Martin S. Weinberg

Pornography, Normalization, and Empowerment

Opponents and proponents of erotic representations (referred to hereafter as “pornography”) have described the effects of pornography from their perspective. Little, however, has been done in the way of research to investigate these claims from the consumer’s point of view. This especially has been so regarding the positive impact of such consumption on a person’s sex life. Using a study group of 245 college students, we examined this question in a framework of scripting theory. We wanted to see whether viewing pornography appeared to expand sexual horizons through normalization and facilitate a willingness to explore new sexual behaviors and sexual relationships through empowerment. The data supported this viewpoint and further showed the effects to be mediated by gender and sexual preference identity. They suggested, however, that established scripts were extended rather than abandoned. We conclude with connections between our findings and the widespread viewing of pornography in contemporary society.

The Social Constituents of Sadomasochism

Traditional conceptions of sadomasochism are misleading. This is because they are not based on close examination of what the majority of SM participants actually do and how they interpret their own behaviors. Over a period of eight years, we interviewed a variety of SM participants and observed their behavior in many different settings. We found that sadomasochism was constituted by five social features: dominance and submission, role playing, consensuality, a sexual context, and mutual definition. These features formed the basis for the interpretation of behaviors and experiences as SM by participants. This focus permits a sociological model of the phenomena which avoids the limitations of more traditional conceptions.

Gendered sex work in the San Francisco tenderloin.

The variable “gender” rarely appearsin prostitution research. Its inclusion raises the samequestions brought up with respect to other areas ofwork: Is there a gendered perspective with respect tothe work and are gender inequalities reflected init? This study examines gender differences in the workof 140 sex workers in the San Francisco Tenderloin. Aswell as women and men who are workers, we include transgender workers (genetic males who presentthemselves as women), further accentuating differencesby gender. Looking at work-specific characteristics, wefind that women do not suffer inequities of income. They are, however, more prone tooccupational hazards. Transgenders, who suffer the mostsocietal discrimination, are closer to women than men intheir work situation. Examining the sexuality of sex workers, the women are the least likely toenjoy sex with clients. Men report more sexual enjoymentwith clients and transgenders are closer to the men inthis regard. Few differences are, however, found in sexual pleasure in the personal livesof the women, men, and transgenders. A gender differencethat stands out is that the men have more noncommercialsex partners than the women. Again, transgenders are more like the men, although various aspectsof their condition make for some uniquedifferences.

Sexual Coercion Among University Students: A Comparison of the United States and Sweden

Sociocultural theorists, including feminist theorists, propose that the prevalence of sexual coercion in a society is related to male dominance in the social structure and a culture that sustains it. Other theorists also propose that the prevalence of sexual coercion is directly related to the general level of violence in a society. Numerous studies support the views that women in Sweden have more institutional power and social benefits than do women in the United States, the double standard of sexuality is weaker in Sweden than in the United States, and levels of violent crime and types of interpersonal violence are lower in Sweden. In the research reported here, we examined factors associated with, and differences in, the prevalence of sexual coercion among a sample of students at a university in Sweden (N = 570) and one in the United States (N = 407). U.S. university students reported higher rates of both physical and nonphysical sexual coercion than did Swedish university students. These findings are ...

Swedish or American heterosexual college youth: Who is more permissive?

Theories of human sexuality have proposed that two factors reduce the double standard of sexuality and lead to a convergence of male and female sexual behavior: the degree of social benefits and amount of power women have in basic societal institutions and the extent to which a society accepts permissive sexual norms. As these factors increase, the strength of the double standard will decrease and the convergence between male and female behaviors will increase. Compared to the United States, Sweden has instituted more policies to promote gender equality and has been thought to accept more permissive premarital sexual attitudes. The focus of the research reported here is to examine country and gender differences in sexual attitudes and sexual behavior for a sample of university students in the United States (N = 407) and Sweden (N = 570). Results indicate that Swedish students endorsed more similar sexual standards for women and men and reported more accepting attitudes than did American students. For sexual behavior, American men reported the most sexual experience, Swedish men the least, with the women of both countries generally in the middle category. Notwithstanding this more permissive behavior on the part of American men, gender convergence with respect to sexual behavior is stronger in Sweden on several of the dimensions examined: age of first engaging in partner-related sexual activities for those who were sexually experienced, relationship with first partner, number of partners both in the last year and in their lifetime, and affective reactions to first coitus. Gender convergence, however, is weaker in Sweden than in the United States with respect to the incidence and frequency of various sexual activities and the degree of satisfaction with current sex life. Findings are discussed with respect to the questions they raise about the current theories that framed this research and the differential amount of sex education provided in the two countries.

