Mate Availability and Women's Sexual Experiences in China

Data from the 1999-2000 Chinese Health and Family Life Survey were merged with community-level data from the 1982, 1990, and 2000 Chinese censuses to examine the relationship between the local sex ratio (number of men per 100 women) and sexual outcomes among women (N = 1,369). Consistent with hypotheses derived from demographic-opportunity theory, multilevel logistic regression analyses showed that women are more likely to be sexually active, to have had premarital sexual intercourse, to have been forced to have sex, and to test positive for a sexually transmitted infection when there is a relative abundance of age-matched men in their local community. Education, birth cohort, and geographic location also emerged as significant predictors of women's sexual experiences.     

Occupational Sex Composition and Gendered Housework Performance: Compensation or Conventionality?

This article examines the association between occupational sex composition and housework, considering total housework time, time on male‐typed and female‐typed tasks, and the percent of total time spent on male and female tasks. Previous research examining male‐ and female‐typed chores independent of total housework suggests that couples compensate for gender‐atypical employment through gender‐typical housework performance, but this analysis of the National Survey of Families and Households (1992–1994) and the American Time Use Survey (2003–2013) demonstrates that assuming a quadratic association and failing to contextualize gendered housework performance within total housework performance obscures the true relationship between occupation and housework. In fact, women and men in gender‐atypical occupations perform a more gender‐atypical combination of chores. The influence of gender deviance neutralization in the housework literature may overshadow alternative explanations and model specifications. In particular, by assuming a quadratic association, researchers may impose, rather than test, gender deviance neutralization.     

Effects of Network Approval on Accounts of Commitment Trajectories in Intraracial and Interracial Relationships

The current study used dyadic data to investigate the impact of relationship type and social support on the retrospective accounts of commitment trajectories of romantic relationships. Past research suggests that social support is a positive contributor to relationship stability and commitment, which may be especially true for partners in interracial relationships who face broader societal opposition than intraracial couples. Using multilevel modeling, we investigated the effects of sex, relationship type, and social support on reports of commitment. Results showed differences in trajectories of commitment based on couple type (interracial vs. intraracial) for both men and women. Social support was found to have an especially strong impact for women in interracial relationships compared with women in intraracial relationships, but there was no differential impact among men.     

The Condom Fairy program: A novel mail-order service for condoms and sexual health supplies

Abstract

Objective: In recent years college health professionals have used a variety of innovative strategies to increase availability and accessibility of condoms and safer sex products. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of a mail-order delivery program titled the Condom Fairy. Participants: Seven hundred thirty-three students (63.4% women, 86.1% heterosexual, and 59.2% Caucasian) completed a questionnaire assessing their overall experience with the program. Methods: Participants completed a 60 item questionnaire 30?days after receiving condoms and safer sex products. Results: Overall, 46,980 condoms were distributed over a six semester period. Almost all of the participants (97.4%) reported they ordered male condoms while 58.0% ordered sexual lubricant, 11.1% female condoms, and 10.2% latex dams. Nearly than three-quarters (73.9%) of participants reported they used the condoms provided. Conclusions: Findings support the implementation of innovative mail-in condom and safer sex product programs on college campuses.     

Developmental Patterns in Marital Satisfaction: Another Look at Covenant Marriage

This study investigated differences in the trajectory of marital satisfaction in the first 7 years between couples in covenant versus standard marriages. The authors analyzed data on 707 Louisiana marriages from the Marriage Matters Panel Survey of Newlywed Couples, 1998–2004, using multivariate longitudinal growth modeling. When the sample was restricted to couples who remained married over the duration of the study, a marginal benefit of covenant status was found for husbands. This effect was largely accounted for by covenant husbands' more extensive exposure to premarital counseling. The linear decline in marital satisfaction over time that obtained for both husbands and wives was not, however, any different for covenant marriages versus standard marriages. Couples characterized by more traditional attitudes toward gender roles were significantly less satisfied than others. High premarital risk factors, initial uncertainty about marrying the spouse, and the presence of preschool‐age children in the household were all corrosive of marital satisfaction at any given time.     

The Politics of Lesbian Specificity

ABSTRACT

The notion of lesbian specificity must be understood in the context of heteronormative society. Heterosexual norms affect negotiations of power and sexual desire in lesbian relationships. But this investigation into woman-to-woman sexual practices also views the possibility of lesbian specificity as potentially subversive, in the sense that it poses fundamental questions about conventional discourses on sexuality and eroticism.     

性别歧视下的中国古代女性生命权

封建社会存在着严重的性别歧视,男尊女卑的观念根深蒂固。中国古代女性在这种生存环境中面临着种种权利的丧失,其中最重要的就是生存权的丧失。女性从最初呱呱落地,因是女儿身,就开始面临着生命权的被剥夺;继之,成为童养女、童养媳,又面临着生命权的再次被剥夺;很多美丽的女性,选入王府皇宫,尚处青春年少就被迫殉葬,生命权进一步被剥夺;存在千年的贞节观念,又在软层面上构成了对女性生命权的残忍剥夺。女性,这个弱势群体,在古代的性别歧视之下,因之失去了应有的一切。作为今天的现代人,我们不应该让女性重蹈悲剧,应该让女性拥有自己的真正幸福。     

The Cost of a Calling? Clergywomen and Work in the Church of England

This article explores the work of clergywomen in the Church of England within an analysis of the Church as a gendered organization. We highlight the sex discrimination they often face, at the same time as satisfaction with their work and the need to follow their calling regardless of the difficulties. This is explained through an analysis of the significance of religious calling and the requirement for ‘sacrifice’ on their ability to endure their work and to challenge discriminatory treatment.     

Understanding sex: the right to legal capacity to consent to sex

This article addresses the right to legal capacity to consent to sex of people with intellectual disabilities. Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities guarantees the right to legal capacity on an equal basis in all areas of life. This article discusses sex as an area of life in which people with intellectual disabilities are frequently not being granted legal capacity on an equal basis. The article examines current capacity to consent to sex law in Ireland, England and Wales in light of Article 12. It proposes an ‘agreement model’ as a potential alternative that would be Article 12 compliant.     

Community Reactions to Young People Who Have Sexually Abused and Their Families: A Shotgun Blast,Not a Rifle Shot

Data on 117 young sexual abusers were examined to investigate the nature of community responses to young people's abusive behaviour. A wide range of community responses were found, with stigmatisation, social isolation and collateral damage being common. A contagion effect was noted, with community responses extending over time and across contexts. Some young offenders and their families were attacked and forced out of their homes. In some cases, community responses heightened risk factors. The policy and practice implications of the findings are discussed, including the need for caution about the inclusion of children in policies on community notification of sex offenders.