Study of Sexual Satisfaction in Different Typologies of Adherence to the Sexual Double Standard

Abstract

The sexual double standard (SDS) refers to the acceptance of different criteria to assess the same sexual behavior in men and women. To date, the few studies that have addressed the relationship between SDS and sexual satisfaction have obtained inconclusive results. In addition, no study has analyzed sexual satisfaction in people who maintain different forms of adherence to the SDS. This study establishes three SDS typologies of adherence (man-favorable, woman-favorable, egalitarian) in two areas of sexual behavior (sexual freedom and sexual shyness) to examine the predictive capacity of personal variables (age, social dominance orientation, propensity for sexual excitation/inhibition), interpersonal variables (relationship satisfaction) and social variables (gender norms about sexual behaviors) in sexual satisfaction. A sample of 1194 heterosexual adults (51.1% men, 48.8% women) aged between 18 and 87 years (M = 40.63; SD = 15.67), who had been in a relationship for more than 6 months, was evaluated. In men, the highest sexual satisfaction levels were obtained in the egalitarian typology in the sexual freedom area. In women, no significant differences were found between the typologies of adherence to the SDS. Regression models showed that relationship satisfaction was the main predictor of sexual satisfaction in all the typologies in both men and women. In addition, the predictive relationship of personal variables with sexual satisfaction varied according to gender and the SDS adherence type. The results show the importance of studying sexual satisfaction by taking into account not only the differences between men and women. Furthermore, it is essential to consider other differences between people; for example, the difference that derives from the way of psychologically internalizing attitude toward the SDS.

Validation of the Orgasm Rating Scale in Context of Sexual Relationships of Gay and Lesbian Adults

“…The number of sexual partners also had a significant effect on the subjective experience of orgasm in comparisons by sex in the gay group and by sexual orientation, in men. Generally, it is men who tend to report a higher number of sexual partners, both in gay [ 30 , 66 ] and heterosexual [ 66 , 79 ] populations—a fact that could respond to the phenomenon of sexual double standard (see Álvarez-Muelas et al [ 36 , 80 ] and Endendijk et al [ 81 ]). Finally, the method used to obtain the last orgasm in sexual relationships with another person turned out to be a significant variable in the comparison by sex within the group of gay people, and by sexual orientation, in men.…”

“…Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Online questionnaires were used, which is a procedure equally valid as the traditional paper-and-pencil procedure in studies of this type [ 36 , 37 ]. Using the Open-Source LimeSurvey platform, located on the servers of the University of Granada, an electronic version of the survey was disseminated through Facebook ® .…”

Association of Sexual Attitudes with Sexual Function: General vs. Specific Attitudes

“…For example, interventions in negative attitudes toward masturbation are included in sexual education programs to improve different sexual health aspects [ 62 , 63 ]. Therefore, sexual education can promote positive sexual attitudes to do away with, for example, gender roles [ 45 , 64 ] or discrimination against sexual minorities [ 65 , 66 ] which limit sexual health. Therefore, these findings can help effective therapies and programs to be developed that promote, in particular, sexual wellbeing and quality of life in general.…”

“…This method was normally used in research works about sexual behaviors. There were no differences between the data obtained by this system and those acquired by the traditional paper and pencil methods [ 45 , 46 ]. The IP address was controlled, as were automatic responses to avoid automated responses.…”

Study of Sexual Concordance in Men and Women with Different Typologies of Adherence to the Sexual Double Standard

“…(2021b) proposed different typologies of adherence to the SDS, namely egalitarian, man-favorable and woman-favorable. By doing so, these authors observed that those men who defend a gender egalitarian stance for sexual freedom feel more sexually satisfied than those men with a man-favorable typology ( Álvarez-Muelas et al., 2021a ).…”