Edward S. Herold

Does the sexual double standard still exist? Perceptions of university women

Conflicting research findings regarding the sexual double standard have led to much debate over its existence in North American society. Using a diversity of measures, 165 women at a Canadian university were surveyed to determine their perceptions and behaviors regarding the sexual double standard. The normative belief that men are rewarded for having a high number of sexual partners, whereas women are penalized for similar behavior is one major component of the sexual double standard that was studied. The most striking finding was the discrepancy between the womens perception of the sexual double standard at the societal level and their own personal rejection of the double standard. Most respondents believed other women were more likely to enforce the double standard than were men. Women who had many previous sexual partners were more accepting of men who had many partners. The value of using a diversity of measures to study the complexities of the double standard is illustrated.

Female tourists and beach boys: romance or sex tourism?

Abstract Previous studies of female tourists and beach boys in the Caribbean have defined these relationships as involving either sex or romance tourism. The objective of this study was to determine which of these definitions was more applicable to relationships in the Dominican Republic. Male and female tourists as well as beach boys and female sex workers were interviewed. Romance and sex tourism were conceptualized as the two ends of a continuum of motivations rather than as distinct categories. Although there was some gender overlap in the continuum of romance/sex motivations, more of the female tourists were located toward the romance end and more of the male tourists toward the sex end of the continuum.

Casual sex on spring break: Intentions and behaviors of canadian students

Using Triandiss theory of interpersonal behavior, we analyzed factors related to casual sex among Canadian university students on a spring break vacation. Two samples were obtained: 151 students completed a questionnaire before a spring break trip to Daytona Beach, Florida and 681 completed a questionnaire during or immediately following the vacation. More men than women intended to have casual sex but similar percentages of men (15%) and women (13%) had actually engaged in casual sex. In ordinary least squares regression, expectation of participation in spring break activities, social norms expressed through peer group influences, and personal attitudes explained 74% of the variance in the intentions to engage in casual sex. In logistic regression, intentions and participation in spring break activities correctly classified 80% of the men into those who did and did not engage in casual sex. Agreements formed with friends about casual sex and the proportion of friends who participated in coitus on spring...

Gender differences in casual sex and AIDS prevention: A survey of dating bars

Men (n = 83) and women (n = 86) at nine dating bars in Ontario, Canada, were surveyed to determine gender differences in self‐reported casual sex and AIDS‐prevention behavior. Data analysis focused on 169 bar patrons who had experienced sexual intercourse. More men than women had some experience with casual sex. The women had as many sexual partners as the men, but were less likely to anticipate having casual sex and reported less enjoyment and more guilt about casual sex than did the men. Almost all men and women had declined at least one opportunity to have casual sex. Women expressed greater fear of being physically harmed during a casual encounter and were more concerned about the risks of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases than were men. Although the respondents reported favourable attitudes toward condoms, many had not used condoms during their last experience with casual sex. Women reported stronger intentions to use condoms during casual sex than did men, but there was no gender differen...

Reconceptualizing the Sexual Double Standard

Abstract This study analyzes the prevalence of the sexual double standard using a diversity of measures. It distinguishes between the perception of the double standard at the societal level and ones personal acceptance of it. Young people (N = 413), ranging in age from 18 to 28, from three university classes and two community-based dating bars in Canada were surveyed to determine their attitudes and behaviors regarding the double standard. The majority of the participants perceived the double standard to exist with more women than men perceiving this, especially with regard to the issue of sexual freedom. On a personal level, however, most men and women held a single standard. There was a significant gender difference as men were more likely to endorse a double standard, whereas women were more likely to endorse a reverse double standard, in which mens sexual behavior was evaluated more harshly than that of womens. This study indicates that the double standard is more complex in nature than has previously been thought.

