From Sex to Humanity: How to be Human - A Guide in Two Parts (Part 1)

Sex sums it up. You think about it, use your body for it, and your sexuality influences decision-making and life style choices. When trying to work out what it means to be a vibrant human being, your sexuality is a good place to start.

The biological mechanics of sex spliced together two lines of history and as a consequence formed you. It is also the means by which you can reach out and tie yourself into future generations of life.

But the biological affect of sex is much more than exercise between the sheets; a person’s sexuality is a vital expression of his or her being. It is more than our preference for one sexual partner over another. Our sexuality drives the way we interact in the office or lab, our determination to win in any encounter, our ability to strike up conversations with strangers. It goes a long way to shape our sense of self and self-esteem.

Don’t be surprised then that any mention of sexuality and sexual identity is going to be contentious. Any consideration of the way we relate with other people is always going to raise strong opinions and emotions.

You could see the task of making sense of humanity as similar to passing light through a prism. As it exits the glass it spreads, revealing many different constituent components. Conventionally we refer to these as colours and talk about the distinctions between red and blue, green and yellow. You can understand the original beam all the more by assessing its make-up.

So too with humanity. Looking at the various facets of humanity reveals a holistic understanding of who we are.

Sex

If you want to see the power of a person’s innate sexuality, then you need look no further than the stories of some of the people who have had their physical bodies surgically altered shortly after birth so that their gender has apparently been changed.

Courtesy of Digit - Image Source - Royalty Free Christmas Parties are only one aspect of what it is to be human!

One of the most famous is that of David Reimer, a person who found himself in the public gaze after journalist John Colapinto wrote As Nature Made Him, a book telling David’s life story. To be fair, this wasn’t the first time that people had written and talked about him, as he had been the subject of public lectures and academic papers for many a year before. Only previously his identity had been hidden behind fictitious names - either John or Joan.