Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behavior, and function. The term does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sex, such as political analysis or social criticism.^[1][2]

In modern sexology, researchers apply tools from several academic fields, including biology, medicine, psychology, statistics, epidemiology, sociology, anthropology, and criminology. Sexologists study sexual development (puberty), sexual orientation, the development of sexual relationships, as well as the mechanics of sexual intercourse. It also documents the sexualities of special groups, such as the disabled, child development, adolescents, and the elderly. Sexologists additionally study sexual dysfunctions, disorders, and variations, including such widely varying topics as erectile dysfunction, anorgasmia, and pedophilia.

Sexological findings, in spite of being scientifically based, can still become controversial when they contradict "mainstream", religious, or political beliefs in a given society.

Historical overview[link]

Sexology as it exists today, as a specific research-based scientific field, is relatively new. While there are works dedicated towards sex in antiquity, the scientific study of sexual behavior in human beings began in the 19th century. Shifts in Europe's national borders at that time brought into conflict laws that were sexually liberal and laws that criminalized behaviors such as homosexual activity.

German society, under the sexually liberal Napoleonic code, organized and resisted the anti-sexual cultural influences. The momentum from those groups led them to coordinate sex research across traditional academic disciplines, bringing Germany to the leadership of sexology.

Germany's dominance in sexual behavior research ended with the Nazi regime, marked by the destruction of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexology) in Berlin.^[1] But after World War II, sexology experienced a renaissance, beginning in the United States. Large scale studies of sexual behavior, sexual function, and sexual dysfunction gave rise to the development of sex therapy.^[2] Post-WWII sexology in the U.S. was influenced by the influx of European refugees escaping the Nazi regime and the popularity of the Kinsey studies. Until that time, American sexology consisted primarily of groups working to end prostitution and to educate youth about sexually transmitted diseases.^[1]

The advent of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s caused a dramatic shift in sexological research efforts towards understanding and controlling the spread of the disease.^[3]

Timeline of major events[link]

Ancient[link]

Sexual manuals have existed since antiquity, such as Ovid's Ars Amatoria, the Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana, the Ananga Ranga and The Perfumed Garden for the Soul's Recreation. None of these treat sex as the subject of a formal field of scientific or medical research, however.

Pre World-War II[link]

In 1837, De la prostitution dans la ville de Paris (Prostitution in the City of Paris) was published by Alexander Jean Baptiste Parent-Duchatelet. In that study, Parent-Duchatelet provided data from a sample of 3,558 registered prostitutes of Paris. That effort has been called the first work of modern sex research.^[1]

In 1886, Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing published Psychopathia Sexualis. That work is considered as having established sexology as a scientific discipline.^[4]

In 1897, Havelock Ellis, a British sexologist, co-authored the first English medical text book on homosexuality, Sexual inversion (Das Konträre Geschlechtsgefühle).^[5] (The original German-languaged edition was published in 1896.) A friend of Edward Carpenter, Ellis was one of the first sexologists who did not regard homosexuality as a disease, immoral, or a crime. He preferred the term inversion to homosexuality, and developed concepts such as autoerotism and narcissism, which were later adopted by Sigmund Freud. He is regarded as having been one of the most influential scholars in opposing Victorian morality regarding sex.^[4]

In 1908, the first scholarly journal of the field, Journal of Sexology (Zeitschrift für Sexualwissenschaft), began publication and was published monthly for one year. Those issues contained articles by Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, and Wilhelm Stekel.^[2]

In 1913, the first academic association was founded: the Society for Sexology.^[6]

Sigmund Freud developed a theory of sexuality. These stages of development include: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency and Genital. These stages run from infancy to puberty and onwards.^[7] based on his studies of his clients, between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Wilhelm Reich and Otto Gross, were disciples of Freud, but rejected by his theories because of their emphasis on the role of sexuality in the revolutionary struggle for the emancipation of mankind.

