Double Sstandard

The perception that a double standard exists between men and women, with regard to matters sexual in nature, is our topic of study. The World Book dictionary defines a double standard as principles applied more leniently to one group than another. A sexual double standard asserts that “men have greater sexual freedom than women, and that society accepts and tolerates from men certain sexual behaviors, such as premarital and extramarital sex, that it does not from women” (Gentry 1998: 505). Many researchers have studied this topic from a variety of viewpoints. For example, the idea that desiring sexuality is positively regarded in men, but denigrated and regulated by negative labeling in women was assessed in one study in New Zealand ( Jackson and Cram 2003: 115). Some studies take a sociobiological approach in examining differences in sexual arousal to sexual stimuli. In one study, the assumption was that women were less responsive than men to sexual stimuli (Murnen and Stockton 1997: 135). In another, the assumption was that men are designed to be stimulated visually, while women are designed to be stimulated in a more auditory and tactile manner (Malamuth 1996: 8). A more lighthearted approach to a sexual double standard was taken in a study done in Texas examining country music lyrics. All of the songs used were sung by female artists. Interestingly, these researchers found that female singers excused infidelity from married women but not married men. However, the view that only men have sexual relations before marriage or outside of it was accepted by men but rejected by women. Overall, though, the lyrics supported traditional gender roles and restrictions (Chandler and Chalfant 1985: 155). Mary Vause from the University of Virginia examined what appeared to be the taboo topic of women and masturbation. Masturbation was a subject of major confusion to girls, Vause found. She attributed this confusion to “ a shocking double standard” created and it seems, encouraged, by our culture. Vause felt that our society views “girls interest in sex as threatening or just plain wrong, while boys sexual pursuits are treated as a completely natural phenomenon (2004: 58). In contrast, according to Baumeister and Tice in their book The Social Dimension of Sex, there are many more similarities than differences between men and women both psychologically and sexually (2001) , While it seems widely agreed that some level of a sexual double standard does exist, its negative effects are not just an impact on women. The long-term effects on middle-years and older men are quite harmful for the man and the marriage (McCarthy 2001: 29). Regional differences, specifically the Northern and Southern states, in the sexual double standard have also been studied. In a study entitled “Jocks, Nerds, Babes and Thugs: A Research Note on Regional Differences in Adolescent Gender Norms”, it was found that although boys are likely to gain prestige from their peers through sexual activity in both regions, girls from the south were more likely to gain prestige by having a good reputation than their Northern sisters (Suitor and Carter 1999: 87). Emily White devoted an entire book to a girl’s reputation. She initially intended to write an article from the perspective of the high school class “slut.” It turned into a book after she ended up interviewing over 150 girls and women who had either been labeled the class “slut” or considered themselves one. Time and again throughout the book, the enormously negative impact of this label is spelled out in social consequences. Sometimes, although the label may have been inaccurate initially, the girl ended up fulfilling the role eventually. It seemed that quite often truly fantastic and unbelievable stories became attached to the girl and her supposed exploits. Somewhat more positively, the book outlined the movement in the 1990’s to repossess the word slut to deflate its negative power. White identified the aftermath of this label and its consequences so clearly that at times it was difficult to read (2002). Some research studies seemed to question if the sexual double standard still exists. In their study of 165 Canadian university-aged women, Robin R. Milhausen and Edward S. Herold found that the women judged men equally as harshly as they judged other women when it came to the number of sexual partners (1999: 366). Additionally, Marks and Fraley , in their study of the sexual double standard, found that as the number of sexual partners increased for the experimental target, the more likely they were to be derogated by the respondent. This effect held true for both male and female targets and respondents (2005: 175). A later study by Marks and Fraley investigated why recent empirical results seems to support the lack of a sexual double standard while anecdotal evidence still strongly supports it’s existence. Their findings suggested that the confirmation bias (a tendency to search for information that confirms already held precepts) sustains belief in the sexual double standard (2006: 25).
With all of this previous research examined and still barely scratching the surface of all the studies that have been done, our group chose four areas of interest to focus on. The specific areas of double standard examined in this study were infidelity, masturbation, pornography, and age of first sexual intercourse. The question this researcher considered and hoped was true, was if this double standard is diminishing, or, even if it could be considered a thing of the past.

