Pleasure,pressure and power: some contradictions of gendered sexuality1

The AIDS epidemic has encouraged public discussion of safer sex, but heterosexual young women have to negotiate sexual relationships with men in situations in which sex is defined largely in terms of men's needs and which lack notions of a positive female sexuality or female desires. Analysis of data from the Women, Risk and AIDS Project is interpreted to show both the range of pressures on young women to engage in sexual practices which are risky, violent or not pleasurable, but also the possibilities for young women to empower themselves in sexual relationships. Women's control over sexual safety is undermined by the dominance of male sexuality and women's compliance in satisfying men's desires. Empowerment is a contradictory and contested process requiring both critical reflection (intellectual empowerment) and the transforming of sexual experiences (experiential empowerment), but some young women are able to put into practice ways of negotiating safe and pleasurable sexual encounters with men.     

More Than Just Sex

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to identify behaviors in addition to those of an explicitly sexual or romantic nature that men and women define as unfaithful acts in the context of committed dating relationships. We also sought to identify possible gender differences in the proportions of men and women who have engaged in these unfaithful behaviors while in dating relationships. We examined 219 college men's and women's reported involvement in sexual behaviors, romantic attachments, sexual and nonsexual fantasies, sexual attraction, romantic attraction, flirting, and social participation in dyads and groups with someone other than their current or past dating partner. A sizable proportion of both men and women reported engaging in one or more of the behaviors at some point in their dating history. Proportionately more men than women indicated having engaged in sexual fantasies of various types about someone other than their primary partner and reported “hitting on” someone else while in a dating relationship. No other gender differences emerged. A unique aspect of this study is that we asked young men and women to determine what kinds of behaviors they considered to be unfaithful rather than only examining sexual and emotional behaviors as has been the case in past research. Further, the few significant gender differences we found indicates that the convergence of men's and women's attitudes about sexuality may now be show in their behavior.     

Women’s Accounts of Heterosexual Experiences in the Context of Menopause

ABSTRACT

A number of biomedical models of female sexuality have emerged during the past few decades, and these have been challenged by feminist theorists who have tended to focus on the influence of contextual issues that mediate women's sexual experiences. In this article, a qualitative analysis of accounts relating to heterosexual experiences obtained from 25 menopausal women in Ireland through in-depth interviews is presented and considered in light of existing theoretical perspectives on sexuality. The average age of women in the sample was 54.2 years, and a diverse range of socioeconomic backgrounds was represented. We found that in describing their contemporary sexual experiences, contextual issues were brought heavily to bear as participants drew on discourses of personal history and biography, including previous relationships, to explain their current sexual experiences. However, a few women foregrounded physiological and biological reasons associated with hormonal changes to explain alterations in their sexual relationship, although overall, these were featured to a far lesser extent compared with their prominent position in biomedical menopause literature. A dominant feature of data was the influence of the discourse of the male sex drive, and many women explained their lesser interest in sexual activity compared with that of their partner in terms of men's nature. The findings suggested that for participants, anxiety around sexuality was socially produced either through the expectation to satisfy a partner, or by dominant discourses that defined sexual engagement as “healthy” and sexual apathy as “unhealthy.”     

College Women's Sexual Decision Making: Cognitive Mediation of Alcohol Expectancy Effects

Abstract

Objective: Alcohol has been linked to a variety of risky sexual practices, including inconsistent condom use. Due to the high rates of alcohol consumption among underage college women, greater understanding of the role of alcohol in young women's sexual decision making is warranted. Participants and Methods: Female underage (18- to 20-year-old) social drinkers (N = 94) participated in an experiment in which they projected themselves into a written hypothetical sexual situation with a new partner. One half of the situations portrayed alcohol consumption; one half did not involve alcohol consumption. Their appraisals of the situation's sexual potential, impelling and inhibiting cognitions, and sexual behavior intentions were assessed. Results: Results revealed that alcohol's expectancy effects on young women's unprotected sexual intentions were mediated by their cognitive appraisals of the situation. Conclusions: These findings indicate that alcohol expectancies and their influence on women's sexual decisions should be incorporated into sexual risk reduction efforts.     

