Sexism,Erotophobia, and the Illusory “No”

SUMMARY

I examined erotophobic, sex-negative attitudes toward female sexuality as they relate to acquaintance rape. Evidence suggests that sexist assumptions about female eroticism are intrinsically related to sexual violence against women. The argument is made that society's willingness to acknowledge women as sexual victims while simultaneously failing to validate women as sexual agents creates an ideal breeding ground for acquaintance rape. Accordingly, an analysis will be offered: in a culture that denies women freedom to say “yes” to sex without negative stigma, “no” does not always mean “no.” In this article, I will assert mat those who care about stopping sexual aggression in dating relationships have an obligation to work to eradicate sexist assumptions that neuter women's erotic selves.     

Gender differences in the enactment of sociosexuality: An examination of implicit social motives,sexual fantasies,coercive sexual attitudes,and aggressive sexual behavior

An unrestricted sociosexual orientation (the endorsement of casual sex) has been found to correlate with undesirable behaviors and personality characteristics more so in men than in women. Using a community sample of men and women, we investigated the correlations between sociosexuality and behaviors, motives, attitudes, and fantasies related to sexual aggression. Participants (n = 168; ages 21–45) completed self‐report measures of sociosexual orientation, sexual conservatism, rape myth acceptance, adversarial sexual beliefs, attitudes toward women, sexual behaviors, and perpetration of sexual aggression. Participants also wrote five brief stories that were scored for power and affiliation‐intimacy motives and two sexual fantasies that were coded for the theme of dominance. For both men and women, an unrestricted sociosexual orientation was correlated with behavioral items indicating earlier life experiences with sex, a greater number of lifetime sex partners, and more frequent sexual activity. For men, an unrestricted sociosexual orientation was linked with higher levels of rape myth acceptance and adversarial sexual beliefs; more conservative attitudes toward women; higher levels of power motivation and lower levels of affiliation‐intimacy motivation; and past use of sexual aggression. For women, an unrestricted sociosexual orientation was associated with sexual fantasies of dominance and lower levels of sexual conservatism.     

Gender differences in the enactment of sociosexuality: an examination of implicit social motives, sexual fantasies, coercive sexual attitudes, and aggressive sexual behavior

An unrestricted sociosexual orientation (the endorsement of casual sex) has been found to correlate with undesirable behaviors and personality characteristics more so in men than in women. Using a community sample of men and women, we investigated the correlations between sociosexuality and behaviors, motives, attitudes, and fantasies related to sexual aggression. Participants (n = 168; ages 21-45) completed self-report measures of sociosexual orientation, sexual conservatism, rape myth acceptance, adversarial sexual beliefs, attitudes toward women, sexual behaviors, and perpetration of sexual aggression. Participants also wrote five brief stories that were scored for power and affiliation-intimacy motives and two sexual fantasies that were coded for the theme of dominance. For both men and women, an unrestricted sociosexual orientation was correlated with behavioral items indicating earlier life experiences with sex, a greater number of lifetime sex partners, and more frequent sexual activity. For men, an unrestricted sociosexual orientation was linked with higher levels of rape myth acceptance and adversarial sexual beliefs; more conservative attitudes toward women; higher levels of power motivation and lower levels of affiliation-intimacy motivation; and past use of sexual aggression. For women, an unrestricted sociosexual orientation was associated with sexual fantasies of dominance and lower levels of sexual conservatism.     

