A number of hormones influence sexuality, sensuality, and interpersonal attraction in
humans. Among the most widely discussed are androgens and estrogens, commonly
referred to as sex hormones. These substances belong to the general class of steroid hor — steroid hormones
mones that are secreted by the gonadal glands (testes and ovaries) and the adrenal glands. the sex hormones and the hormones
of the adrenal cortex.
No doubt you have heard the common descriptive expressions male sex hormones and female sex hormones. As we will see, linking specific hormones to one or the other sex is somewhat misleading—both sexes produce male and female sex hormones. As discussed in Chapter 5, the general term for male sex hormones is androgens. In males about 95% of total androgens are produced by the testes. Most of the remaining 5% are produced by the outer portions of the adrenal glands (called the adrenal cortex).
A woman’s ovaries and adrenal glands also produce androgens in approximately equal amounts (Davis, 1999; Rako, 1996). The dominant androgen in both males and females is testosterone. Men’s bodies typically produce 20 to 40 times more testosterone than women’s bodies do (Worthman, 1999). Female sex hormones, estrogens, are produced predominantly by the ovaries in females. Male testes also produce estrogens, but in quantities much smaller than what occurs in female bodies.
Sexual Arousal and Response
The arousal, attraction, and response components of human sexuality are also influenced by neuropeptide hormones, which are produced in the brain. One of the most important neuropeptide hormones, oxytocin, is sometimes referred to as a "love hormone"; it appears to influence our erotic and emotional attraction to one another. In the following sections, we discuss research findings that link oxytocin to human sexual attraction, arousal, and behavior. But first we consider the evidence linking testosterone to sexual functioning in both sexes and examine the role of estrogens in female sexuality.