No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Sex, Gender, and Sexuality
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
This meta-analysis surveyed 177 usable sources that reported data on gender differences on 21 different measures of sexual attitudes and behaviors. The largest gender difference was in incidence of masturbation: Men had the greater incidence (d = .96). There was also a large gender difference in attitudes toward casual sex: Males had considerably more permissive attitudes (d = .81). There were no gender differences in attitudes toward homosexuality or in sexual satisfaction. Most other gender differences were in the small-to-moderate range. Gender differences narrowed from the 1960s to the 1980s for many variables. Chodorow's neoanalytic theory, sociobiology, social learning theory, social role theory, and script theory are discussed in relation to these findings.
The view that humans comprise only two types of beings, women and men, a framework that is sometimes referred to as the “gender binary,” played a profound role in shaping the history of psychological science. In recent years, serious challenges to the gender binary have arisen from both academic research and social activism. This review describes 5 sets of empirical findings, spanning multiple disciplines, that fundamentally undermine the gender binary. These sources of evidence include neuroscience findings that refute sexual dimorphism of the human brain; behavioral neuroendocrinology findings that challenge the notion of genetically fixed, nonoverlapping, sexually dimorphic hormonal systems; psychological findings that highlight the similarities between men and women; psychological research on transgender and nonbinary individuals’ identities and experiences; and developmental research suggesting that the tendency to view gender/sex as a meaningful, binary category is culturally determined and malleable. Costs associated with reliance on the gender binary and recommendations for future research, as well as clinical practice, are outlined.
Women who have sex with women (WSW) are more likely to report experiencing an orgasm during partnered sex, compared to women who have sex with men (WSM). We investigated whether this difference can be partially accounted for by phallocentric imperatives—gendered sexual scripts that prioritize men’s sexual experience. For example, these imperatives emphasize vaginal-penile intercourse (i.e., the coital imperative) and men’s physical pleasure (i.e., the male orgasm imperative). We reasoned that a larger variety of sexual behaviors indicates less adherence to the coital imperative and that more self-oriented orgasm goals for women indicate less adherence to the male orgasm imperative. Consistent with previous work, we expected WSW to report higher rates of orgasm than WSM when taking frequency of sex into account. We also hypothesized that this difference in orgasm rates would dissipate when controlling for variety of sexual behavior and women’s self-oriented orgasm goals. In a sample of 1988 WSM and 308 WSW, we found that WSW were 1.33 times (p < .001) more likely to report experiencing an orgasm than WSM, controlling for frequency of sex. This incidence rate ratio was reduced to 1.16 (p < .001) after taking into account variety of sexual behavior and self-oriented orgasm goals. Our findings indicate that certain sexual scripts (e.g., phallocentric imperatives) help explain the orgasm discrepancy between WSW and WSM. We discuss masturbation as another male-centered practice that may be relevant to this gap, as well as implications for intervention and future research.
Black/African American (black) women comprised 59% of women living with HIV at the end of 2014 and 61% of HIV diagnoses among women in 2015. Black women living with HIV infection (BWLH) have poorer health outcomes compared with women of other races/ethnicities; social and structural determinants are often cited as barriers and facilitators of care. The objective of this qualitative review was to identify social and structural barriers and facilitators of HIV treatment and care among BWLH. The systematic review was conducted in six-stages using databases such as PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar: 1) searched for studies that enrolled BWLH published between January 2005 and December 2016, 2) excluded unpublished reports and commentaries, 3) limited the search to our primary keywords, 4) limited our search to studies that included participants living with HIV infection that were >60% black and 100% female, 5) extracted and summarized the data, and 6) conducted a contextual review to identify common themes. Of 534 studies retrieved, 16 were included in the final review. Studies focused on: ART medication adherence (n = 5), engagement/retention in care (n = 4), HIV care and treatment services (n = 3), viral suppression (n = 1), and addressing multiple HIV care outcomes (n = 3). Main barrier themes included lack of family and/or social support, poor quality HIV services, and HIV-related stigma, particularly from healthcare providers; facilitator themes included resilience, positive relationships between case management and support services, high racial consciousness, and addressing mental health. Interventions that decrease these noted barriers and strengthen facilitators may help improve care outcomes for BWLH. Also, more HIV stigma-reduction training for healthcare providers may be warranted.
This paper seeks to develop a theory of subversive femininities or femme theory. It argues for the inclusion of femmephobia in intersectional analyses and provides the theoretical groundwork necessary for feminist theorists and researchers to incorporate an analysis of femmephobia into their studies of oppression.