Body Size and Sexual Behavior in a Community-Based Sample of Women

ABSTRACT. Women's body size is closely related to their social and sexual experiences. Clinical research has found that women's lifetime sexual behaviors may vary based on body mass index (BMI). Objectives: This study examined the relationship between BMI and recent solo and partnered sexual repertoire in a community-based, non-clinical sample of women. Methods: Two hundred thirty-eight sexually active women completed an online survey measuring age, sexual relationship status, BMI, gender of sexual partners, and engagement in sexual behaviors in the previous 4 weeks. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether BMI predicted engagement in behaviors after controlling for age and sexual relationship variables. Results: Participant age ranged from 18 to 56 years (M = 30.4, SD = 7.8). Participants were predominantly in exclusive sexual relationships (62.9%, n = 146) with men (82.8%, n = 197). Mean BMI for the sample was 29.33 (SD = 9.28). Participation in self-masturbation, masturbating a partner, performing oral sex on a partner, receiving oral sex from a partner, and penile–vaginal intercourse were not predicted by BMI after controlling for age and partner variables. Conclusions: BMI did not impact sexual repertoire during the previous 4 weeks, with the exception of an increased odds ratio for penile–anal intercourse (OR = 1.06; 95% CI [1.02, 1.10]). Researchers and practitioners working with women should not assume limitations on women's sexual repertoires because of larger body size.     

‘He enjoyed it more than I did’!: young British Sikh women negotiating safe sex in heterosexual encounters

ABSTRACT

Sex education and relationship strategy of the U.K. allows parents to withdraw their children from sex education, which has left many young people especially those from Black Minority and Ethnic communities with low or no sex education. Similarly, the government's policy environment enables faith schools to teach these subjects under the tenets of their faith. This empirical research was carried out in South-West London using 12 qualitative interviews with women and men (ages 18–20 years) discusses young women's experiences of their first sexual encounter who navigate their reputations, relationships as well as negotiate safe sex in the absence of appropriate relationships and sex education. Sex education not only brings into focus sensitivities around gender but also tensions around religion in the U.K. Evidence from the study suggests that despite the importance placed by the Indian community on maintaining virginity, young women asserted that religion and culture did not prohibit them from exploring their sexuality. In this study, the priority is to present young women's voices and experience of sexual encounters.     

Heterosexual relationships among young black men in the construction of masculinity at a South African university

ABSTRACT

Drawing on interviews conducted with young men residing in a hostel in a tertiary institution in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in 2016, this article explores young black men’s construction of masculine sexuality, their approaches to romantic relationships, and responsibility within them. Through the use of semi-structured interviews conducted with young black men, the study investigated the relationship between the social construction of masculinities and the way in which these young men understood, talked about, and explained their views and actions regarding romance and sexuality. The study focuses on the voices of acceptance and resistance to traditional, patriarchal versions of manhood and the variations in men’s discourses and ways of being. It highlights through these voices that heterosexual masculinities are not inherently reckless, impassive, and uncaring, but are situationally and contextually constructed. The findings reveal that while the young men inhabited subject positions offered by traditional discourses of heterosexual masculinity, at the same time they also contested these dominant discourses in the complex and multifarious processes through which these young men constituted their identity.     

Reconceptualizing cultural narratives of mature women's sexuality in the Viagra era

To date, women's accounts of sexuality and sexual changes in mid-later life have been neglected by both feminists and gerontologists. In addition, women's responses to male partners' use of sexuopharmaceuticals such as Viagra (as a “solution" for erectile changes affecting older men) have received little attention. This paper reports on a New Zealand-based research which involved in-depth interview with 27 women, in mid-later life, who were partners of men that used Viagra. We analyse the accounts of 15 women who discussed changes/‘improvements' in their sexuality over the life course and with their partners' use of Viagra. Central to the accounts we present is an articulation of an active and desirous female sexuality in mid-later life. These narratives, we suggest, not only challenge the culture stereotype of mid-later life sexual decline for women, but also open up new spaces for feminist theorizing of heterosexuality and changing experiences of heterosexuality across the course.     

Capturing Complexity: An Empirical Typology of Nonagentic Sexual Interactions

ABSTRACT

Using cluster analysis and a data set of 227 sexual incidents experienced by college women as unwilled, we articulate and assess the validity of an empirically derived, multivariate typology of “nonagentic sexual interactions.” Five homogeneous clusters, or types, are identified based on four characteristics of the events (physical intrusiveness, force, relationship closeness, and women's alcohol use): (1) Sober Intimate Intrusion; (2) Sober Acquaintance Intrusion; (3) Forced Intrusion; (4) Touch; and (5) Alcohol Impaired Intrusion. Analyses demonstrate the clusters to be significantly associated with contextual and psychological consequence variables, providing validation for the derived typology. Findings indicate that a multidimensional typology of nonagentic sexual interactions shows promise for investigating the implications of these events for women's well-being and sexuality development.     

