Few topics generate as much attention and evoke as much pleasure and distress as the expression and control of human sexuality. In a sexuality class, students represent a diversity of ages, ethnic and religious backgrounds, life experiences, and liberal and conservative attitudes. Students’ sexual experiences vary; most students who have had sexual experiences relate sexually only with the other sex,[1] while some seek sexual relationships with members of the same sex, and still others seek sexual contact with both sexes. Some students have had no sexual partners; others have had many partners; still others have had one partner; and some have had long-term partnerships and marriages.
Students’ sexual choices and experiences also vary greatly in the degree of pleasure or distress that accompanies each situation. There are virtually no universals in sexual attitudes and experiences. With this in mind, we have attempted to bring an inclusive philosophy to our book. We begin this chapter with an overview of sexual practices and beliefs within the United States, the Islamic Middle East, and in China.