Background
African American/Black and Hispanic persons living with HIV (AABH-PLWH) in the U.S. evidence insufficient engagement in HIV care and low uptake of HIV antiretroviral therapy, leading to suboptimal clinical outcomes. The present qualitative study used critical race theory, and incorporated intersectionality theory, to understand AABH-PLWH’s perspectives on the mechanisms by which structural racism; that is, the macro-level systems that reinforce inequities among racial/ethnic groups, influence health decisions and behaviors. Methods
Participants were adult AABH-PLWH in New York City who were not taking antiretroviral therapy nor well engaged in HIV care (N = 37). Participants were purposively sampled for maximum variation from a larger study, and engaged in semi-structured in-depth interviews that were audio-recorded and professionally transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using a systematic content analysis approach. ResultsWe found AABH-PLWH experienced HIV care and medication decisions through a historical and cultural lens incorporating knowledge of past and present structural racism. This contextual knowledge included awareness of past maltreatment of people of color in medical research. Further, these understandings were linked to the history of HIV antiretroviral therapy itself, including awareness of the first HIV antiretroviral regimen; namely, AZT (zidovudine) mono-therapy, which was initially prescribed in unacceptably high doses, causing serious side effects, but with only modest efficacy. In this historical/cultural context, aspects of structural racism negatively influenced health care decisions and behavior in four main ways: 1) via the extent to which healthcare settings were experienced as overly institutionalized and, therefore, dehumanizing; 2) distrust of medical institutions and healthcare providers, which led AABH-PLWH to feel pressured to take HIV antiretroviral therapy when it was offered; 3) perceptions that patients are excluded from the health decision-making process; and 4) an over-emphasis on antiretroviral therapy compared to other non-HIV related priorities. We found that although participants were located at the intersection of multiple social categories (e.g., gender, social class, AABH race/ethnicity), race/ethnicity and social class were described as primary factors. Conclusions
Critical race theory proved useful in uncovering how macro-level structural racism affects individual-level health decisions and behaviors. HIV clinical settings can counter-balance the effects of structural racism by building “structural competency,” and interventions fostering core self-determination needs including autonomy may prove culturally appropriate and beneficial for AABH-PLWH.
Which sexual activities result in the most frequent and most satisfying orgasms for men and women in same- and mixed-sex relationships? The current study utilized a convenience sample of 806 participants who completed an online survey concerning the types of sexual activities through which they experience orgasms. Participants indicated how frequently they reached orgasm, how satisfied they were from orgasms resulting from fourteen sexual activities, and whether they desired a frequency change for each sexual activity. We present the overall levels of satisfaction, frequency and desired frequency change for the whole sample and also compare responses across four groups of participants: men and women in same-sex relationships and men and women in mixed-sex relationships. While all participants reported engaging in a wide variety of activities that either could, or often did, lead to the experience of orgasm, there were differences in the levels of satisfaction derived from different types of orgasms for different types of participants, who also engaged in such activities with varying degrees of frequency. We discuss group differences within the context of sexual scripts for same- and mixed-sex couples, and question the potential explanations for gender differences in the ability to experience orgasm during partnered sexual activity. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499.2017.1303437?journalCode=hjsr20
There is a notable gap between heterosexual men and women in frequency of orgasm during sex. Little is known, however, about sexual orientation differences in orgasm frequency. We examined how over 30 different traits or behaviors were associated with frequency of orgasm when sexually intimate during the past month. We analyzed a large US sample of adults (N = 52,588) who identified as heterosexual men (n = 26,032), gay men (n = 452), bisexual men (n = 550), lesbian women (n = 340), bisexual women (n = 1112), and heterosexual women (n = 24,102). Heterosexual men were most likely to say they usually-always orgasmed when sexually intimate (95%), followed by gay men (89%), bisexual men (88%), lesbian women (86%), bisexual women (66%), and heterosexual women (65%). Compared to women who orgasmed less frequently, women who orgasmed more frequently were more likely to: receive more oral sex, have longer duration of last sex, be more satisfied with their relationship, ask for what they want in bed, praise their partner for something they did in bed, call/email to tease about doing something sexual, wear sexy lingerie, try new sexual positions, anal stimulation, act out fantasies, incorporate sexy talk, and express love during sex. Women were more likely to orgasm if their last sexual encounter included deep kissing, manual genital stimulation, and/or oral sex in addition to vaginal intercourse. We consider sociocultural and evolutionary explanations for these orgasm gaps. The results suggest a variety of behaviors couples can try to increase orgasm frequency.
The attitude of Islamic scholarship and law with regard to the issue of transgender sex-reassignment surgery is still an important subject for Muslim transgender people. This operation was mostly regarded as sinful, thus prohibited (haram) in Islam by both Sunni and Shi'a traditional scholars. But in the late 1980s, sex-reassignment surgery was legalized (made halal) in shari'a and/or in state law by the fatwas of Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran and Sheikh Muhammad al-Tantawi in Egypt. It seems that these fatwas should initially be considered as an indication of Islamic tolerance toward transgender Muslims. This article explains how the transgender Muslims’ situation prompted the fatwas on sex-reassignment surgery and, therefore, how the fatwas, ultimately, expanded the scope of Islamic tolerance. The paper analyzes the main juridical reasons behind Khomeini and Al-Tantawi issuing such progressive fatwas through their classical methodology of understanding the Islamic concept of ijtihad. Following the same methodology, the article, as further discussion, offers to open up an Islamic debate over similar and related cases, such as homosexuality and bisexuality, aiming to improve Islamic tolerance or acceptance of these phenomena.
We examined the stability of same-sex and other-sex attractions among 294 heterosexual, lesbian, gay, and bisexual men and women between the ages of 18 and 40 years. Participants used online daily diaries to report the intensity of each day’s strongest same-sex and other-sex attraction, and they also reported on changes they recalled experiencing in their attractions since adolescence. We used multilevel dynamical systems models to examine individual differences in the stability of daily attractions (stability, in these models, denotes the tendency for attractions to “self-correct” toward a person-specific setpoint over time). Women’s attractions showed less day-to-day stability than men’s, consistent with the notion of female sexual fluidity (i.e., heightened erotic sensitivity to situational and contextual influences). Yet, women did not recollect larger post-adolescent changes in sexual attractions than did men, and larger recollected post-adolescent changes did not predict lower day-to-day stability in the sample as a whole. Bisexually attracted individuals recollected larger post-adolescent changes in their attractions, and they showed lower day-to-day stability in attractions to their “less-preferred” gender, compared to individuals with exclusive same-sex or exclusive other-sex attractions. Our results suggest that both gender and bisexuality have independent influences on sexual fluidity, but these influences vary across short versus long timescales, and they also differ for attractions to one’s “more-preferred” versus “less-preferred” gender.
