Sexton, Anne orig. Anne Gray Harvey (b. Nov. 9, 1928, New¬ ton, Mass., U.S.—d. Oct. 4, 1974, Weston, Mass.) U.S. poet. She worked as a model, librarian, and teacher. Her first book of poetry, To Bedlam and Part Way Back (1960), examines her mental breakdowns and subsequent recoveries with confessional intensity. She continued probing her personal life in All My Pretty Ones (1962) and Live or Die (1966, Pulitzer Prize). Her other works include the nonfiction collection No Evil Star (1985). She died a suicide. Several volumes of poetry were published posthu¬ mously.
sexual dysfunction Inability to experience arousal or achieve sexual satisfaction under ordinary circumstances, as a result of psychological or physiological problems. The most common sexual dysfunctions have tra¬ ditionally been referred to as impotence (applied to males) and frigidity (females), but these terms have gradually been replaced by more specific terms. Most sexual dysfunctions can be overcome through use of coun¬ seling, psychotherapy, or drug therapy.
sexual harassment Unsolicited verbal or physical behaviour of a sexual nature. Sexual harassment may embrace any sexually motivated behaviour considered offensive by the recipient. Legal recourse is avail¬ able in cases that occur in the workplace, though it is very difficult to obtain convictions. In 1994 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that behaviour can be considered sexual harassment and an abridgment of an individual’s civil rights if it creates a hostile and abusive working environment.
sexual intercourse or coitus or copulation Act in which the male reproductive organ enters the female reproductive tract (see reproductive system). Various sexual activities (foreplay) lead to physiological changes that progress to orgasm (climax) and resolution (see sexual response). If it is completed, semen passes from the male into the female’s body. If con¬ ditions favour fertilization, a sperm joins with an egg, and pregnancy begins (see fertility; reproduction); contraception can prevent this. Intercourse with an unwilling female is rape. See also reproductive behaviour; sexuality, human; sexually transmitted disease.
sexual response Four-stage series of physiological reactions to sexual stimulation. Persons do not necessarily progress through all four stages, nor need two persons pass through them simultaneously. If the two partners are of opposite sex, sexual response may lead to sexual inter¬ course. In excitement, muscles tense and heart rate increases; in males, the penis becomes erect; in females, the inner vagina widens, its walls become moist, and the clitoris enlarges. In the plateau stage, breathing accelerates and muscles continue tensing; the testes and glans of the penis
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sexuality ► Sforza I 1729
enlarge; the outer vagina contracts and the clitoris retracts. At orgasm the muscle tension is quickly released; the penis contracts repeatedly, ejacu¬ lating semen; the vagina contracts regularly. In resolution, the genitals of both return to their pre-arousal condition; men cannot become aroused for some minutes or hours; women can quickly become aroused again.
sexuality, human Tendencies and behaviour of human beings with regard to any activity that causes or is otherwise associated with sexual arousal. It is strongly influenced by the genetically inherited sexual response patterns that ensure reproduction (see reproductive behaviour), societal attitudes toward sex, and each individual’s upbringing. Physiol¬ ogy sets only very broad limits on human sexuality; most of the enor¬ mous variation found among humans results from learning and conditioning. What is deviant in one society may be normal in another. Sexuality covers gender identity, sexual orientation, and actual practices, as well as one’s acceptance of these aspects of one’s personality, which may be more important than their specifics. See also homosexuality; trans¬ sexualism.
sexually transmitted disease (STD) Disease transmitted prima¬ rily by direct sexual contact. STDs usually affect the reproductive system and urinary system but can be spread to the mouth or rectum by oral or anal sex. In later stages they may attack other organs and systems. The best-known are syphilis, gonorrhea, AIDS, and herpes simplex. Yeast infec¬ tions (see Candida) produce a thick, whitish vaginal discharge and genital irritation and itch in women and sometimes irritation of the penis in men. Crab louse infestation (see louse, human) can also be considered an STD. The incidence of STDs has been affected by such factors as antibiotics, birth-control methods, and changes in sexual behaviour. See also chlamy¬ dia; HEPATITIS; PELVIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE; WART.
Seybouse River \sa-'biiz\ River, northeastern Algeria. It rises at the eastern edge of the Setif plains, rushes through a narrow gorge in Mount Nador, and flows through a tree-lined valley to the Mediterranean Sea south of Annaba. Unnavigable except for its estuary, it is 145 mi (232 km) long.
Seychelles \sa-'shel, sa-'shelz\ officially Republic of Seychelles
Island country, western Indian Ocean. Area: 176 sq mi (455 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 82,800. Capitaclass="underline" Victoria. The mixed population is
chelles rupee. Located east of northeastern
Tanzania, Seychelles is composed of two main island groups: the Mahe group of 40 central, mountainous, granitic islands and a second group of
more than 70 outlying, flat, coralline islands. The country has a develop¬ ing economy that depends heavily on tourism. Exports include fish, copra, and cinnamon. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. The first recorded landing on uninhab¬ ited Seychelles was made in 1609 by an expedition of the British East India Company. The archipelago was claimed by the French in 1756 and surrendered to the British in 1810. It became a British crown colony in 1903 and a republic within the Commonwealth in 1976. A one-party social¬ ist state since 1979, it held multiparty elections in 1992 and adopted a new constitution in 1993.
Seymour, Jane See Jane Seymour
Seyss-lnquart VzIs-'iqk-.vartV Arthur (b. July 22, 1892, Stannem, near Iglau, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary—d. Oct. 16, 1946, Niirnberg, Ger.) Austrian Nazi leader. He served in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I and was seriously wounded. Later a lawyer in Vienna, he became a leader of the moderate faction of the Austrian Nazis and served on the federal council of state (1937-38). In response to German pres¬ sure, he was named minister of interior and security and then replaced Kurt von Schuschnigg as chancellor (1938). He welcomed the Anschluss by Germany and became governor of the Austrian administration (1938— 39). In World War II he was German high commissioner of The Nether¬ lands (1940-45) and carried out the Nazi policy against Dutch Jews. He was tried at the Nurnberg trials and executed as a war criminal.
Sezession \za-tses-'yon\ Name for several groups of progressive artists that broke away from established and conservative artists’ organizations in Austria and Germany. The first secession group was formed in Munich in 1892. It was followed by the Berlin Sezession movement, formed by Max Liebermann in 1892, which included such artists as Lovis Corinth. The most famous of the groups, formed in Vienna in 1897 by Gustav Klimt, favoured a highly ornamental Art Nouveau style over the prevailing academicism. Shortly thereafter, murals created by Klimt for the ceiling of the University of Vienna auditorium were rejected as scandalous because of their erotic symbolism. The Sezession movement influenced such artists and architects as Egon Schiele and Josef Hoffmann. See also Photo-Secession.