Maslow's First Level, sex?

Nursing Students General Students

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I get the whole maslow thing. The first level is stuff you MUST have to survive, air, water, food, excretion..... But how is sex included in that list? I have gone a year without sex and....I'm still alive.....

Seems like it should be in the "love and belonging" category...

Specializes in CNA.
I was prereading my Fundamentals book just yesterday and noticed the same thing. Sex IS listed as the base needs along with air/food etc. I found it odd!

Of course sex is a basic function and basic need. Why is everyone's undies so bunched by this?

Think of your patients. You have a couple and one of them suddenly lacks any interest in sex. Is that simply a "Love and Belonging" issue or is it a basic physical need? Of course it belongs in more than one category on Maslow but one of them is definitely the base.

As long as we are all grownups here, what about a patient who suddenly lacks arousal response or orgasm from masturbation? There could be any number of physiological reasons for this. If you had to select a category for this patient would you select "Love and belonging"? I wouldn't.

The dismissive attitude displayed here about the importance of sex as a basic need can only harm patients who need nurses to be extremely concerned about their sexual health.

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Specializes in CNA.
I have gone a year without sex and....I'm still alive.....

It isn't about how much action a person is getting.

Did you go for a year without sex because you were physically unable to have sex? If so, then your ability to live your left is hampered on the level of a basic need.

If your arousal response and all of your other functions remained intact then your dry spell doesn't belong on the base level of Maslow.

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Of course sex is a basic function and basic need. Why is everyone's undies so bunched by this?

Think of your patients. You have a couple and one of them suddenly lacks any interest in sex. Is that simply a "Love and Belonging" issue or is it a basic physical need? Of course it belongs in more than one category on Maslow but one of them is definitely the base.

As long as we are all grownups here, what about a patient who suddenly lacks arousal response or orgasm from masturbation? There could be any number of physiological reasons for this. If you had to select a category for this patient would you select "Love and belonging"? I wouldn't.

The dismissive attitude displayed here about the importance of sex as a basic need can only harm patients who need nurses to be extremely concerned about their sexual health.

My panties aren't exactly in a bunch....I just know sex isn't needed to survive, try not having it for awhile and I guarantee you'll walk away breathing. Yes it's needed to keep the population going but I don't think it should be in the physiologicial needs considering you can live without it despite what some people think. Food, water, air, yeah...but sex? No. It should be in love and belonging or even self esteem.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Of course sex is a basic function and basic need. Why is everyone's undies so bunched by this?

Think of your patients. You have a couple and one of them suddenly lacks any interest in sex. Is that simply a "Love and Belonging" issue or is it a basic physical need? Of course it belongs in more than one category on Maslow but one of them is definitely the base.

As long as we are all grownups here, what about a patient who suddenly lacks arousal response or orgasm from masturbation? There could be any number of physiological reasons for this. If you had to select a category for this patient would you select "Love and belonging"? I wouldn't.

The dismissive attitude displayed here about the importance of sex as a basic need can only harm patients who need nurses to be extremely concerned about their sexual health.

I agree completely.

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Specializes in Emergency Department, House Supervisor.

OK, The reason for sex being included is that it belongs to INSTINCTUAL requirements.

Freud knew this too. Remember the "id":devil:

I am not a know it all...I just know these things from back in the BA in psychology days...oh so very long ago.

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Specializes in Case Manager.

You guys are forgetting about masturbation... which I'm pretty sure everyone does. He may not have had sex in a year, but I doubt that he hasn't masturbated in a year.

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OK, The reason for sex being included is that it belongs to INSTINCTUAL requirements.

Freud knew this too. Remember the "id":devil:

I am not a know it all...I just know these things from back in the BA in psychology days...oh so very long ago.

And it's Freud you're talking about here, lol.....

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You guys are forgetting about masturbation... which I'm pretty sure everyone does. He may not have had sex in a year, but I doubt that he hasn't masturbated in a year.

No not everyone plays with themselves. Not everybody thinks like that. You guys are missing the point....YOU DON'T NEED SEX TO SURVIVE. YOU DON'T NEED TO MASTURBATE TO SURVIVE. I don't understand what the big deal is.

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Specializes in Emergency Department, House Supervisor.

Crunchymamma,

Too true. As Yoda might put it: Kicking psychological ass

Freud does do

Not at all.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

You as an individual do not NEED sex, and saying that is not equal to being dismissive of the importance of sex in a relationship.

Humankind itself needs sex for obvious reasons, but I don't think we'll face extinction anytime soon if some people choose to remain celibate or don't think it's a basic NEED.

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Specializes in CNA.
You as an individual do not NEED sex, and saying that is not equal to being dismissive of the importance of sex in a relationship.

Humankind itself needs sex for obvious reasons, but I don't think we'll face extinction anytime soon if some people choose to remain celibate or don't think it's a basic NEED.

Choosing to remain celibate is vastly different from being celibate do to inability to be aroused or perform.

The ability to be aroused and/or perform sexually are indeed basic physiological needs and should be addressed by caregivers as such. Think of it as one of the basic functions of a human being.

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Specializes in CNA.
Food, water, air, yeah...but sex? No. It should be in love and belonging or even self esteem.

Sexual health is part of the basic functioning of every human being.

You and many others seem to be interpreting the placement in Maslow based only on how often someone has sex. This is a mistake, it is based on whether a person is able to function sexually. It is the function part that puts it in the base category.

How much sex a person has or doesn't have or how they feel about sex or how they feel about themselves are definitely part of the higher categories. But basic sexual functioning is a basic need.

Americans in general are overly uptight about this, which makes this a very good conversation to have.

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