Female university students’ preferences for different types of sexual relationships: implications for gender-based violence prevention programs and policies

Abstract

Background Gender-based violence among young women is a growing problem worldwide. The consequences of this victimization have been well reported in the scientific literature, among which negative health outcomes stand out. The factors influencing this problem are many; one highlighted by research is socialization into a dominant coercive discourse that associates sexual-affective attraction to males with violent attitudes and behaviors, while in turn, such discourse empties males with egalitarian behaviors from sexual attractiveness. This coercive discourse may be shaping the sexual preferences of female youth. The current paper explores young women’s preferences for different types of sexual relationships and, more particularly, for what type of sexual affective relationships they coercively preferred men with violent attitudes and behavior. Methods A quantitative, mixed-design vignette study was conducted with 191 college females in Spain. We focused the analysis only on responses about vignettes including narratives of men with violent attitudes and behaviors. In addition, we examined whether participants would report higher coerced preferences for violent men when asked about the coerced preferences of their female friends than when asked about their own preferences. Results Only 28.95% of participants responded that their female friends would prefer a young man with violent behavior for a stable relationship, meanwhile 58.42% would do it for hooking up. When reporting about themselves, the difference was greater: 28.42% would prefer a young man with violent behavior for hooking up and just 5.78% for a stable relationship. Conclusions The dominant coercive discourse that links attractiveness to people with violent attitudes and behaviors may be explaining the results obtained in this study. The findings can help eliminate the stereotype largely adopted by some intervention and prevention programs which assume that gender-based violence occurs mainly in stable relationships, considering that falling in love is the reason that lead women to suffer from violence. Our results can also support health professionals and others serving young women to enhance their identification of gender violence victimization, as well as our findings point to the need to include the evidence of gender violence in sporadic relationships in prevention programs and campaigns addressed to young women.

“Come on! He Has Never Cooked in His Life!” New Alternative Masculinities Putting Everything in Its Place

“…In doing so, they are attracting young men to their movement because they show that it is possible to be committed against gender violence (Joanpere and Morlà, 2019) while not allowing for being undervalued (Serradell et al, 2014). Following the research by Puigvert et al (2019), NAM are not submissive to that coercive dominant discourse that separates goodness from success and attraction (Ruiz-Eugenio et al, 2020b). Due to the positioning of the NAM's movement, it has been considered suitable to collect examples of reactions of NAM to counteract reprimands and teasing addressed to men who do not perpetrate gender violence.…”

Dialogic Feminist Gathering and the Prevention of Gender Violence in Girls With Intellectual Disabilities

“…As already mentioned, the successful program of the DFG ( Puigvert, 2016 ; Racionero-Plaza et al, 2018 , 2020 ) is built on the theoretical framework of preventive socialization of gender violence ( Valls et al, 2008 ; Puigvert, 2014 ; Gómez, 2015 ; Puigvert, 2015/2016 ; Ruiz-Eugenio et al, 2020 ), dialogic feminism ( Beck-Gernsheim et al, 2001 ; De Botton et al, 2005 ) and Dialogic Learning ( Flecha, 2000 ). This is an educational action that is giving positive results with adolescents without disabilities in the prevention of gender violence ( Salceda et al, 2020 ).…”

“…The analysis of the information gathered from the transcripts of the two interviews, the focus group and the accounts recorded in the field diary, has been based on the two components of the communicative methodology: (1) the exclusionary dimension, which identifies the barriers that prevent transformation, since in the absence of these barriers, practices or social benefits would be available to excluded individuals or groups ( Gómez-González et al, 2010 ) and (2) the transformative dimension, which includes the elements that overcome such barriers. Importantly, research on sexual violence prevention done with the communicative methodology shows that it is distinguished by its contributions to advancing the identification, prevention, and overcoming of gender-based violence ( Puigvert, 2014 ), which can help health care providers and others caring for young women identify whether they have been victims of gender-based violence ( Ruiz-Eugenio et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Within the theoretical framework of preventive socialization of gender violence ( Valls et al, 2008 ; Puigvert, 2014 ; Gómez, 2015 ; Puigvert, 2015/2016 ; Ruiz-Eugenio et al, 2020 ), dialogic feminism ( Beck-Gernsheim et al, 2001 ; De Botton et al, 2005 ) and Dialogic Learning ( Flecha, 2000 ) the Dialogic Feminist Gatherings (DFG) have been defined ( Puigvert, 2016 ; Racionero-Plaza et al, 2018 , 2020 ). The DFGs ( Puigvert, 2016 ; Racionero-Plaza et al, 2018 , 2020 ) are an educational action based on the preventive socialization of gender-based violence ( Valls et al, 2008 ; Puigvert, 2014 ; Gómez, 2015 ; Ruiz-Eugenio et al, 2020 ). At its base is the understanding that one of the causes of the increase in gender violence at increasingly younger ages is a type of socialization that associates attraction to violence through a coercive discourse that is imposed among adolescents.…”

“…At its base is the understanding that one of the causes of the increase in gender violence at increasingly younger ages is a type of socialization that associates attraction to violence through a coercive discourse that is imposed among adolescents. One of the key aspects of the DFGs is the scientific content in violence prevention by giving the opportunity to contrast scientific evidence with the life experiences and reflections of the participants, allowing the participants, through dialogue, to build a collective knowledge that promotes relationships based on solidarity and favors the growth of healthy relationships that bring them well-being ( Ruiz-Eugenio et al, 2020 ).…”