Psychology

DQ1 Menstruation is when a woman bleeds as part of her menstruation cycle. A primary reason why women refrain from interpersonal sexual activity during this period is because they consider it too messy (As was also found among opinions of young women in Brian du Toits study of Indian women in South Africa). Biological reasons point towards the hand of hormones. Hormones play an integral role during a womans menstrual cycle. And the primary hormones involved in this interplay are estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Higher levels of testosterone (which are noticed during ovulation) show higher levels of sexual interest or arousability in women. But there are a number of social and cultural reasons for women to not engage in sex during menstruation. Some couples simply dislike intercourse when the woman in menstruating. Whereas some cultures regard menstruation as a period of ungodliness and the woman is considered not worthy of touching during that period. In fact, in many cultures, the woman is separated from her clan during the course of her bleeding. She is considered unholy and prone to infections during her menstruation. These menstrual taboos automatically create a negative attitude towards menstruation.

DQ2 Although PMS has been researched into a lot on various women of various age groups, nothing can be particularly concluded. In fact, it can also be said that PMS is sometimes over-rated. Researches have often pointed out that since women have been told about being depressed and anxious before and during their periods, they feel all of that more so. Its like, since you expect to be depressed, you are indeed depressed.
So, to my 10-year-old daughter, Id say that PMS is just a concept that magazines and all those medicine companies have made-up to sell stuff. And also, that she is most likely not to experience PMS when she begins her periods.

DQ3 In spite of evaluating mans emotional, biological and psychological activities, one fact that remains constant is that man is a social animal. A mans character is usually defined through his environment and upbringing and so are his cycles. Although sex hormones have a cyclical behavior in both men and women, their roles have constantly been disputed and their emotional being has been advocated. For instance, the concept of mid-life crisis has become so popular that according to a research, almost 25 of both men and women claim to have experienced one. (Wethington, 2000).

DQ4 There is nothing wrong in scheduling a persons work hours according to their behavioral cycles, if it enhances their performance. If workplaces were to start scheduling their workers based on such evidences, apart from proving chaotic, the whole situation might go out of hand, and all this just to maintain the workers behavioral cycles. It is believed that women experience more of a behavioral cycle because they go through menstruation and more so, because of PMS. So it would make more sense to schedule women workers according to their cycles. But this practice could have drawbacks. On one hand where it might prove helpful to the employees, sometimes, they might even start taking advantage of the situation for their own benefit. Such a practice gives some sort of power in the hands of the employees, and any unwarranted power obviously leads to downfall.

DQ5 Compared to other cultures, women in America are generally liberal. Most women have been found to have almost similar thoughts about menopause and their life post-menopause. None of them seem to have reported a change in the attitudes of others towards them post-menopause. Menopause is usually responsible for a lot of changes in the women intrinsically and how they view themselves rather than how the society views them. Post-menopausal women in America are not treated any differently than any other women.

DQ6 Although testosterone levels in men have been found to drop with age, the process is more evident in women, more so because they go through menopause. Men have been known to produce sufficient sperm even at the age of 90. So a decreased level of testosterone in men is not usually considered normal even though it occurs in almost every male. Thus, menopause for women is considered a completely normal process while a similar occurrence in the men is not.

DQ7 Male menopause (also referred to as andropause) is related to a very gradual decline in the manufacture of both testosterone and sperm by the testes. Another biological change that occurs is the enlargement of the prostrate gland. This enlargement occurs in 10 of the men by the age of 40 and in 50 by the age of 80, which causes urination problems. These changes are accompanied by psychological changes like mid-life crises, coupled with anxiety, depression and personal turmoil with the realization of age. Although this concept is extremely popular, it has been found that only about 10 of U.S. men actually go through a mid-life crisis (Brim, 1992 Wethington, 2000). Considering this, mens experience at mid-life seems to be more biological than psychological. Although a lot of factors like family, society and environment affect the psychological well-being. And his psychological being could be affected if the biological effects are more pronounced. In such a case, the mid-life experience could be a combination of both, the biological influence being more powerful. The best way thus, to approach male menopause would be to keep healthy physically and by avoiding a monotonous lifestyle so that he is psychologically sound too.

DQ8 Humans are supposed to be one of the very rare mammals to have a menstrual cycle. All other mammals have an estrous cycle. This is characterized by no bleeding (although sometimes spotting) and an estrous period, which is when the females mate. The females mate only and only during this period of heat and not any other time. On the other hand, such a behavior is not observed in females undergoing a menstrual cycle. Women are not found to indulge in intercourse only during ovulation. Although it makes sense biologically, since it would still be possible to recreate, a menstrual cycle is far more beneficial. It allows women to consider sex not only as a process to recreate, but also a means of pleasure. Females with menstrual cycles are capable of engaging in sexual behavior throughout the cycle. We can consider something like family planning because of the menstrual cycle. It enables the women to have a general know-how about her physical and emotional well-being.