What’s Gender Got to Do With It? Sexual Double Standards and Power in Heterosexual College Hookups

Abstract

Although college hookups are typically enjoyable for both men and women, heterosexual hookups often involve inequitable power dynamics that privilege men (e.g., women perform sexual acts to please partners and/or succumb to pressure for intercourse). Some scholars have attributed this power imbalance to the traditional double standard. However, recent studies have indicated college students typically endorse egalitarian standards-and some endorse a reverse double standard in which they negatively judge men more than women for engaging in the same sexual behavior. Using Online College Social Life Survey data (N = 11,077) I examined relationships between endorsement of double standards and power in hookups. Because contemporary students often believe double standards exist in society but not in their own minds, I also examined relationships between feeling negatively judged for hooking up and power. Most respondents endorsed egalitarian standards, but women were more likely than men to feel judged for hooking up. Feeling judged was a significant predictor of power disadvantages for women and men; endorsing a double standard disparaging one's own gender was significant among men. Findings suggest contemporary relevance of the traditional double standard and highlight differences between women's and men's endorsement of double standards disparaging their own gender.

College Students' Sexual Consent Communication And Perceptions of Sexual Double Standards: A Qualitative Investigation

“…Abstinence‐only sex education discourse tends to position sex in this manner by reinforcing messages about maintaining one's “value” by avoiding sex until marriage (particularly for women) . Although sexual double standards are not new, some have argued that contemporary young adults and college students do not endorse these traditional views . Our participants still seem to endorse these cultural norms, which seem, in turn, to influence consent communication.…”

“…Researchers have not explicitly examined the extent to which these gender and cultural norms influence consent communication among college students. Thus, despite the extensive work examining sexual double standards, an exploratory analysis in the context of consent communication would be fruitful.…”

Typologies of Sexual Double Standard Adherence in Spanish Population

“…As a result of the empowerment of women and their growing concern about, and awareness of, sexual violence, woman-favorable SDS has emerged (Kettrey, 2016;Milhausen & Herold, 2002), which is the opposite to man-favorable SDS. Indeed woman-favorable SDS defends more sexual freedom for women than for men (Álvarez-Muelas et al, 2019;Papp et al, 2015;Sakaluk & Milhausen 2012;Sánchez-Fuentes et al, 2020;Thompson et al, 2018).…”

PROTOCOL: Effects of bystander programs on the prevention of sexual assault among adolescents and college students

“…Avoidance of such criticism is paramount to the success of sexual assault prevention programs. This is because adolescents and young adults who are coming of age in a “post‐feminist” era are likely to reject gendered explanations of sexual assault and, instead, respond more positively to gender‐neutral programs that use inclusive language that can be applied to a broad range of victims and perpetrators (Barreto & Ellemers, 2005; Kettrey, 2016; Swim, Aikin, Hall, & Hunter, 1995).…”