Our culture imposes certain criteria that organize the areas in which we develop. This also implies our sexual behavior and practices, which have certain rituals, liturgies and attitudes that are accepted Even culture is responsible for telling us the things we should like and those we shouldn’t.
Our conceptions about love and sexuality are many, some have scientific support, but others are, rather, myths and beliefs
However, it seems that neuroscience has managed to unmask some popular legends about sex, and in this article we are going to detail them. Myths about sex, take cover!
1. Men are genetically predisposed to be unfaithful
It is very common to talk about the “nature” of behavior, but, in reality, The vast majority of our attitudes and behaviors are based on what we culturally consider correct or acceptable.
This does not mean that there are certain genetic predispositions to develop certain attitudes, responses or behaviors (as suggested by the Coolidge effect), but in no case can we speak of a mechanism between genetic expression and behavior. In the case of infidelity, it should be noted that genetic load does not direct our sexual behavior, although it does predispose us to some inclinations and attitudes. However, the role played by the frontal lobes, which regulate judgment and decision-making, is the one that has the greatest influence when “deciding” to be unfaithful or not.
Evidence in neuroscience confirms that our brain is excited by porn: When faced with an image of sexual content, the brain’s response is between 200 and 300% more intense than when faced with any other type of stimulus.
This does not only occur in the male brain, but also in the feminine However, there are some differences in brain activation zones between both sexes. But there is no doubt that erotic images stimulate both sexes in a very similar way.
3. Attraction and hate are antagonistic
It is usually thought that attraction and hate are antagonistic feelings ; opposites. Experiments carried out with neural images showed that, when a person was stimulated with elements that caused hate, certain brain regions were activated, some of which are exactly the same as those that are activated when we feel love or attraction for someone. The separation between both psychological states is not absolute nor does it have clear limits, and depending on the context and place, one can come to hate and wish to be away from someone whom we love and/or desire sexually. The fact that there is sexual attraction does not change this fact.
4. Men look for sex and women look for love
It is a myth as widespread as it is stereotyped. The myth segregates the intentions and expectations of each sex according to closed and mechanical categories: each sex wants a different thing At the level of neurocerebral examination, we can see that there is great interpersonal variability regardless of sex.
Besides, There are no asymmetries between the sexes in the region of the brain that is activated when we fall in love One more fact: surveys carried out on single people of both sexes reveal that both women and men express the same reasons for having a sporadic sexual relationship.
5. Love is an emotion
It is quite common to see how love is categorized within the group of emotions, such as anger or surprise. But if you have ever been in love with someone, you will have noticed that this feeling is not as temporary as those mentioned before. The community that studies neuroscience has shown that love acts as a “unit” in terms of brain activation, just like the one we have for sex or appetite.
He Romantic love is an intense and disconcerting physiological experimentation that not only helps us relate and reproduce, but also paves the way for us to enjoy relationships with other people in general. Thus, it seems that love has been an evolutionarily efficient element in our species.
6. Indoctrination can change sexual orientation
It is currently known that no action directed and applied with the aim of changing the sexual orientation of a person or a group of people achieves its objective. This implies, among other things, that neither educational centers nor the media, for example, can effectively alter people’s sexual orientation.
In fact, In the vast majority of cases, sexual orientation does not change throughout life and when it does, it is not possible to detect an event triggering this change.
7. You can’t be happy without having sex with another person
There are those who place sexual activity in the group of basic human needs, believing that no one can be happy or have a good quality of life without having sex with another person. However, this is not true.
First of all, There is an increasingly studied part of the population that is not interested in sex: It’s about asexual people. Secondly, historically there has been a significant part of the population that opts for ways of life in which sex is not practiced, assuming and accepting this fact.