Sociosexuality,Commitment, Sexual Infidelity,and Perceptions of Infidelity: Data From the Second Love Web Site

This study explored the association between sociosexuality (behavior, attitudes, and desire) and commitment to understand sexual infidelity in current relationships. We also explored how these variables were associated with attitudes toward infidelity. Participants were romantically involved heterosexuals (N = 252; 51 women, 201 men; M_age = 41.13, SD = 9.82) registered on a dating Web site directed at romantically involved individuals. Results showed that sociosexuality, alongside commitment, was associated with sexual infidelity. Individuals who had (versus had not) previously engaged in infidelity reported more unrestricted sociosexuality, while reporting less commitment. For individuals reporting prior sexual infidelity, unrestricted sociosexual desire and lesser commitment were associated with more permissive perceptions of infidelity. For individuals reporting no prior sexual infidelity, greater commitment was always associated with more strict perceptions of infidelity. No gender differences emerged in the analyses. Also, no differences were found according to individual motivations (i.e., looking to know other people versus seeking casual sex) or relational motivations (i.e., individual registration versus registration as a couple) underlying individuals’ registration on the Web site. These results are an important addition to the literature on infidelity by analyzing a specific sample motivated to engage in infidelity. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Breaking Singles Up: Sexual Satisfaction among Men and Women

ABSTRACT

Using the National Health and Social Life Survey, we investigate sexual satisfaction by marital status and gender. We disaggregate the “single” category into “never-married” and “ever-married” individuals, rather than lumping never-married, divorced, separated, and widowed individuals into the “single” category. We argue that the use of a combined category neglects variation between never-married and ever-married single individuals due to differences in age and life-course transitions. We find that self-reports of physical and emotional sexual satisfaction vary between ever-married and never-married single individuals, and also between men and women. Further, we find that intimacy and commitment beliefs are associated with only emotional sexual satisfaction for women but with both physical and emotional sexual satisfaction for men.     

Power,desire, and pleasure in sexual fantasies

One hundred and sixty‐two participants (ages 21–45) wrote open‐ended sexual fantasies and completed self‐report measures of rape myth acceptance, adversarial sexual beliefs, and attitudes toward women. We coded fantasies using a newly developed scoring system that includes themes of dominance, submission, sexual pleasure, and sexual desire. Men fantasized about dominance more than women did; they also tended to focus more on the desire and pleasure of their partner. Desire and pleasure were more closely linked in the fantasies of men than in the fantasies of women, for whom the two were distinct constructs. Although fantasies of submission were not associated with problematic attitudes for either gender, men's fantasies of dominance were associated with greater acceptance of rape myths. For women, greater rape myth acceptance was associated with emotional and romantic fantasy themes.     

Mormon Mixed-Orientation Marriages: Variations in Attitudes and Experiences by Sexual Orientation and Current Relationship Status

ABSTRACT

Interest in mixed-orientation marriages has been growing among both scholars and the general public. Members of conservative religions such as Mormonism may be particularly willing to enter a mixed-orientation marriage given the faith's emphasis on heteronormativity. Analyzing survey data from a sample of sexual minorities (n = 160) and heterosexuals (n = 80) who are or have been Mormon and in a mixed-orientation marriage, we explore variations in reasons for marriage, the disclosure experience, and levels of attraction and attitudes toward sex by current relationship status. Previously married sexual-minority individuals report more external pressure and belief their same-sex attraction might change as reasons to marry, as well as less desire for their spouses following disclosure. Currently married sexual-minority partners are less likely to report being counseled to marry, and report feeling more relief, approval, and desire in their relationship following disclosure. Currently married heterosexual spouses are more likely to report spiritual confirmation as a reason to marry, as well as more affection for and greater attraction to spouses, but also report feeling less secure about their attractiveness following disclosure. Previously married heterosexual individuals report the most negative feelings following disclosure, and stronger attitudes about the importance of sharing similar sexual interests, desire, and levels of attraction.     