In 1919, Magnus Hirschfeld founded the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft (Institute for Sexology) in Berlin. Its library housed over 20,000 volumes, 35,000 photographs, a large collection of art and other objects. The Institute and its library were destroyed by the Nazis less than three months after they took power, May 8, 1933.^[2] Hirschfeld developed a system which identified numerous actual or hypothetical types of sexual intermediary between heterosexual male and female to represent the potential diversity of human sexuality, and is credited with identifying a group of people that today are referred to as transsexual or transgender as separate from the categories of homosexuality, he referred to these people as 'transvestiten' (transvestites).^[8][9]

Post World-War II[link]

Alfred Kinsey founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University at Bloomington in 1947. This is now called the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction. He wrote in his 1948 book that more was scientifically known about the sexual behavior of farm animals than of humans.^[10]

Kurt Freund developed the penile plethysmograph in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. The device was designed to provide an objective measurement of sexual arousal in males, and Freund used it to help dispel a number of myths surrounding homosexuality. This tool has since been used with sex offenders.^[11][12]

In 1966 and 1970, Masters and Johnson released their works Human Sexual Response and Human Sexual Inadequacy, respectively. Those volumes sold well, and they were founders of what became known as the Masters & Johnson Institute in 1978.

Vern Bullough was the most prominent historian of sexology during this era, as well as being a researcher in the field.^[13]

21st Century[link]

Technological advances have permitted sexological questions to be addressed with studies using behavioral genetics,^[14] neuroimaging,^[15] and large-scale Internet-based surveys.^[16]

As of the early 21st century, the Université du Québec à Montréal is the only university in the world to offer a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in sexology.^[17]

Notable contributors[link]

This is a list of sexologists and notable contributors to the field of sexology, by year of birth:

See also[link]

• Certified sex therapist
• Gender and sexuality studies
• Human sexuality
• List of academic journals in sexology
• List of sexology organizations
• List of sexology topics
• Philosophy of sex
• Sex education
• Sexological testing

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sexology at the Open Directory Project
• International Society for Sexual Medicine
• Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology at the Robert Koch Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Its only attribution is to IMDb, which may not be a reliable source for biographical information. Please help by adding additional, reliable sources for verification. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2010)

Dr. Ava Cadell (born June 15, 1956) is a former actress and currently a therapist and speaker on issues of sexuality.^[1]

Career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2011)

Cadell was born in Budapest, Hungary and later attended school in Finchley, England. She made a number of UK TV appearances in the 1970s and also appeared in the July 1975 (Volume 10 no 7) issue of men's magazine Mayfair. Her film credits include Spaced Out, Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part I (1981), Smokey and the Bandit Part III (1983), the German-made Euer Weg führt durch die Hölle [aka Jungle Warriors in the U.S.] (1984), the Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick Commando (1985), producer-director Andy Sidaris’ thriller Fit to Kill (1993) and also TV episodes of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1984), Arthur Hailey's Hotel (1984), Dallas (1984) and The Love Boat (1985) and Perfect Strangers (1986 - on the second episode of season one, titled "Picture This").

Cadell obtained a doctorate in human behavior from Newport University (California) and later a doctorate of education in human sexuality from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. She then embarked upon teaching, writing and lecturing, based out of Los Angeles. Through her private practice, Cadell counsels individuals and couples on personal issues ranging from anger management and fear of intimacy to lack of communication and lack of desire.

Cadell has authored seven books covering various aspects of relationships and sex. In her capacity as a sex therapist, she has appeared on numerous national TV shows, including Good Morning America, Extra, Montel Williams, Geraldo, and The X Show, as well as in documentaries and news reports on major broadcast networks and cable programming outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, Fox, MTV, VH1, The Discovery Channel, Lifetime and A&E.

As an extension of her presence in the sex therapy field, Cadell has founded Loveology University—the "on-line university of love coaching"—through which she imparts her knowledge to motivated students who will follow her career path to become "Loveologists."

