Human Sexuality Case Study

Case:

Tony is a somewhat shy young man who tends to be a loner. He is majoring in mechanical engineering and spends much of his free time in the auto shop, working on his car. He has a circle of good male friends, and they go drinking and skiing together. He is a good snowboarder and has even won some regional competitions in the sport. Shy around women, Tony has mostly avoided relationships with them. He has hooked up with women sexually several times and has enjoyed the experiences, but he does not feel ready for a commitment. Tony harbors a secret that has interfered with his life considerably. When he was 14, he went on a camping trip with several boys, some of whom were older and he did not know very well. He ended up sharing a tent with a 17-year-old. After he had fallen asleep, he felt someone moving on top of him and realized that ht other boy was turning him over in the dark. He was told to be quiet and to just do what he was told. Tony was scared and wanted to fight back, but the other boy was much stronger and continued to threaten him. He was penetrated anally, which hurt, but he felt almost paralyzed by the situation. After the older boy had finished, he left Tony alone and went back to sleep. Tony lay awake until dawn, crept out of the tent, and took a canoe out for a paddle alone. The other boy ignored him the rest of the day on the trip home, and he has not seen him since. The memories of this incident continue to bother Tony. He has never told anyone about it and in fact feels too embarrassed to discuss it. He believes that most people would think he should have been able to defend himself better. Sometimes even he wonders if he should have fought back more, and he feels sure he would do so if a similar situation happened again. He works out to keep himself strong. He has no doubts about his sexuality, but when he masturbates or gets involved sexually with a girl, the bad feelings sometimes return. He plans on toughing it out and hopes that eventually the negative feelings will diminish.

- Identify and describe the concept or concepts in the scenario using correct terminology from the course. If the concept is closely associated with the writings of a particular theorist (such as Freud, Kinsey, Masters & Johnson, and so on), then provide that information. Explain how the scenario fits the concept.

- Identify and describe the general perspective or approach to human sexuality that the concept falls under (such as gender theories, instinct theory, developmental, and psychodynamic). If the concept does not fit into one of those categories, then at least identify which part of human sexuality it deals with (such as gender, psychosexual development, and so on).