Objective: To identify the variety of sexual behaviours undertaken by adults across the world. Materials and methods: A global survey was undertaken using the internet to access 26,032 participants across 26 countries that completed a set of questions on line.Results: Three in five people agreed that sex was important to them with nearly one in three strongly agreeing with the statement. Sex was important for both men and women and remains important as people grow older. Sixty nine percent of respondents agreed that sex is fun and that they enjoyed sex. Two thirds agreed that "a good sex life is a vital part of life" of which a third strongly agreed. In addition 56% of non-sexually active individuals agreed with the statement. Two thirds agreed that "sex is beneficial for your health and well being" of which a third strongly agree. Fifty three percent of non-sexually active people agreed as well. Conclusion: Sex is important for people and contributes to their overall global well being.
Aims:
This study aimed to highlight the salient sociocultural factors contributing to sexual health and dysfunction and to offer recommendations for culturally sensitive clinical management and research as well for an ethically sound sexual health care, counseling and medical decision-making.
Background:
There are limited data on the impact of sociocultural factors on male and female sexual function as well as on ethical principles to follow when clinical care falls outside of traditional realms of medically indicated interventions.
Methods:
This study reviewed the current literature on sociocultural and ethical considerations with regard to male and female sexual dysfunction as well as cultural and cosmetic female and male genital modification procedures.
Results:
It is recommended that clinicians evaluate their patients and their partners in the context of culture and assess distressing sexual symptoms regardless of whether they are a recognized dysfunction. Both clinicians and researchers should develop culturally sensitive assessment skills and instruments. There are a number of practices with complex ethical issues (eg, female genital cutting, female and male cosmetic genital surgery). Future International Committee of Sexual Medicine meetings should seek to develop guidelines and associated recommendations for a separate, broader chapter on ethics.
The goal of this update regarding the diagnosis and care of persons with disorders of sex development (DSDs) is to address changes in the clinical approach since the 2005 Consensus Conference, since knowledge and viewpoints change. An effort was made to include representatives from a broad perspective including support and advocacy groups. The goal of patient care is focused upon the best possible quality of life (QoL). The field of DSD is continuously developing. An update on the clinical evaluation of infants and older individuals with ambiguous genitalia including perceptions regarding male or female assignment is discussed. Topics include biochemical and genetic assessment, the risk of germ cell tumor development, approaches to psychosocial and psychosexual well-being and an update on support groups. Open and on-going communication with patients and parents must involve full disclosure, with the recognition that, while DSD conditions are life-long, enhancement of the best possible outcome improves QoL. The evolution of diagnosis and care continues, while it is still impossible to predict gender development in an individual case with certainty. Such decisions and decisions regarding surgery during infancy that alters external genital anatomy or removes germ cells continue to carry risk.
In this study 164 heterosexual Canadian university students were asked about their definitions of the terms having sex, sexual partner, and unfaithful. Students were asked to indicate which from a list of 18 sexual behaviours they would include in their definition of each of the three terms. Significantly more behaviours were included in students' unfaithful definition than were included in the sexual partner definition and significantly more behaviours were included in the sexual partner definition than in the having sex definition. For example, while less than 25% of participants considered oral genital behaviour to be having sex, more than 60% thought that the giver or receiver of oral sex was a sexual partner, and more than 97% considered a partner who had oral sex with someone else to be have been unfaithful. Similarly, while masturbating to orgasm in the presence of another was considered to be having sex by less than 4% of participants, 34% reported that this behaviour was sufficient to consider that person a sexual partner and 95% considered it to be unfaithful. Students were more likely to include a behaviour in their definitions if orgasm occurred than if orgasm did not occur. There were no significant gender differences. Multiple regression analyses revealed that older and less sexually experienced students reported a broader definition of sexual partner than did younger and more sexually experienced students. The implications of these findings for sex research and sexual health promotion are discussed.
We advocate for the integration of transgender spectrum experiences alongside cisgender experiences (i.e., having the same current gender identity label as one's birth-assigned gender category) to provide hitherto unrealized insights within the psychology of gender identity development. Specifically, we propose using personality theory to understand gender self-categorization for both profiles of experience because this perspective allows the structure and stability of self-categorization to be explored in a single, extant framework. Moreover, the dominant model of gender identity development in psychology and qualitative studies within sociology and related fields both suggest that self-categorization may in fact be similar between the 2 profiles. The integration also dispels 2 persistent myths about gender selfcategorization: (a) that it is binary and (b) that it is an active psychological process for transgender spectrum, but not cisgender, individuals. Finally, we translate these new theoretical insights into testable research hypotheses within the mainstream of personality research.
