Sexual Double Standards

Since the dawn of man, sex has played a crucial role in society. Before they learned to read or write humans were engaging in sex and without it none of us would be here. In today’s society, sex has grown to become much more complicated. If I were to ask a group of people on the street what they believed sex was? I bet they would have a hard time answering. The question puzzling society today is how do we define sex? Can we define sex? These are questions raised in Tracy Steele’s article “Doing it: The Social Construction of S-E-X”. This article is about the current questions and issues that have been raised about sex within today’s society. In this paper I will summarize the key points of the article, while sharing my own thoughts and

One of the main and most discussed double standards when it comes to gender is the fact that men are praised for being promiscuous, while women are put down and called names. This double standard goes way back in the societal memory. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that these gender differences have resulted from males’ and females’ different reproductive capacities. A woman can go have sex with a man, but she then will be limited to carrying his baby for those nine months. In the meantime, the man can go out and have sex with many women, and have all of

Ira L. Reiss, a well-known sociologist, has contributed greatly to the field of human sexuality and in the 1960’s brilliantly predicted the revolutionary changes in sexual attitudes. In his novel, An End to Shame: Shaping Our Next Sexual Revolution, Reiss develops the notion that our previous sexual revolution did not adequately eliminate the inequalities related to sexuality. In reality he argues that America is in need of a newly formed sexual revolution, one that will address the negative consequences that our sex negative culture is experiencing. A significant portion of our population argues that these consequences are due to the fact that we talk too much and too soon about sex. This is an inaccurate view of the reasoning behind the sexual problems we are experiencing in America, as in reality the negative sexual outcomes we observe are due to the opposite of this view. This misconception is a common explanation for our sexual problems and many believe it is the key to solving our sexual crisis, but in reality is part of the problem. Reiss argues that “America is long overdue for a rendezvous with sexual reality” (18) and that the future of our nation depends on accepting these realities.

It’s no secret that we all have sex. Every person grows up as an individual, learning things about themselves as they go along, as well as learning about others. We all eventually end up calling someone else our significant other, whether it be of the same sex or not, and we all end up making personal decisions about our sexual identity and actions as we progress through life. We define our sexual identities of something unique to only us and we acquire our identities with a mix of influences: biological, psychological, social, cultures, values, and society in the time in which we are growing up. After such influences, we make the choice when to lose our

Throughout the book, Bogle places particular attention to gender differences. Supporting Bogle’s findings, there is still a double standard for men and women. Participation in the hookup scene is risky for women, while men have few, if any risks. Women who behave too “sexually” in the hookup culture have to recognize that there are repercussions. These repercussions include damaged reputations, being labeled, and being ostracized by peers. Women can get labeled, damage their reputations, or ostracized by having too many partners, hooking up with two guys that know each other well, dressing in a seductive manner, constantly hanging around a fraternity house, or drinking too much.

Sexual double standard is when there is more sexual freedom for men than women in the world. Summary of example: Legal experts, meanwhile, are beginning to speak out about a double standard regarding how courts treat male versus female statutory rapists. Men fall into the usual stereotype of somehow believing a teenage male student probably enjoyed a sexual relationship with his adult teacher. Male teachers are always labeled as predators by the public. Female teachers are often mischaracterized as immature, confused or even vulnerable- even though they are just as predatory in their selection and grooming behavior to seduce that child. When it comes down to equality between the sexes it will never be even. The example is relevant to this topic

One thing that is common on morals is those regarding to gender, usually men and women have different morals regarding to sex. I believe everyone has their own set of morals, especially regarding to sex because it is such a personal subject. Studies show that men typically have more sexual partners than women. In today 's society, men who have multiple sexual relationships are looked up to or "praised". Women on the other hand, are shamed for having too many sexual partners because society views them as having little to no morals. Men and women tend to lie about their previous relationships in order to protect their current ones. Men including myself have a tendency to over exaggerate these numbers while women under exaggerate. Many double standards come into play regarding this topic because many of these standards are mostly sided with men making them seem unfair to some women.