Cadell, a certified sex counselor, has professional affiliations with the American Association of Sexuality Educators Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS) and the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), as an accredited continuing educator.

Cadell now hosts a radio show called "Sex Drive" which can be heard on WeTalkSex.com.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Ava Cadell has been married to Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Peter L. Knecht since 1992.

Selected filmography[link]

• The Ups and Downs of a Handyman (1975)
• Spaced Out (1979)
• Commando (1985) (as 'Girl in bed')

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dr Ava's new website LoveologyUniversity.com
• Ava%20Cadell.mp3 Ava Cadell podcast interview from Juliland.com
• Ava Cadell at the Internet Movie Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2012)

Phil Valentine is an American conservative talk radio show host in Nashville, Tennessee. He broadcasts daily on flagship station WWTN, a Cumulus Media station, from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Central Time^[1] and is syndicated through Dial Global on over 110 radio stations.^[2] He is probably best known in Tennessee for leading protests against a state income tax.^[3]

Personal life[link]

Valentine is the son of former six-term Democratic U.S. Representative Tim Valentine of North Carolina, but is nonetheless a self-described conservative. His mother is the late Betsy Valentine who was killed in an auto accident one month shy of Valentine's 22nd birthday. He grew up in Nashville, North Carolina, and graduated from Northern Nash High School. After attending East Carolina University, he decided on a career in radio. ECU did not offer a broadcast major so Valentine left the university and enrolled in Carolina School of Broadcasting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Books[link]

Valentine is the author of three books, The Conservative's Handbook, Right from the Heart: The ABC's of Reality in America,^[4] and Tax Revolt. Mr. Valentine was very active as a community organizer for the people of Tennessee to stop the passage of this bill against their wishes as citizens of that state. The Conservative's Handbook is a revision of Right from the Heart with new chapters and updated information. The foreword for both books was written by Sean Hannity.^[5]

Film and television[link]

In August 2009 Valentine launched production of his documentary, An Inconsistent Truth, a rebuttal to Al Gore's movie. The movie held its world premiere on January 26, 2012, and officially opened on January 27, 2012. For the first two weeks after the film's release, Truth was the top-grossing movie per screen in the country. At the time, it was playing at a single movie theater and earned a total of $36,439 for those two weeks.^[6] It picked up second place at the Appalachian Film Festival in Huntington, West Virginia, in February 2012.

Valentine's other movie credits include a supporting role in the 1998 movie A Letter From Death Row, written and co-directed by Bret Michaels' of the rock group Poison. He was also the voice of a radio talk show host in a 2003 episode of ABC-TV's Threat Matrix television drama. Valentine has made numerous appearances on Fox News Channel and MSNBC.^[7]

Awards and honors[link]

Valentine has received numerous AIR Awards (Achievement in Radio) in Philadelphia and Nashville and the Gold World Medal for Best Talk Show Host from the New York Festivals International Radio Awards.^[8]

Valentine is consistently listed in the Talkers Magazine "Heavy Hundred" as one of the 100 most influential talk show hosts in America and is listed by Talkers as one of the 100 most influential talk show hosts of all time. For 2012, he is ranked #42 on the Heavy Hundred list.^[9]

References[link]

Notes

Further reading

• "Phil Valentine Finds the Philadelphians Unexpectedly Delightful". Philadelphia Inquirer. October 4, 1996. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB32DD175DD2CE4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved May 23, 2012.  (Subscription required)
• "Talk radio's Valentine offers 'rehab' for liberals". The Tennessean. 2003-10-02. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/tennessean/access/1821224591.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+02%2C+2003&author=ROBERT+L+DOERSCHUK&pub=The+Tennessean&desc=Talk+radio's+Valentine+offers+'rehab'+for+liberals&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2012-05-23.  (Subscription required)

External links[link]

• Phil Valentine's official website
• Phil Valentine at the Internet Movie Database