of social life from different angles.
References
Cameron, A., Smith, E., Mercer, N., & Sundstrom, B. (2020). ‘It is our duty:’understanding parents’ perspectives on reproductive and sexual health education. Sex education, 20(5), 535-551.
Castellanos-Usigli, A., & Braeken-van Schaik, D. (2019). The Pleasuremeter: exploring the links between sexual health, sexual rights, and sexual pleasure in sexual history-taking, SRHR counselling and education. Sexual and reproductive health matters, 27(1), 313-315.
Garden, R. (2019). Critical healing: Queering diagnosis and public health through the health humanities. Journal of Medical Humanities, 40(1), 1-5.
Ford, J. V., Corona Vargas, E., Finotelli Jr, I., Fortenberry, J. D., Kismödi, E., Philpott, A.,… & Coleman, E. (2019). Why pleasure matters: Its global relevance for sexual health, sexual rights and wellbeing. International Journal of Sexual Health, 31(3), 217-230.
Paul Poteat, V., Russell, S. T., & Dewaele, A. (2019). Sexual health risk behavior disparities among male and female adolescents using identity and behavior indicators of sexual orientation. Archives of sexual behavior, 48(4), 1087-1097.
Sinković, M., & Towler, L. (2019). Sexual aging: A systematic review of qualitative research on the sexuality and sexual health of older adults. Qualitative Health Research, 29(9), 1239-1254.
Wadham, E., Green, C., Debattista, J., Somerset, S., & Sav, A. (2019). New digital media interventions for sexual health promotion among young people: a systematic review. Sexual health, 16(2), 101-123.