Patterns of matching and initiation: Touch behavior and touch avoidance across romantic relationship stages

This study explores the similarity of touch behavior and touch attitudes among dating and married couples. Touch behavior showed a strong matching effect for seriously dating and married couples. Z-tests revealed that correlations between relational partners were significantly stronger for marrieds than for serious or casual daters. Results for attitudes concerning touch showed a statistically significant but weak relationship between dyadic partners though the correlation strengthened in closer relationships. As was the case in previous studies, results showed that women reported less positive attitudes toward opposite-sex touch than men. A linear contrast in proportions demonstrated that men initiated touch significantly more in casual romantic relationships, but women initiated touch more in married relationships. Together, these data suggest that patterns of matching may vary as a function of relationship stage, while patterns of touch initiation may vary as a function of both relationship stage and sex.She will be at Pennsylvania State University in the Fall.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1991 meeting of the Western States Communication Association, Phoenix, AZ. The authors thank Johanna Bailey, Brigitte Bellocq, Trish Brehault, Shaun Cantor, Ronan Collver, Vico Guerrero, Lisa Kaplan, Erika Nelson, and Dan Riley for assistance in data collection and entry.     

Power, desire, and pleasure in sexual fantasies

One hundred and sixty-two participants (ages 21-45) wrote open-ended sexual fantasies and completed self-report measures of rape myth acceptance, adversarial sexual beliefs, and attitudes toward women. We coded fantasies using a newly developed scoring system that includes themes of dominance, submission, sexual pleasure, and sexual desire. Men fantasized about dominance more than women did; they also tended to focus more on the desire and pleasure of their partner. Desire and pleasure were more closely linked in the fantasies of men than in the fantasies of women, for whom the two were distinct constructs. Although fantasies of submission were not associated with problematic attitudes for either gender, men's fantasies of dominance were associated with greater acceptance of rape myths. For women, greater rape myth acceptance was associated with emotional and romantic fantasy themes.     

“Gay Equals White”? Racial,Ethnic, and Sexual Identities and Attitudes Toward LGBT Individuals Among College Students at a Bible Belt University

While past research has certainly explored a variety of correlates of attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, the current study is among the first in an emerging line of inquiry that examines attitudes toward each of these groups separately utilizing an intersectional framework with special attention to racial, ethnic, and sexual identities. Using a college sample of students from the Bible Belt of the United States (N = 1,940), I investigated the roles of racial and ethnic identities (Caucasian/White, African American/Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American/Alaskan Native, other race, and Hispanic/Latinx), religiosity, patriarchal gender norms, parental perspectives, and the intersections among these identities and experiences as they relate to attitudes toward LGBT individuals among heterosexual (n = 1,551) and LGB respondents (n = 389). This moves beyond explorations of White heterosexual people’s attitudes about “homosexuals” (i.e., away from a focus only on gayness and Whiteness) and expands to include non-White LGB people’s LGBT attitudes. Overall, results indicate that racial, ethnic, and sexual identities play a significant role in southern college students’ LGBT attitudes, and these patterns are further complicated by interacting cultural experiences with religiosity, patriarchy, and family dynamics. Campus policy and program implications are provided.     

Choices and life chances: feminism and the politics of generational change

The perception that young women are disengaged from feminist politics has provoked a great deal of tension between feminist generations. Recent feminist research into generational change has largely avoided this tension by focusing on the shifting meanings of feminism and the discrepancy between young women's reluctance to identify as “feminists” and their general acceptance of feminist attitudes toward gender issues. Nevertheless, in an era when gender equity goals seem to be if not slipping backwards then lacking urgency, young women are less likely to identify with a collective feminist politics than are older women. Underpinned by the findings of a major study of the attitudes toward work, family, and retirement of three generations of Australian women, this paper develops an approach that helps explain this reluctance. Drawing on the work of Karl Mannheim, the paper suggests that the cultural currents shaping the consciousness of different generations of women impact significantly on gender identity. The implications of this cultural shift are considered in the context of feminist politics and the contemporary “culture wars.”     