The Male Homosexual: Age-Related Variations in Social and Psychological Characteristics

The folk view of age and the male homosexual is that the older the homosexual the less his sociosexual contact with other homosexuals due to a premium on youth in the homosexual world; and that the “old” homosexual is lower in psychological well being as a result of this sociosexual situation. The data reported in this paper support the social, but not the psychological, folk description. An explanation for this discrepancy between the folk view and the research data is given with regard to the perspective of the persons who provide the folk view and to the adjustments which seem to be associated with the aging process in general. The social and psychological situation of the “young” homosexual is also given special attention.

Bisexuals at Midlife Commitment, Salience, and Identity

In the framework of a constructionist approach, a life-course point of view, and traditional concepts borrowed from identity theory, the authors report on a study of fifty-six San Francisco bisexuals. The data show that by midlife, changing life commitments among the participants were associated with a decrease in sexual involvement, a move toward sexual activity with just one sex, a decrease in contact with the bisexual subculture, and a decrease in the salience of a bisexual identity. Given these changes, the data reveal the opposite of what might be expected—an increase rather than a decrease in the certainty about and stability of the bisexual identity. The authors show that this was due to the continuation of dual attractions that were positively regarded even as there was a move away from a bisexual lifestyle. In explaining these findings, they discuss the interplay between sexual communities, relationships, selves, and sexuality.

Embarrassment: Its Variable and Invariable Aspects

This paper deals with the generic process that underlies embarrassment in an attempt to understand its variable and invariable aspects. The theoretical framework is examined with data from nudist camps. The data show that the meaning of situations and the situational relevance of embarrassment are to specific social establishments. A simiiar type of analysis is indicated for other emotions. G offman,1 and Gross and Stone2 have presented papers on the ecology of embarrassment-how at various places in a social establishment events that are incompatible with the reality the establishment sustains, lead to embarrassment. This paper extends the analysis of the territoriality of emotions. It brackets the role problems that are the concern of the above papers, reducing the analysis to a more generic level. It seeks commonalities in the various breakdowns of role performance described by Goffman, and Gross and Stone, examining the questions of what basically the experience of embarrassment is, how it is brought about, and why the situations that evoke embarrassment are tied to the social establishment in which they occur. Data from nudist camps are used for illustration and a similar tvpe of analysis is proposed for the study of other emotions. It is believed that the perspective presented increases understanding of the social essence of embarrassment and thus also increases the predictability of when, where, and with whom embarrassment will

Sociocultural correlates of permissive sexual attitudes: A test of Reiss's hypotheses about Sweden and the United States

In a 1980 publication, Ira Reiss proposed a set of theoretical statements concerning gender roles and sexual customs in Sweden and the United States. He stated that, in comparison to the United States, sexual attitudes are more permissive in Sweden and that factors accounting for these differences include country variations in religiosity and attitudes toward general gender egalitarianism, the naturalism of sex, and the role of government with respect to sexual matters. The present research tests the extent to which Reisss descriptions are currently supported. For this purpose, a questionnaire was designed and data was collected from heterosexual university students in these two countries. Support was found for many of Reisss descriptions, and explanations for the exceptions are presented.

Men Sexually Interested in Transwomen (MSTW): Gendered Embodiment and the Construction of Sexual Desire

This article extends research on transgenderism by providing a sociological study of men who are sexually interested in transwomen (MSTW; viz., genetic males who use estrogen to feminize their body but retain their penis). We conducted fieldwork in a bar catering to transwomen and the men who were sexually interested in them, and did on-the-spot interviews with the MSTW. We initially examined the nature of MSTWs sexual attraction to transwomen, followed by how this related to their sexual orientation identity. Using a sexual fields approach (Green, 2008), we first found how the ambience of the bar helped to create an erotic environment through a heightened sense of gender. Then, focusing on the theory of embodiment (Jackson & Scott, 2007), we saw how the MSTW constructed a unique sexual desire according to the sexual orientation identity they brought to the situation. Those who identified as “straight” tended to gloss that the transwoman had a penis, while the bisexually identified men were more likely to incorporate the transwomans penis into the sexual experience.