CNA Ch. 4: Understanding the People in Our Care

Bisexual

A person who is attracted to people of both sexes

Heterosexual

A person who is attracted to people of the opposite sex

Homosexual

A person who is attracted to people of the same sex

Gender identity

A person's inner sense of being male or female

Sexual identity

A person's sexual orientation and preferences with regard to sexual partners

Intimacy

All the good feelings that people have for one another, such as liking, loving, sharing and caring

Spirituality

Belief in something greater than oneself that helps a person assign meaning and purpose to life

Sexuality

How people perceive themselves and express themselves sexually

Transgender

Males who feel themselves to be female, females who feel themselves to be male, or people who do not strongly identify themselves as either male or female

Transsexual

People who alter their physical appearance to more closely match the gender they most strongly identify with

Sexual behaviors

Physical activities, such as sexual intercourse and masturbation, related to obtaining sexual pleasure and reproducing

Human growth

Physical changes, such as growing bigger and cutting teeth in infancy, or developing breasts or a beard in adolescence

Culture

Shared set of beliefs, values, customs and practices that characterizes a group of people or a society

Human development

Social changes (the way the person relates to others), emotional changes (the way the person feels and expresses those feelings) and cognitive changes (the way the person thinks and understands the world)

Masturbation

Touching or rubbing one's own genitals for sexual release or pleasure