“Having Sex” as a Graded and Hierarchical Construct: A Comparison of Sexual Definitions among Heterosexual and Lesbian Emerging Adults in the U.K.

Abstract

Research into definitions of "having sex" has tended to employ a dichotomous response design (following Sanders & Reinisch, 1999). However, conceptions of sexual activity may be far less clear-cut (c.f. Faulkner, 2003 ; Peterson & Muehlenhard, 2007). More refinement is also needed regarding the impact of sexual orientation on the construction of what counts as sex. This research employed a continuous response design, asking 124 emerging adults (40 male heterosexuals, 42 female heterosexuals, & 42 lesbians) to judge 13 sexual acts using a graded, six-point scale. Overall, there was substantial agreement that intercourse (vaginal and anal) was "definitely," and kissing "definitely not," sex. However, across the various acts, participants also consistently made use of options between these extremes, such that a clear hierarchy of sexual behaviors emerged. The lesbian group considered a range of forms of genital stimulation to be significantly more constitutive of sex than either heterosexual group, while judgments by male and female heterosexuals did not significantly differ for any listed act. The implications of graded definitions of sex, a hierarchy of sexual behaviors, and the role of sexual behaviors in hetero- and homosexual identity management are explored.

The Behavioral Definitions of “Having Sex With a Man” and “Having Sex With a Woman” Identified by Women Who Have Engaged in Sexual Activity With Both Men and Women

“…In contrast to penile-vaginal intercourse, the percentage of participants who indicated that they would have indicated that they had sex if they engaged in fellatio in the present study was considerably higher than the percentage of participants who reported that fellatio was "having sex" in previous research with primarily heterosexual participants (Byers et al, 2009;Carpenter, 2001;Gute et al, 2008;Pitts & Rahman, 2001;Randall & Byers, 2003;Richters & Song, 1999;Sanders & Reinisch, 1999;Sanders et al, 2010). However, the diversity in their definitions is consistent with the few other studies that have examined sexual orientation as a factor in behavioral definitions of having sex Horowitz & Spicer, 2013;Richters & Song, 1999). Also consistent with research that found significant differences between the behavioral definition of having sex of self-identified gay men in the United States and the United Kingdom , on average the number of sexual activities included within the participant's behavioral definition of having sex in this study significantly varied by country of residence.…”

“…A recent study in the United Kingdom found that, compared to self-identified heterosexual women and men, self-identified lesbians considered a range of forms of genital stimulation to be significantly more constitutive of having sex (Horowitz & Spicer, 2013). This is consistent with an Australian study that found sexual minority university students regarded more activities as having sex than did their heterosexual counterparts (Richters & Song, 1999).…”

“…As such, we hypothesized a positive relationship between recent number of sexual behaviors with a man and with a woman and number of behaviors included within the participant's definition of having sex. In addition, we assessed variability in the participants' definition of having sex in relation to several key demographic characteristics identified as important indicators of behavioral definitions of having sex, including sexual identity (e.g., Hill et al, 2010;Horowitz & Spicer, 2013, Richters & Song, 1999, geographic location (e.g., Hill et al, 2010), age (e.g., Binson & Catania, 1998;Sanders et al, 2010), education, (e.g., Binson & Catania, 1998) race/ethnicity, (e.g., Binson & Catania, 1998) and relationship status (e.g., Binson & Catania, 1998). Given that these variables are also associated with the expansiveness or frequency of women's reported sexual behavior in previous research, we hypothesized that participants who were older (Chandra, Copen, & Mosher, 2013;Foxman, Aral, & Holmes, 1998;Leichliter, Chandra, Liddon, Fenton, & Aral, 2007;, had a higher degree , were living in the United States , were in a relationship (Herbenick et al, 2010b), and reported relationships with both men and women (Foxman et al, 1998;Mercer et al, 2007) would include a higher number of behaviors in their definitions of "having sex" than their counterparts.…”

“…Genital contact was selected as the inclusion criteria due to its prominent role in previous research on behavioral definitions of having sex (Byers et al, 2009), particularly among bisexual and lesbian women (Horowitz & Spicer, 2013). Accordingly, the acronym WSWM in the present paper will hereafter refer to women who engaged in "genital sexual activity" as opposed to "sex" with both men and women.…”

Casual sexual relationships: Identifying definitions for one night stands, booty calls, fuck buddies, and friends with benefits

“…For example, researchers report widespread variation when participants provide definitions of sexual intercourse (e.g., Byers, Henderson, & Hobson, 2009;Hans & Kimberly, 2011;Horowitz & Spicer, 2013;Randall & Byers, 2003;Trotter & Alderson, 2007). However, the definitional issues specific to the literature on casual sex largely stem from varying terminology used by the researchers themselves.…”