What do you think about when you hear the word "sexuality"?

Many people think immediately about sexual intercourse. However, sexuality is much more than one kind of sexual behavior.

Sexuality is made up of many different aspects, and a person’s understanding of sexuality can be influenced by many things such as society, religion, family, schooling and so on.

We are going to look at the five main areas of sexuality, as suggested by Dr. Dennis Dailey, creator of the following image of sexuality. They are:

• Sensuality
  All about BODY AWARENESS - how we feel about our bodies, how it looks, feels and what it can do. Sensuality is about being aware of and in touch with the pleasure our bodies can give us and others.
• Intimacy
  Humans have a basic need to be emotionally close to another person or persons and have that closeness returned. Relationships give us a sense of belonging, connection, and affection. Relationships can be friendships, family relationships, or romantic relationships.
• Sexual Identity
  Understanding who we are sexually, including our sense of gender; the ways we express our gender; and the direction of our romantic and sexual attractions.
• Sexual Health & Reproduction
  This is what many people focus on when they think of sex. This includes sexual intercourse and other sexual behavior; pregnancy & birth; contraception, HIV/AIDS, STIs and more.
• Sexualization
  The use of sex or sexuality to influence, manipulate, or control other people. Sexualization is not always negative. It can range from harmless flirting to extreme violence.

All of these together make up one's "sexuality". As you can see, they are all connected to each other and, as you can imagine, if one circle has a problem in it, the other circles will also be affected.