An Examination of Gender Role Attitude Change Patterns Among Continuously Married,Divorced, and Remarried Individuals

Gender role attitudes influence marital satisfaction and stability and are typically treated as stable traits in adulthood. Theory and retrospective studies suggest changes in the life course based on relationship histories; however, tests of these assumptions are virtually nonexistent. Analyses from a longitudinal, nationally representative U.S. sample of 590 married individuals who vary in their marital experiences revealed both period effects and distinct within-group change patterns. Over a 20-year time period all demonstrate a shift toward more egalitarian attitudes. However, contrary to retrospective accounts asserting a steep increase in egalitarian attitudes in remarriages, prospective data from men and women indicate a curvilinear pattern over time that is distinct from patterns observed for continuously married and divorced/not remarried individuals.     

Psychological Well‐being Among Older Adults: The Role of Partnership Status

Today's older adults are increasingly unmarried. Some are in cohabiting unions, others are dating, and many remain unpartnered. Unmarried older adults are at risk of poorer well‐being than married older adults, but it is unclear whether older cohabitors fare worse than or similar to their married counterparts; nor have well‐being differences among cohabitors, daters, and unpartnered persons been considered. Conceptualizing marital status as a continuum of social attachment, data from Waves I and II of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project are used to examine how older married, cohabiting, dating, and unpartnered individuals differ across multiple indicators of psychological well‐being. Among men, cohabitors appear to fare similarly to the married, and better than daters and the unpartnered. In contrast, there are few differences in psychological well‐being by partnership status for women.     

The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Sexual Dysfunction Among Czech Women

ABSTRACT. This article presents the results of a representative national study highlighting the risk factors of female sexual dysfunction in the Czech Republic. The study design is a representative quota survey of 1,000 Czech women aged 15 years and older. The questionnaire is a part of wider long-term survey of sexual behavior within the Czech population, which started in 1993. Besides the various aspects of sexual behavior, the questionnaire included a specific section on sexual dysfunction. The prevalence of sexual dysfunction among women in the Czech Republic is 20%. Risk factors that increase the likelihood of sexual dysfunction are: sexual abuse during childhood and having been forced to engage in sex during their lifetime, having sexually transmitted diseases, and having positive attitudes toward casual sex. Sexual characteristics that strongly associate with sexual dysfunction are: not being satisfied with sex and having faked orgasm “often and almost always.” These results indicate that there are risk factors for developing female sexual dysfunction, which can be identified, and there are other related characteristics that can have a negative impact on sexual behavior.     

Attitudes Toward Premarital Sex in Contemporary Vietnam: Findings from a National Survey

ABSTRACT

Despite growing concerns over increasingly relaxed sexual culture in Vietnam, population-based research that investigates the openness to premarital sex in contemporary Vietnam remains scarce. Using data from the Vietnam Population and AIDS Indicator Survey 2005, this study examined the acceptance toward premarital sex and documented significant differences in attitudes by gender, age, and marital status. Attitudes of Vietnamese toward premarital sex generally remained conservative. Men were more permissive than women. Among both male and female respondents, higher acceptance levels were reported to men's practice of premarital sex than to women's same practice. Unmarried respondents were more open than those who were married. A growing openness toward premarital sex among the younger age was found only among the married. Results suggest the coexistence of traditional values and a growing permissiveness toward premarital sex in Vietnam.     

Intimate Relationships

The study examined differences between college stu- dents from divorced and intact families on several measures of intimate relationships. Analyses indicated that students from divorced families had more sexual partners and desired more sexual involvement when going steady than students from intact families. Regression analyses indicated that, for students from both divorced and intact families, parental marital conflict was a significant predictor of total number of sexual partners and negative attitudes toward marriage. In addition, parents' marital status was a significant predictor of sexual involvement while going steady and a significant predictor of self perceptions of socialbility and morality. For students from divorced families, conflict after the divorce was a significant predictor of sexual involvement while going steady and negative attitudes toward marriage. Number of years since the divorce occurred was also a significant predictor of sexual involvement desired after several dates, relationship beliefs, and attitudes toward marriage for students from divorced families. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of college students' development of intimate relationships.     