In contemporary psychology, normal development is contingent on the establishment of a coherent, universal, stable and unitary ‘core gender identity’. The present study assessed the perception of gender identity in ‘normative’ individuals in Israel using the newly constructed Multi-Gender Identity Questionnaire (Multi-GIQ). The Multi-GIQ includes 32 items assessing gender identity (Feeling like a woman, Feeling like a man, Feeling like both a man and a woman, Feeling like neither), gender dysphoria (Contentment with affirmed gender and the wish to be the ‘other’ gender, Contentment with one’s sexed body) and gender performance (Compliance with gender norms in clothing and language). Of the Men (n = 570) and Women (n = 1585) that participated in the study, over 35% felt to some extent as the ‘other’ gender, as both men and women and/or as neither. Although such feelings were more prevalent and on average stronger in Queers (n = 70), the range of scores for all measures of gender identity was highly similar in Queers and non-Queers. A similar pattern was obtained for measures of gender dysphoria and gender performance. Sexual orientation was not a major contributor to the perception of gender identity in both Men and Women. We discuss our results in view of the current debate around the terminology and diagnostic criteria of gender dysphoria (a substitutive category for Gender Identity Disorder) in DSM-V. We conclude that the current view of gender identity as binary and unitary does not reflect the experience of many individuals, and call for a new conceptualisation of gender, which relates to multiplicity and fluidity in the experience of gender.
Very few theories have generated the kind of interdisciplinary and global engagement that marks the intellectual history of intersectionality. Yet, there has been very little effort to reflect upon precisely how intersectionality has moved across time, disciplines, issues, and geographic and national boundaries. Our failure to attend to intersectionality's movement has limited our ability to see the theory in places in which it is already doing work and to imagine other places to which the theory might be taken. Addressing these questions, this special issue reflects upon the genesis of intersectionality, engages some of the debates about its scope and theoretical capacity, marks some of its disciplinary and global travels, and explores the future trajectory of the theory. To do so, the volume includes academics from across the disciplines and from outside of the United States. Their respective contributions help us to understand how intersectionality has moved and to broaden our sense of where the theory might still go.
Introduction
Despite recent advances in understanding orgasm variation, little is known about ways in which sexual orientation is associated with men's and women's orgasm occurrence.
Aim
To assess orgasm occurrence during sexual activity across sexual orientation categories.
Methods
Data were collected by Internet questionnaire from 6,151 men and women (ages 21–65+ years) as part of a nationally representative sample of single individuals in the United States. Analyses were restricted to a subsample of 2,850 singles (1,497 men, 1,353 women) who had experienced sexual activity in the past 12 months.
Main Outcome Measures
Participants reported their sex/gender, self-identified sexual orientation (heterosexual, gay/lesbian, bisexual), and what percentage of the time they experience orgasm when having sex with a familiar partner.
Results
Mean occurrence rate for experiencing orgasm during sexual activity with a familiar partner was 62.9% among single women and 85.1% among single men, which was significantly different (F1,2848 =370.6, P <0.001, η2 =0.12). For men, mean occurrence rate of orgasm did not vary by sexual orientation: heterosexual men 85.5%, gay men 84.7%, bisexual men 77.6% (F2,1494 =2.67, P =0.07, η2 =0.004). For women, however, mean occurrence rate of orgasm varied significantly by sexual orientation: heterosexual women 61.6%, lesbian women 74.7%, bisexual women 58.0% (F2,1350 =10.95, P <0.001, η2 =0.02). Lesbian women had a significantly higher probability of orgasm than did either heterosexual or bisexual women (P <0.05).
Conclusions
Findings from this large dataset of U.S. singles suggest that women, regardless of sexual orientation, have less predictable, more varied orgasm experiences than do men and that for women, but not men, the likelihood of orgasm varies with sexual orientation. These findings demonstrate the need for further investigations into the comparative sexual experiences and sexual health outcomes of sexual minorities.
Although much has been learned from cross-sectional research on marriage, an understanding of how marriages develop, succeed, and fail is best achieved with longitudinal data. In view of growing interest in longitudinal research on marriage, the authors reviewed and evaluated the literature on how the quality and stability of marriages change over time. First, prevailing theoretical perspectives are examined for their ability to explain change in marital quality and stability. Second, the methods and findings of 115 longitudinal studies—representing over 45,000 marriages—are summarized and evaluated, yielding specific suggestions for improving this research. Finally, a model is outlined that integrates the strengths of previous theories of marriage, accounts for established findings, and indicates new directions for research on how marriages change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A commonly measured indicator of a romantic couple’s sexual well-being and satisfaction has been the frequency with which they engage in sexual activity, or more specifically, sexual intercourse. Although some have acknowledged that frequency of sexual intercourse is not an appropriate measure for all types of romantic relationships (e.g. same-sex couples), the measurement of sexual frequency, of one type or another, has remained fairly constant throughout sex and relationships research. While precise estimates of sexual frequency among different types of couples (male/female same-sex vs. mixed-sex) have varied, the general pattern of findings has often indicated that female same-sex couples report lower sexual frequencies than other couples. The current study sought to examine an alternate dimension of sexuality by asking individuals in same-sex and mixed-sex relationships to report the length of their last sexual encounter as well as the length of their average sexual encounter. A sample of 822 participants reported both length of sexual encounters and frequency of sexual activity. While the sexual frequency data replicated past findings, with female same-sex couples reporting the lowest sexual frequencies, sexual duration data painted a very different picture, with female same-sex couples reporting significantly longer durations spent on individual sexual encounters than men and women in mixed-sex or male same-sex relationships. Consequently, it is argued that to better understand the nature of a specific couple’s sexual relationship, it is important to examine not just sexual frequency, but also the amount of time spent on individual sexual encounters.
