Gender, Belief in the Sexual Double Standard, and Sexual Talk in Heterosexual Dating Relationships

Abstract

This study was focused on the extent to which sex, gender, and attitudes toward sexuality influenced the amount and quality of sexual communication within 698 heterosexual dating couples. Women reported more dyadic sexual negotiation but less sexual negotiation efficacy than their male partners, and individuals with less traditional attitudes toward gender roles and sexuality indicated that they discussed more sexual issues and disclosed more sexual information with their partners. Couples with more dyadic sexual communication and sexual assertiveness (but lesser negotiation efficacy) reported increased relational satisfaction. We frame the findings from a script perspective, and our results suggest that individuals who selfdisclose important information about sexual issues contribute to the effectiveness of sexual communication in a dating relationship.Notions about gender influence individuals' discussions about sex in personal relationships. North American mainstream culture, among others, socializes individuals to advocate for a pleasure-centered or recreational focus on sexuality for men and a person-centered or relational orientation toward sexuality for women (DeLamater, 1987). This socialization still predominates, although women's and men's sexual activity actually appears to be more similar than different (cf. Oliver & Hyde, 1993).

Everything's Better in Moderation: Young Women's Gender Role Attitudes and Risky Sexual Behavior

“…The sexual norms and stigmas accompanying traditional gender role attitudes discourage women from discussing sexual situations with friends or family because they may be perceived as having too much experience-based knowledge [7] and [9]. In this way, strong, traditional gender role attitudes may limit women's sexual capital -that is, social networks and self-efficacy [19] -and thus increase the likelihood of risky sexual behaviors.…”

“…It is traditionally suggested that women limit sexual partners to potentially long-term mates [18], but through exposure to hyperfemininity, many young women are simultaneously confronted with the idea that sex can and should be used as a tool to gain and maintain relationships. Thus, traditional attitudes in the form of hyperfemininity can increase the likelihood of multiple sex partners and sex outside of (or prior to) committed relationships [17].Furthermore, traditional female roles discourage women from communicating and negotiating in sexual encounters [7]. The sexual norms and stigmas accompanying traditional gender role attitudes discourage women from discussing sexual situations with friends or family because they may be perceived as having too much experience-based knowledge [7] and [9].…”

The influence of gender role attitudes on riskysexual behaviour: evidence from the 2008Botswana AIDS impact survey III

“…Various scholars have argued that either traditional (Gavin et al, 2006;Greene and Faulkner, 2005;Klunklin and Greenwood, 2005;Lear, 1995;Tang, Wong and Lee, 2001) or egalitarian gender role attitudes (Lucke, 1998;Shearer et al, 2005) could be associated with risky sexual behavior. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of gender role attitudes on risky sexual behavior in Botswana.…”

Les scripts sexuels des femmes de carrière célibataires dans les téléséries québécoises. Études de cas : Tout sur moi, Les hauts et les bas de Sophie Paquin et C.A.1

“…En ce qui concerne le script typiquement féminin, il se caractériserait par l'attente passive d'être choisie comme partenaire sexuelle, un désir plus orienté vers l'affection et l'amour que vers le sexe, l'importance du désir de plaire à l'homme ainsi qu'une absence d'initiative dans les rapprochements sexuels. Selon Greene et Faulkner (2005), de ces scripts découlerait d'ailleurs la double norme sexuelle, laquelle sera validée notamment par une enquête populationnelle française (Bajos et Bozon 2008 : 565).…”