During the early 1800s into the nineteenth century it was believed that men and women came from two separate spheres. These spheres influenced the way gender roles were shaped and perceived. Suggesting that women belonged in the household, apart of the private sphere and men belonged in the economic world, apart of the public sphere. Men and women were understood to be polar opposites and because of this, women were oppressed. Female sexuality was defined as “passionlessness,” and only for the purpose of reproduction. We learn that women were considered “voracious” for expressing their sexuality however, men were encouraged to express their sexuality as part of maintaining power, prestige, and masculinity. (Cott, 1978, 222). Men

I was reminded of modern day double standards when Collins pointed out the sexual ambitions of both non married men and women. “Girls were supposed to remain chaste until marriage while boys were allowed to press for whatever sex they could get” (Collins 151). I think that this quote strongly represents how women are seen today. You always hear that if you do not want to be sexual you are prude, but if you do anything sexual you are a slut. That double standard just never seems to go the same way with men. When men do anything sexual, you get hit with the boys will be boys mentality. I can not stand that boys will be boys saying and it seems that it is becoming more frequent with an increase in sexuality in our generation. It is sad to me that the sexuality of men and women are seen so differently when there is absolutely no difference.

The double standard discussed by Andersen and Witham (2011) is the sexual double standard. The sexual double standards get to be obvious when the sexual behaviors of women and men are exposed to different judgments that depend on a variety of societal desires of either gender. For instance, it is acceptable for men to have loads of sexual encounters before settling down for a long haul sexual relationship; in spite of that, the same is not considered for women. Any woman that takes part in a lot of sexual relationships is normally classified as “sluts” while men with the same behavior are thought to be

Allison, Rachel, and Barbara J. Risman. "A Double Standard For “Hooking Up”: How Far Have We Come Toward Gender Equality?." Social Science Research 42.(2013): 1191-1206. ScienceDirect. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

They see the overwhelming importance given to sexual attractiveness in the media-one study estimated that the average teenager ahs witnessed nearly 14,000 sexual encounters on television- yet they also hear their parents and religious advisers telling them that sex is wrong. As a result, many young people begin having sex without really intending to and without taking precautions against pregnancy.

To begin, in ‘Purely Rape: The Myth of Sexual Purity and How it Reinforces Rape Culture’ Valenti explains what she calls the “modernized virgin/whore complex”. Abstinence –only education is taught during the day and then we get exposed to things like ‘Girls Gone Wild’ at night, it’s confusing and problematic and makes women realize that they do not get to define their sexuality, everyone else does (Valenti, p. 300). The “modernized virgin/whore complex” happens because women realize that in some situations they need to act pure and in others they need to act promiscuous, according to our popular culture, and it’s not up for women to decide when it’s appropriate and when it is not. I never heard the term used before, but when I read it in this article it made sense. It is the perfect way to define what society wants from women. It is

Promiscuity is accepted as a societal norm, and it is not regarded as obscene in society. As a matter of fact, it is natural to be promiscuous and it is encouraged at a young age to play sexual games. “A little boy of about seven and a little girl who might have been a year older, were playing . . . a rudimentary sexual game” (Huxley 44). Even

Gender roles are social constructs that defines what sort of behaviors are acceptable for men or women. These rigid expectations teach people through socialization that we should think, speak, dress, and be a certain way depending on which gender we are. When we are young we learn the behaviors that are socially appropriate for males and females; these behaviors are often based on gender stereotypes. For example, women are expected to love shopping and take care of domestic duties like cleaning the house, while men are expected to love sports and to work outside the home in an industry like construction or engineering. While men and women do have distinct differences that can 't always be chalked up to social imposition, these ideas of what it means to be male or female can be very harmful to people 's identity. People are often judged and scrutinized for failing to fit into the box society creates for them based on their gender. There are quite a few double standards that exist regarding gender. It is unfair to judge people more harshly for something based solely on their gender, and one common example of this is sexual behavior. Women are judged harshly for the same sexual behavior that men are praised for. This sexual double standard can have devastating effects on women who get labeled as “sluts.” Men who are thought to have a higher number of sexual partners or be more sexually