The relationship of age, sex guilt, and sexual experience with female sexual fantasies

In research on fantasies, increasing attention is being paid to the context in which the fantasies occur. Although some researchers have focused on single contexts such as marital intercourse (Hariton, 1973), others have focused on multiple contexts including intercourse, masturbation, and daydreaming. Davidson and Hoffman (1986), for example, found that three fourths of their sample of women had sexual fantasies while daydreaming, whereas only one third had fantasies during either masturbation or intercourse. Furthermore, Mednick (1977) found that when women fantasized during masturbation, they were Ukely to view themselves as being the recipient of sexual activity, whereas in daydreams they were more Ukely to view their fantasized sexual object as the recipient of sexual activity. We sought additional comparative data in this domain. More specifically, our first objective was to examine the frequency of specific sexual fantasies in the situations of masturbation, intercourse, and nonsexual situations. We decided to use the category of nonsexual situation rather than daydreams because we beUeved that it was possible to have daydreams during sexual as well as nonsexual activities. Researchers have found age, sex guilt, and sexual experience to be signifi? cant predictors of sexual fantasy. Brown and Hart (1977) found the number of different types of fantasies increasing until the middle thirties, then leveUng off, and then dropping for older women. Moreault (1978) reported that women with high sex guilt had less expUcit fantasies and fantasies with little variety in content. Also, women who are more sexually active and more sexually ex? perienced have reported having more sexual fantasies and more expUcit fan? tasies (Brown & Hart; Giambra & Martin, 1977; Hass, 1979; Leiman & Ep? stein, 1961). Moreault found that the most powerful predictor of higher fantasy production was a combination of intercourse and masturbation ex? perience.

Sexual self‐disclosure among university women

Although there has been considerable research about self-disclosure, there has been a lack of research regarding disclosure of sexual topics. In order to increase our understanding of sexual self-disclosure (SSD), a scale was developed to measure SSD, and 10 variables were tested as predictors of SSD. The subjects were 203 unmarried university females aged 18-22. SSD was measured separately for each of the target groups of mother, father, close friend, and dating partner. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed separately for virgin and non-virgin subjects. The one variable which was significant for each of the target groups in each of the analyses was sexual comfort level of the target person. The variables of sex guilt and target persons sexual attitudes were significant for disclosure to each of the target groups among the nonvirgin subjects but to only some of the target groups among the virgin subjects. The remaining seven predictor variables were significant for at least one of the target groups. In the multiple regression models, the proportion of variance explained ranged from 28% to 58%. The results indicate the value of controlling for both target group and virginity status when analyzing the relationship of predictor variables to SSD.

Casual sex and women: Measurement and motivational issues.

Abstract Our objectives were to delineate important measurement issues involved in the study of casual sex and to determine womens motivations for engaging or not engaging in casual sex. Four different measures of casual sex were used with a Canadian university sample of 230 women. Thirteen percent reported having experienced sexual intercourse with someone they had just met and 36% had experienced intercourse with someone with whom they were not in a committed relationship. More had experienced non-coital casual sex. Sexual health concerns were the strongest deterrents to engaging in casual sex. Sexual pleasure was given as the most appealing aspect of casual sex. Researchers need to be aware of the differing interpretations of casual sex when measuring this type of sexual behavior.

Adamant virgins, potential nonvirgins and nonvirgins

Abstract Most researchers studying premarital sexual behavior have focused on virgins and nonvirgins as distinct entities and have generally ignored important subgroups. Using data obtained from 514 single high school and college women, this study analyzed variables differentiating among adamant virgins, potential nonvirgins and nonvirgins. Adamant virgins were defined as those who had not experienced intercourse and were not likely to engage in premarital intercourse (PMI). Women who had not experienced PMI but were likely to engage in PMI were defined as potential nonvirgins. Variables significantly related (p < .05) to virginity status in chi‐square analyses were age, religiosity, career aspirations, parental acceptance of PMI, peer acceptance of PMI, peer experience with PMI, dating commitment and dating frequency. Using discriminant analysis, it was found that peer experience with PMI was the most important predictor of virginity status, followed in importance by dating commitment and religiosity. Th...

Predicting Intentions to Engage in Casual Sex

The objective of this study was to test the usefulness of the Triandis model of interpersonal behavior for explaining the formation of intentions to engage in casual sex (i.e. the likelihood that the respondent would, when they were out to have a good time, have sex with someone he or she had just met). Data were collected from 305 university students (243 female, 62 male). The Triandis model explained 44 percent of the variance in casual sex intentions. The strongest influences on intentions to engage in casual sex were personal standards, situational expectations and previous casual sex experience. Also, peer endorsement of casual sex was significant for men. The results indicate that the Triandis multivariate model is very effective in explaining sexual intentions. Hopefully, this study will encourage other researchers to investigate the under-explored topic of casual sex.