http://utpjournals.metapress.com/content/d22571u1g51548wg/
In this commentary, I offer a response to Lamb & Peterson (2011). I base these comments on the feminist scholarship on adolescent girls’ healthy sexuality that Lamb (2010a) critiqued in the first of this series. I address and redress several of her concerns by providing the context and history of my own research and recovering the meanings of desire, pleasure and subjectivity as they appeared in this body of work. I then engage Lamb and Peterson’s points of consensus about the role of sexual empowerment in adolescent girls’ healthy sexuality by 1) positioning sexualization as more than a context; 2) identifying a missing discourse of gender inequity as a central issue in their discussion; and 3) explaining how the use of theory and interpretation in feminist research methods is necessary for and distinct from a surface reading of narratives of lived experience. Finally, I will provide examples of some alternative paths for supporting healthy adolescent women’s sexuality that extend beyond school-based sex education and media literacy into alternative engagements with girls through technology, media activism and participatory practices.
The goal of this study was to characterize the sexuality of sexual-minority (i.e., lesbian, bisexual, queer, unlabeled, questioning) women. Participants were 586 women (87% White) in a same-sex relationship of 1 to 36 years in duration. They completed measures assessing their sexual behavior (frequency of nongenital and genital sexual activities), motivation (sexual desire), and cognitive-affective responses (sexual satisfaction, sexual esteem, sexual anxiety, negative automatic thoughts). On average, the women reported experiencing their sexuality positively across all domains. Regardless of relationship duration, most of the women reported engaging in both genital and nongenital sexual behaviors with their partner once a week or more; few reported that they had not engaged in sexual activity in the previous month. A multiple regression analysis indicated that frequency of genital sexual activity, sexual desire, sexual anxiety, and automatic thoughts contributed uniquely to the prediction of sexual satisfaction over and above the other sexuality variables. The findings are discussed in terms of the idea that lesbians have sex less frequently than other couple types and that sexual frequency declines rapidly in lesbian relationships (i.e., "lesbian bed death") and descriptions of sexual-minority women's sexuality that suggest that genital sexual activity is not important to sexual satisfaction.
This study extended the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction (IEMSS) to short-term dating relationships. The IEMSS has been shown to have excellent validity for long-term heterosexual relationships. The IEMSS proposes that sexual satisfaction is greater to the extent that, over time, relationship satisfaction is high, levels of sexual rewards exceed levels of sexual costs, relative sexual reward levels exceed relative sexual cost levels, and interpersonal equality of sexual rewards and of sexual costs are perceived to exist. Fifty-one college men and 57 college women in a dating relationship of 3 to 36 months participated in the study. As predicted, more sexually satisfied individuals reported greater relationship satisfaction, a more favorable reward/cost ratio, a more favorable relative reward/relative cost ratio, and more equal rewards and costs between partners. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that relationship satisfaction, the difference between relative rewards, relative costs and cost equality made unique contributions to the prediction of sexual satisfaction, accounting for 75 percent of the variance in sexual satisfaction. The model was shown to work equally well for men and women, for individuals new and less new to their relationship, and for high and low self-disclosers. The IEMSS offers a promising approach for investigating and understanding sexual satisfaction.
Male use of sexual coercion against an unwilling female partner is all too prevalent in North American society. Several theorists, most notably feminist theorists, have hypothesized that socialization practices with respect to traditional gender roles and corresponding cultural attitudes, cause sexual coercion. Although not always labeled in this way, these theorists posit that the “traditional sexual script” supports and condones male sexual coercion against women and that this sexual script remains the normative dating script in our society. In this article, I first review the aspects of the traditional sexual script that have been theorized to promote and maintain sexual coercion. Then I review the results of a program of research 1 conducted in conjunction with colleagues and former Graduate Students, which tested the validity of this theory for understanding coercive sexual interactions between dating partners. I conclude that the traditional sexual script has proven useful as a framework for understanding sexual coercion in heterosexual dating relationships. However. our research calls some aspects of this theory into question. Some modification to this theory is needed.
This study examined the validity of the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction (IEMSS) in long-term, heterosexual sexual relationships. The IEMSS proposes that sexual satisfaction depends on one's levels of rewards and costs in the sexual relationship, one's comparison levels (CL) for rewards/costs, and one's perceptions of the dyadic equality (EQ) of these rewards/costs. Sexual satisfaction is expected to be greater to the extent that, over time, levels of rewards (REW) exceed levels of costs (CST), relative reward levels (CLREW) exceed relative cost levels (CLcst), and interpersonal equality of rewards (EQrew) and of costs (EQCST) is perceived to exist. Married/cohabiting community volunteers and university alumni/staff completed two questionnaires, 3 months apart. The results obtained from this well-educated, relationally satisfied sample (N= 143) provided excellent support for the IEMSS. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that each component of the model (REW - CST, CLrew - CLcst, and EQrew, EQcst) added to the prediction of sexual satisfaction as expected, accounting for 75% of the variance. Repeated measurement of the IEMSS components offered a better prediction of sexual satisfaction than a one-time measure alone. Neither gender nor relationship satisfaction interacted with the IEMSS components. However, including relationship satisfaction (but not gender) in the model significantly improved the prediction of sexual satisfaction. It was concluded that the model should be revised to include relationship satisfaction. Both the exchange components of the IEMSS and sexual satisfaction uniquely predicted relationship satisfaction. The IEMSS offers a promising approach for understanding sexual satisfaction and its relationship to relationship satisfaction, as well as for reconciling inconsistent findings in the literature.