Differences in Emerging-Adult Women's Body Image and Sexuality Outcomes According to BMI and Dating Status

ABSTRACT. Emerging adulthood is a crucial time for the development of body image and sexuality concerns among women. We collected self-reported data from 184 women to determine possible differences according to body mass index (BMI) classification and dating status. Multivariate analyses of variance and follow-up univariate analyses of variance were conducted to determine differences in body image and sexuality outcomes according to both BMI (normal weight vs. overweight) and dating status (dating vs. not dating) as well as interaction effects of BMI and dating status. First, results indicated differences between normal-weight and overweight women for body satisfaction, body self-consciousness, and body image avoidance. Overweight women had lower satisfaction, higher self-consciousness, and more avoidance. Differences were also found between women who were dating and those who were not dating for body satisfaction and self-consciousness: Women not dating had lower satisfaction and higher self-consciousness. Second, whereas results indicated that women of varying BMIs did not differ on sexuality outcomes, differences were found according to dating status for sexual attitudes, esteem, and self-schema, such that women not dating had more conservative sexual attitudes, less sexual esteem, and lower self-schemas. No significant interaction effects were found.     

Acceptance and Caregiving of Married and Divorced Custodial Mothers and Fathers

The study examined whether differences in gender and family status affect parental caregiving disposition and acceptance of children among parents of children in mid-childhood. The number of participants were 122 divorced-custodial fathers, 107 married fathers, 85 divorced-custodial mothers, and 82 married mothers (n?=?398). A comparison among four groups of parents revealed the following gender differences: mothers scored higher on anxious caregiving and parental acceptance than fathers, and lower on avoidant caregiving. Regression analysis indicated that the higher the caregiving avoidance or anxiety, the lower the parental acceptance. Family status moderated parental acceptance, as avoidant caregiving was associated with reduced parental acceptance among married parents, but not among divorced custodial parents. The finding that avoidant caregiving was not associated with reduced acceptance among divorced custodial parents implies that their parental acceptance behaviors toward their children are affected by their parental status as sole custodial parent, and the associated responsibilities, rather than by gender.     

Differences Between College Students from Divorced and Intact Families

We examined five hundred college students from intact and divorced families along several measures of adjustment. Further, comparisons within the divorce group were made across gender and number of years since the divorce with the covariates of parents' marital happiness prior to the divorce, remarriage, and who the student lived with after the divorce statistically controlled. Measures of adjustment included sexual behavior, attitudes toward marriage, depression, self-esteem, and general psychological functioning (pathology, anxiety, expression). Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that students from divorced families had significantly more sexual partners and more negative attitudes toward marriage than students from intact families. In addition, a significantly higher percentage of women from divorced families had had sexual intercourse as compared to women from intact families. Finally, women with parents that divorced within the past year were significantly more expressive than women with parents that divorced more than five years ago and more expressive than men with parents that had divorced within the past five years. The results are discussed in terms of the resolution of intimacy issues for college students with divorced parents and implications are drawn.     

The Influence of Marital Status and Age on the Housing Behavior of Older Southern Women

Age and marital status are frequently cited as predictors of the housing and living arrangements of individuals and families. This study investigates the influence of marital status and age on the housing behavior of older Southern women. The sample consisted of 227 widowed female houshold heads and 227 married females living with their spouse. These subjects were part of larger sample of 1,804 households living in non-metropolitan areas in seven southern states. It is a contributing study to the S141 Southern Regional Housing Project "Housing for Low and Moderate Income Families." The analysis strategy was executed on six groupings of dependent variables. These were: (a) current housing situation, (b) housing costs, (c) geographic mobility, (d) housing satisfaction, (e) decision making and (f) consumer acceptance of housing alternatives. The results suggest that widowhood and age are both relatively important determinants of housing behavior and attitudes. The effects of widowhood appeared to be strongest in determining the housing situation, housing satisfaction and several attitudes toward housing alternatives. The effects of age appeared most powerful in determining housing costs, mobility and several attitudes about housing alternatives.