elyocttam said:
most all of the information on this topic is correct. the only part i find fault with is the fact that a baby boy's erection is only physical.
it has been studied that sexuality is inherent, not learned. both male and female children are born sexual. there are often times babies will rub themselves against their mattresses if placed on their stomachs.
during the brains most active developemental years, adolesence, these sexual urges are more supressed. the brain is too busy concentrating on the changes going on with speech, muscle control and learning basic motor skills.
as the horemones kick in at puberty, the brain agains starts to focus on sexuality.
I understand that there is a statement that is problematic but be careful. I see some Freud, pop psych, developmental psych, and cognitive psych in your argument, which may take you farther than what is scientifically testable or has been actually tested.
Also, there are times when an erection can be purely physical . . . a man in a coma that is not dreaming (short wave sleep) can get "morning wood", which is also purely autonomic. (Actually, morning wood may not actually be sexual at all until men associate erections with sex. Without the association with sex, an erection is just a penis that is hard because there is a lot of blood in it.)
Trying to define when a physical sensation becomes sexual is a rather difficult thing because a child has all the nerves in place for "sexual pleasure" at birth but has not been conditioned to associate these feelings with anything in the real world or imagination, so therefore their pleasure is purely a physical response to a real world stimulus.
Conversely, adult sexuality is not just pleasurable because of physical stimulation, but because of:
- the antipation of pleasure
- conditioned response to certain stimuli, such as smells, tastes, skin stimulation not directly on the genitals, etc.
- the social interaction, whether real or imagined, between partners
- the drive towards finality in ones own satisfaction (orgasm)
- the procreative drives that are not fully present until adolescents because the physical capacity is simply not present
- etc. etc. etc.
There are also several other physiological aspects. The important part is that this new parent gets factual advice at a appropriate depth so that he is reassured that his child is normal. Mixed messages are not good for either the parent or the child. This is not a debate for the sake of debate . . . get it!!!