In 1993 Oliver and Hyde conducted a meta-analysis on gender differences in sexuality. The current study updated that analysis with current research and methods. Evolutionary psychology, cognitive social learning theory, social structural theory, and the gender similarities hypothesis provided predictions about gender differences in sexuality. We analyzed gender differences in 30 reported sexual behaviors and attitudes for 834 individual samples uncovered in literature searches and 7 large national data sets. In support of evolutionary psychology, results from both the individual studies and the large data sets indicated that men reported slightly more sexual experience and more permissive attitudes than women for most of the variables. However, as predicted by the gender similarities hypothesis, most gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors were small. Exceptions were masturbation incidence, pornography use, casual sex, and attitudes toward casual sex, which all yielded medium effect sizes in which male participants reported more sexual behavior or permissive attitudes than female participants. Most effect sizes reported in the current study were comparable to those reported in Oliver and Hyde's study. In support of cognitive social learning theory, year of publication moderated the magnitude of effect sizes, with gender differences for some aspects of sexuality increasing over time and others decreasing. As predicted by social structural theory, nations and ethnic groups with greater gender equity had smaller gender differences for some reported sexual behaviors than nations and ethnic groups with less gender equity. Gender differences decreased with age of the sample for some sexual behaviors and attitudes.
Structural equation modelling was used to assess the strengths of the links between sexual satisfaction and self-reported (a) relationship well-being, (b) mental health, and (c) physical health for women in same-sex (i.e., homosexual, n = 114) versus mixed-sex (i.e., heterosexual, n = 208) relationships. Participants came from a large-scale Internet study. Sexual satisfaction was found to be an extremely strong predictor of relational well-being, a strong predictor of mental health, and a weak to moderately strong predictor of physical health. A two-group comparison model indicated that the strength of these links was the same, regardless of whether the women were in a sexual relationship with a man or with another woman.
In an online study, measures of subjective sexual experiences in one's current relationship were compared across four groups: Men and women in mixed-sex (i.e., heterosexual) and same-sex (i.e., homosexual) relationships. Results indicated far more similarities than differences across the four groups, with groups reporting almost identical sexual repertoires, and levels of sexual communcation with partner. Men reported experiencing somewhat more sexual desire than women, while women reported slightly higher levels of general sexual satisfaction than men. Those in same-sex relationships reported slightly higher levels of sexual desire than those in mixed-sex relationships. Compared to the other three groups, heterosexual men reported deriving somewhat less satisfaction from the more tender, sensual, or erotic sexual activities. Implications of these findings for sex therapists are discussed.
Series Blurb: Oxford Readings in Feminism provide accessible, one-volume guides to the very best in contemporary feminist thinking, assessing its impact and importance in key areas of study. Collected together by scholars of outstanding reputation in their field, the articles chosen represent the most important work on feminist issues, and concise, lively introductions to each volume crystallize the main line of debate in the field. Is there too much gender in politics, too much stereotyping of female and male? Or is there too little gender, too little attention to differences between women and men? Should feminists be challenging male dominance by opening up politics to women? Or is 'women' a fictitious entity that fails to address differences by class or race? Is equality best served by denying differences between the sexes? Or best promoted by stressing the special needs of women? The essays in Feminism and RPolitics answer these questions in a variety of ways, but all see feminism as transforming the way we think about and act in politics. Spanning issues of citizenship and political representation, the ambiguities of identity politics, and the problems in legislating for sexual equality, the readings provide an exciting overview of recent developments. This outstanding collection will be essential reading for any feminist who has doubted the importance of political studies, and any student of politics who has doubted the relevance of feminism.
This study assessed the extent to which an Internet-recruited sample of residents of India was supportive of the provision of comprehensive sexual education in school in a country where youth sexual health is poor. We sought to determine whether attitudes differed for those of varying demographic backgrounds (age, sex, education level, religion), the extent of support for comprehensive coverage, the school or age levels deemed appropriate for delivery, and whether own sex education history influenced support. We conducted an anonymous online survey with 1140 Indian adults using crowdsourcing methods. We found widespread support for the provision of sex education to youth in India among members of our largely well educated, middle-class sample. However, most participants believed sex education should be provided relatively late (i.e., in mid- to late-adolescence). Few opposed sex education altogether and attitudes were not predicted by background, own school-based sex education, or parent-child communication about sex. Less than one-third of participants endorsed the coverage of all topics, indicating that support for truly comprehensive coverage was not strong. However, the findings counter politicised efforts to ban sex education by state leaders despite the availability of a progressive, comprehensive curriculum offered by the Central government.
In Western nations, there is growing agreement about ethical approaches to clinical intersex management. At the same time, as Western-trained physicians increasingly encounter intersex patients in other parts of the world, new ethical tensions arise. Which cultural values are fair parameters for gender-assignment decision-making, particularly in cultural milieus where there is social and economic inequality between the sexes? How can physicians uphold universal bioethical principles while remaining culturally sensitive? Physicians have a primary commit- ment to patient beneficence and universal human rights, requiring physicians to promote concordance between the child’s assigned gender and his or her likely future gender identity. Ultimately, the potential patient distress posed by gender dysphoria fundamentally outweighs the influence of local cultural factors such as economics, gender politics, and homophobia.
