Does "the other sex" mean "the opposite sex"?

Context:

One facet of the many faces of religion is intense love
focused on one supernatural person, i.e. God, plus
reverence for icons of that person. Human life is driven
largely by our selfish genes and by the processes of
reinforcement. Much positive reinforcement derives from
religion: warm and comforting feelings of being loved and
protected in a dangerous world, loss of fear of death, help
from the hills in response to prayer in difficult times, etc.
Likewise, romantic love for another real person (usually
of the other sex) exhibits the same intense concentration
on the other and related positive reinforcements. These
feelings can be triggered by icons of the other, such as
letters, photographs, and even, as in Victorian times, locks