HUMAN SEXUALITY ESSAY
Love is a concept that has always attracted debates since
the ancient days of human being existence. There are many narratives, many
almost unbelievable of people who did extraordinary things all in the name of
love. The popular story of Romeo and
Juliet by Shakespeare is just a single example of many other similar
occurrences in different human civilizations. Try as they may, no thinkers or
academicians have been able to explain the biology that stipulates who
individuals fall in love with. In recent days, there has occurred a renewed
interest in the role that biology determines who an individual will fall in
love with; this is commonly referred to as the biology of love. This is a
relatively new field whose concepts have not been satisfactorily confirmed by effective
research. Nevertheless, the neuro-biological processes involved with the
dynamic of love have been ascertained as fulfilling a myriad of human
biological functions; in such sense, then, I believe that biology has a
propensity to influence the process of falling in love amongst human beings.
According to Fischer (2004), and I agree with her, most of
the activities involved in the process of falling in love are indeed
biological. When an individual finds a person that they are sexually attracted
to and they fall in love with them, there are a series of biological process
that influence and support the process at the same time. There are three bodily
chemicals that are released in the body of an individual falling in love; these
are norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. I remember the first time I felt in
love; more often than not, I’d be in a state of exhilaration always thinking
about the object of my fancy. It was also not uncommon to lose sleep and the
desire for food as I fantasized about my next encounter with the object of my
love. According to Fischer (2004), such feelings are usually as a result of the
escalated production of the norepinephrine and dopamine chemicals in the brain
of a person in love. In addition to this, the activities that are involved in
the falling in love and choice of partner process are mostly biological; these
are sexual arousal and attraction, feelings of attachment to the object of love
and the romantic love itself (Romesin and Verden-Zoller, 1996).
I believe that love is biological due to the fact that it
is established upon the foundation of actions that take place in the brain;
such activities include the neurobiological experiences of happiness, trust and
feelings of contentment that accompany the feeling of love. According to Esch
and Stefano (2005) the biological chemicals involved in this process of being
in love include dopamine, oxytocin and vasopressin. The human being is exposed
to the biology of love from its first few seconds of life. This is evident in
both humans and animals. Immediately after bearing a child, a normal woman
instinctively feels a very strong sense of love for a child which propels her
to protect and take care of her child. These biological emotions or sentiments
drive her to hug, kiss, hold and cherish her child. It is from this biological
love that a human being is exposed to by the people around them that enables
them to cultivate and develop a sense of concern for the welfare and safety of
others around them. As stated by Romesin and Verden-Zoller (1996) human beings
are by nature both sensual and sexual; as a consequence, from the very first
time a human being is brought forth into the world through birth, they need to
receive and be allowed an opportunity to give love to others. Being deprived of
love or an opportunity to extend one’s love to others has been widely quoted by
many a psychologists and experts of human behavior as being responsible for
deviance and criminal conduct among the victims of such misfortune.
But does biology indeed have a significant role to play in
the determination of who we fall in love with? Since time immemorial, both
human beings and animals have depicted certain preferences for their choice of
mating partners. I find it very interesting that in the choice of sexual
partners, human beings have a propensity to be very selective and biased. Esch
and Stefano (2005) assert that an individual tends to be romantically and
sexually attracted to others whose testosterone, body odor, estrogen and
chemical profiles fit with theirs. Biology influences an individual’s pattern
of falling in love as well as the person they fall in love with in particular
ways. Firstly, the endearments that a child first receives biologically from
their parents, particularly the mother, is also very significant in the
patterns that they will form not only in falling in love, but also in the
cultivation of social relationships with other people in the society. In the
process of falling in love, sexual attraction plays a very important role in determining
the choice of partner; as a matter of fact, the experiences I have observed
from people close to me a certain that one cannot fall in love with a person
whom they are not sexually attracted to. Secondly, as stated by Romesin and
Verden-Zoller (1996), sexual attractiveness is for a large part biological and
physical in nature. Since individuals tend to fall in love with individuals
they find sexually attractive, biology is perceived as, in one way or another,
influencing the process as well as the choice of partners in romantic love
relationships.
According to the principles of natural science, falling in
love is perceived as a very significant step since it leads to coupling. There
are many advantages of coupling. The first obvious one is that it allows for
procreation to occur and thus ensures the continuity of the human race. As
stated by Esch and Stefano (2005) the psychological and behavioral aspects of
falling in love indicate that individuals tend to seek the approval of the
people that they love. In such light, an individual will most likely be
attracted to and fall in love with a person whom they envision as possessing
qualities that are very valuable to them. From a personal experience, I concur
that in their choice of which individuals to fall with human beings tend to be
attracted to individuals whose behaviors, physical qualities and social
mannerisms match to those they desire in their ‘ideal’ partners. As already
stated by Fischer (2004) when the dopamine chemical in the bodies of humans is
increased, an inclination towards certain preferences in an individual’s choice
of mate occurs.
In conclusion, the issues concerning love are not ones that
can be easily understood or explained; this is because the feelings of
excitement, euphoria and happiness that are associated with it, love also has a
propensity to cause much pain, hatred and bitterness especially when the object
of one’s love does not love them back. Despite the fact that biology has a lot
to do with the process of falling in love and choice of mate, there are still
many queries about love that remain a mystery: These include whether love can
last forever and whether it is possible to fall romantically in love with more
than one person at the same time.
References
Esch, T. and Stefano, G. B. (2005): ‘The Neurobiology of
Love’ Neuro-endocrinology Letters
No.3 June Vol.26
Fisher, H. (2004): ‘Biology: Your Brain in Love’ The Times Magazine
Romesin, H. M. and Verden-Zoller, G. (1996): ‘The Biology
of Love’ Munchen
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