Gendered jocks or equal players? Athletic affiliation and hooking up among college students

ABSTRACT

Previous research has found sex-specific effects of athletic participation on young adult sexuality, with male athletes reporting increased sexual activity and female athletes reporting lower levels of sexual activity relative to non-athlete peers. Yet research has not examined sexual activity by athletic affiliation beyond quantity, nor considered the normative landscape of non-relational college sexual culture. The current paper examines the relationships between sex, athletic affiliation, and hooking up among students at 14 U.S. universities with Division I and II athletics programs. Findings show that, controlling for demographics and background characteristics, 1) male and female athletes participate in hooking up at higher rates than non-athletes, and 2) male athletes have less male dominated hookups in terms of sexual initiation. Results are discussed in terms of the increasing value similarity of men and women's collegiate sports programs.     

Transgressive Sexualities: Politics of Pleasure and Desire in Kamasutra: A Tale of Love and Fire

Utilizing feminist film theory, critical reviews, and viewer responses, this article examines visual representations of transgressive sexuality in two diasporic Indian women's films: Kamasutra: A Tale of Love by Mira Nair, and Fire by Deepa Mehta. The article draws from research on ancient discourses on sexuality in India to argue that contemporary constructions of women's sexuality in South Asia are not devoid of patriarchal and fundamentalist cultural politics of representation.     

Gender-Specificity of Women's and Men's Self-Reported Attention to Sexual Stimuli

Men's sexual arousal is largely dependent on the actor's gender in a sexual stimulus (gender-specific), whereas for women, particularly androphilic women, arousal is less dependent on gender (gender-nonspecific). According to information-processing models of sexual response, sexual arousal requires that attention be directed toward sexual cues. We evaluated whether men's and women's self-reported attention to sexual stimuli of men or women were consistent with genital responses and self-reported arousal. We presented gynephilic men (n = 21) and women (n = 22) and androphilic men (n = 16) and women (n = 33) with audiovisual stimuli depicting men or women engaged in sexual activities. Genital responses were continuously recorded and, following each stimulus, participants reported the amount of attention paid to the video and feelings of sexual arousal. Self-reported attention was gender-specific for men and gender-nonspecific for women, and generally mirrored genital responses and self-reported arousal. Gender-specificity of genital responses significantly predicted gender-specificity of self-reported arousal; however, for men only, this effect was significantly mediated by gender-specificity of self-reported attention. Gender differences in gender-specificity of sexual arousal may be partially accounted for by differences in gender-specificity of self-reported attention, although attention may play a greater role in men's sexual arousal than women's.     

Men's Reproductive and Sexual Health

Abstract

A broad definition of men's reproductive and sexual health (MRSH) includes medical (pathophysiological) matters such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), developmental anomalies, malignancy, trauma, and infertility. It also includes psychosocial concerns: sexuality, contraception, disease prophylaxis, developmental and lifecycle issues, tobacco and drug use, sexual identity and orientation, and partnership issues. College men, of whom a large majority are sexually active, have a range of MRSH needs, including some that are particular to their age and social environment. To reach men effectively requires approaches that are somewhat different from those used with women. Clinicians in college health services are in an excellent position to help young men recognize the importance of reproductive health and sexual responsibility. College health services therefore should offer men screening; clinical diagnosis and treatment for MRSH conditions; and information, education, and counseling services, in a manner designed to meet their unique needs.     

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.     

Contraceptive Attitudes and Sexual Self-Esteem Among Young Adults: Communication and Quality of Relationships with Mothers

ABSTRACT. Objectives: This study investigated relations between quality of relationships with mothers and communication with mothers about sex with contraceptive attitudes and sexual self-esteem among emerging adults. Methods: Undergraduate students (N = 176, M_age = 22 years 65% women) completed self-report measures of relationships with mothers, communication about sex, and sexual self-esteem. Results: Results indicated positive relations between quality of relationships with mothers and open, positive sex communication, for men and women, sexually and not sexually active; and between relationship quality with mothers, sex communication with mothers, and sexual self-esteem of women. Conclusions: Warm, supportive relationships with mothers in emerging adulthood include open, comfortable communications about sexuality, which were linked to features of sexual well-being of young adults.     

Sexual Body Image and Its Correlates: A Population-Based Study of Finnish Women and Men

ABSTRACT

Sexual body image was examined in a population-based sample of 9,532 Finnish men and women, age 18 to 49 years. More than one half of women and men were satisfied with their genitals, one half of the women were satisfied with their breasts. Higher levels of genital satisfaction were related to higher frequencies of sexual behavior and better sexual function for both genders. For men, penis size satisfaction was associated with lower levels of premature ejaculation and better erectile function. Sexual body image was related to overall perceived attractiveness, for women a higher body mass index was related to satisfaction with breast size. Having children was negatively related to women's sexual body image, abortions and miscarriages likewise. Limitations of the study and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.