Timely sexual health exams are important healthcare behaviours that contribute to the early detection of cancer and health promotion. Sexual and gender minorities have been shown in past research to be significantly less likely to access healthcare services. Consequently, the current study included participants of diverse sexual and gender identities in order to gain greater insight into their concerns and potential reasons for avoiding healthcare services. The current study asked participants to describe their greatest concerns about visiting the doctor for a sexual health exam. Sexual and gender minorities were more likely to mention their identities as being central to their concerns about visiting the doctor. In contrast, the primary concerns mentioned by non-minority participants were related to their actual health, such as the potential diagnosis of cancer or STIs. The current study presents the self-reported reasons that individuals avoid visiting their doctors for sexual health exams as a function of sexual and gender identity. Through understanding how sexual and gender identity are related to the prevalence of specific concerns related to sexual health exams, it becomes possible to determine areas of improvement for increasing healthcare utilisation among marginalised populations. Implications for minority health and recommendations on improving healthcare support for sexual and gender minorities are discussed.
Documentation of sexual behavior in America was left to personal accounts, fantasy, and imagination until 25 years ago, when Kinsey and his research group published the shocking findings that 1 out of 2 married women in their sample of 6,000 reported having had intercourse before marriage (1953). These studies supported other evidence that premarital sex had been established as a trend in sexual behavior since the 1920s (Terman, 1938; Burgess & Wallin, 1953). Masters and Johnson (1966, 1970) pioneered a more in-depth examination of the physiology of human sexuality and the incidence of sexual dysfunctions. More contemporary research has documented the variety of female sexual behaviors (Hite, 1976). However, most of these studies are limited to white, highly educated samples from the urban northeastern part of the United States. With the exception of some data by the Kinsey research group, minority groups, teenagers, and geriatric populations were excluded from these landmark studies of sexual behavior.
Much scientific and public attention has been focused on controversies regarding the treatment of people with disorders of sex development (DSD, informally called intersex), particularly the basis for sex assignment, the need for and consequences of 'gender-confirming' genital surgery, the mental health consequences of treatment, and the relative contributions to gender development of genes, hormones, and socialization. Evidence relevant to these controversies is reviewed and considered for its implications for treating individuals with DSDs, and for understanding typical and atypical psychological development in the general population.
Sexual orientation typically describes people's sexual attractions or desires based on their sex relative to that of a target. Despite its utility, it has been critiqued in part because it fails to account for non-biological gender-related factors, partnered sexualities unrelated to gender or sex, or potential divergences between love and lust. In this article, I propose Sexual Configurations Theory (SCT) as a testable, empirically grounded framework for understanding diverse partnered sexualities, separate from solitary sexualities. I focus on and provide models of two parameters of partnered sexuality-gender/sex and partner number. SCT also delineates individual gender/sex. I discuss a sexual diversity lens as a way to study the particularities and generalities of diverse sexualities without privileging either. I also discuss how sexual identities, orientations, and statuses that are typically seen as misaligned or aligned are more meaningfully conceptualized as branched or co-incident. I map out some existing identities using SCT and detail its applied implications for health and counseling work. I highlight its importance for sexuality in terms of measurement and social neuroendocrinology, and the ways it may be useful for self-knowledge and feminist and queer empowerment and alliance building. I also make a case that SCT changes existing understandings and conceptualizations of sexuality in constructive and generative ways informed by both biology and culture, and that it is a potential starting point for sexual diversity studies and research.
The Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire (IEMSSQ) contains a number of separate measures that, together, have been useful in enhancing understanding of sexual satisfaction because it is based on a validated theoretical framework and has good psychometric properties. The present study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the IEMSSQ in a Spanish sample of 520 men and 701 women in a mixed-sex relationship. Participants completed Spanish translations of the IEMSSQ, the Index of Sexual Satisfaction, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and the Massachusetts General Hospital-Sexual Functioning Questionnaire. The results showed that the Spanish IEMSSQ has good psychometric properties. Internal consistency values were excellent. For the most part, test-retest reliabilities were good, except for the equality components, for which they were moderate. Consistent with predictions, the various subscales were correlated with scores on sexual satisfaction, dyadic adjustment, and sexual functioning, demonstrating good concurrent and convergent validity. The applicability of the IEMSSQ for use with Spanish speakers in clinical and research settings is discussed.
In popular debates about reproductive and sexual rights, formal religions, especially Islam, are seen as barriers providing institutional and ideological resistance to women's realization of reproductive and social autonomy. This book challenges this simplified view of Islam. Based on original fieldwork in Eastern Indonesia, the book explores the complex factors that affect how young Indonesian women form their sexual subjectivities, discusses the cultural and historical conditions under which single Muslim women repress or express their sexuality, and examines how the cultural context, including other factors besides Islam, simultaneously influence the ways in which young single women approach courtship, and issues of sexuality and reproductive health. It demonstrates that Islam is neither alone in trying to control female sexuality, nor entirely successful in doing so.
Researchers have documented substantial variability in the development and expression of same-sex sexuality, especially among women, posing challenges to traditional linear developmental models. In this article, I argue for a new approach to conceptualizing the development and expression of female same-sex sexuality over the life course, based in dynamical systems theory. Dynamical systems models seek to explain how complex patterns emerge, stabilize, change, and restabilize over time. Although originally developed by mathematicians and physicists to model complex physical phenomena in the natural world, they have increasingly been applied to social-behavioral phenomena, ranging from motor development to cognition to language. I demonstrate the utility of this approach for modeling change over time in female same-sex sexuality, reviewing extant published research and also introducing data collected from an ongoing, 10-year longitudinal study of young nonheterosexual women. I provide evidence that female same-sex sexuality demonstrates the emblematic features of a dynamical system: nonlinear change over time, spontaneous emergence of novel forms, and periodic reorganizations and phase transitions within the overall system. I highlight the specific contribution of a dynamical systems perspective for understanding such phenomena and suggest directions for future study.
© 2007 Association for Psychological Science.
There are different ways in which black women in the Diaspora have given expression to their erotic fascination with other women. In this article two idealtypical expressions of black female homosexuality and the outlines of their underlying cosmologies are sketched: mati-ism and black lesbianism. Mati (or matisma) is the Sranan Tongo word for women who have sexual relations with other women, but who typically also will have had or still have relationships with men, simultaneously. More often than not they will also have children.
While both types can only be understood via a constructionist view of homosexuality, the institution of mati-ism will be shown to have retained more Afrocentric, working class elements, while black lesbianism has more middle class, Eurocentric features.
Sexual rights, the first of the eight Montreal Declarations adopted by the World Association for Sexual Health (WAS), are grounded within existing international human rights treaties, covenants and conventions and contribute to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2005114.
United Nations. 2005. The Millennium Development Goals report, New York: Author. View all references). Despite their apparent contribution to sexual health, sexual rights are particularly contentious, challenged both by nations that do not share the western enlightenment tradition and agenda and by critical theorists who raise concern about their essentializing influence on sexuality. Examples are presented from around the globe of conditions and practices that could be corrected with commitment to sexual rights. Moving such commitment forward must be done with caution, recognizing that sexual rights may be both liberatory and oppressive. It is argued that advancing a sexual rights agenda requires an articulation of the location of sexual rights within existing human rights commitments, a recognition of both the possibilities and the limitations of such an approach, identification and mobilization of a consensus reaching process, and active monitoring and evaluation of rights-based approaches to sexual health. A balance is required between rights and obligations, and between caring for self and caring for others.
Argues that the application of the scripting paradigm to sex research suggests that all social behavior is scripted, including encounters between researchers and Ss in sex research and between therapists and patients in sex therapy and authors writing about sexuality. It is also suggested that sexuality is more than individual behavior, and what happens in the sexual arena in any society is a consequence of culture and the structure of sexual and nonsexual opportunities that exist prior to any individual. Sexual scripts exist at the levels of the individual, the interactional, and the cultural. The performance of sexual acts draws upon scripts at all 3 levels, and potential changes in sexual conduct can emerge from changes at any level of scripting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In this article, we review the major research advances made during the 1990s in the study of sexuality in marriage and other close relationships. More specifically, we provide a critical review of the empirical findings from the last decade on such sexual phenomena as sexual behavior, sexual satisfaction, and sexual attitudes within the context of marriage, dating, and other committed relationships. After highlighting the major theoretical and methodological advances of the 1990s, we focus on the research literatures of: (1) frequency and correlates of sexual activity in marriage; (2) sexual satisfaction, including its association with general relationship satisfaction; (3) sexuality in gay and lesbian committed relationships; (4) trends in sexual behavior and attitudes in dating relationships; and (5) the role of sexuality in dating relationships. We also incorporate brief reviews of the past decade's research on sexual assault and coercion in marriage and dating and on extramarital sex. We end our decade review with recommendations for the study of sexuality into the next decade.
A content analysis was conducted to examine sexual consequences on teen programming. The sample consisted of prime-time television dramas that featured characters between the ages of 12 and 22 years. Two major goals guided the study. First, the types of sexual consequences in teen programming were investigated. Results showed that emotional and social consequences far outnumbered physical consequences. Second, the portrayal of the sexual double standard was investigated. Negative consequences were more common in scenes in which female characters initiated sexual activities than in scenes in which male characters initiated sexual activities. Implications for future content analyses and media-effects research are discussed.
Despite higher rates of unemployment and poverty among transgender adults (n = 131; 0.5% weighted) than among nontransgender adults (n = 28,045) in our population-based Massachusetts household sample, few health differences were observed between transgender and nontransgender adults. Transgender adults who are stably housed and participated in a telephone health survey may represent the healthiest segment of the transgender population. Our findings demonstrate a need for diverse sampling approaches to monitor transgender health, including adding transgender measures to population-based surveys, and further highlight economic inequities that warrant intervention.
Lesbianism in China has a long but usually hidden history. This paper examines the historical and literary sources of the past to illustrate the history of lesbianism and then turns to a survey of lesbianism in the China of today. As in the past, lesbianism remains more or less hidden, and comes to light only occasionally. Data for contemporary China comes from a visit to an institution for delinquent young women, recent police records, and contemporary fiction. It has only been in the past 4 or 5 years that it was possible to talk about lesbianism and most lesbians are fearful of becoming identified.
Theoretical understanding of psychosexual development, particularly in regard to sexual identity, has undergone several historical changes. Most notable has been the transition away from a learning paradigm, which held that individuals are psychosexually neutral at birth and that they develop their sexual identity due to rearing. This has shifted to contemporary acceptance that an interaction of both nature and nurture is responsible for psychosexual development. That there probably exists an inherent predisposition or bias toward a male or female identity, which is inferred by prenatal influences, is also current theory. However, while this shift has occurred in the theoretical understanding of the phenomenon, a comparable shift has not occurred in the clinical management of individuals where sex assignment or reassignment is a real issue. The theoretical change and real case management should be concordant.