Methods/Procedures

The research group consisted of three female student colleagues. They varied in age from twenty-one to thirty-nine. Two of the three were Hispanic and the other was white. The research was obtained through a survey examining our specific areas of interest. Additionally, some general background questions regarding age, education and relationship status were asked. More specific information pertaining to religious affiliation and commitment, number of lifetime sexual partners, and a self-rating of the Kinsey scale was also obtained in order to potentially profile the respondents.
In locating study participants, an availability sample was obtained. Each of the researchers obtained four survey responses. The guidelines advised that two of the participants be male and two female. Additionally, it was suggested that two of the surveys be obtained from people quite familiar and the other two from strangers or casual acquaintances. Eleven of the surveys were obtained orally and face to face, while one was procured electronically, via the internet. No tape recording devices were used.
This researcher located the two familiar participants easily and delivered one survey orally and the other electronically. The casual acquaintances were found at the interviewer’s place of employment and were presented orally during sanctioned break periods.
The survey participants ranged in age from twenty-one to forty-two with the mean age being thirty-one years old, the median being twenty-nine and a half, and the mode being twenty-one. Their racial/ethnic makeup was 50% Hispanic (n=6), 33%, White(n=4), 8% Asian(n=1), and 8% unknown(n=1), as one of the participants declined to state their race/ethnicity. The self-ratings on the Kinsey scale were as follows: three participants rated themselves at zero (exclusively heterosexual), two rated themselves at one, four rated themselves at two, and one each rated themselves at three and a half, four, and four and a half. With respect to religiosity, four of the respondents had not been to a religious service in the last year, six had been to five or less in the last year, and two had attended every week for the last year. Eight of the survey participants were in a monogamous relationship (marriage, cohabitation, or mutual exclusivity), while three were single and one stated that she was divorced. The education levels of the respondents ranged from one high school graduate, seven with some college, two college graduates and two with graduate degrees.

Results
To determine the respondents views on our key issues, they were asked two questions on each topic, one regarding male behavior and the other, a similar question pertaining to female behavior. For the matter of infidelity, the male behavior question was stated as follows: “Steve and his wife of twelve years have three kids. His home life is stable, but he has been having an ongoing affair with his secretary for the last year. Your thoughts?” The counterpoint female behavior question was stated: “Linda has been married for ten years and has two kids. Although nothing is overtly wrong with her marriage, she has been feeling bored with the familiarity and routine. For the last ten months she has been having an affair with a single male colleague. What do you think?” In ten out of twelve of our surveys, no double standard seem to exist. Either respondents felt that the behavior was negative for both the husband and wife or positive for both of them. Although it was only one respondent that felt that it was a positive event for both partners. However, in two of the surveys, a double standard in the area of infidelity did arise. A twenty-seven year old Asian female respondent with a graduate degree stated, “Any man who is not having an affair is not normal, I guess.” Conversely, a thirty-one year old Hispanic male with a college degree stated, “She’s having fun and no one’s getting hurt. So it’s cool.” The issue of masturbation and a double standard was also an area of interest for our group. The male behavior question was stated,” You are putting away laundry in your fifteen year old son’s sock drawer and come across a Playboy magazine and a jar of Vaseline. What are your thoughts on this? Do you take any type of action? If so, what do you do?” The female behavior question read, “You are changing the sheets on your fifteen year old daughter’s bed and stumble across a vibrator. How do you feel about this? Do you do anything? If so, what?” Again, in ten of the cases, no sexual double standard appeared to be present. Of the two that did exhibit a double standard, both were negatively inclined toward the daughter’s masturbation. Although one of these survey participants was male and one was female, they were both twenty-one, Hispanic and Catholic, having attended church five or less times in the last year. The male surveyed stated that he didn’t know what he would say, but that he would go crazy. The female stated that she would feel betrayed and punish her. However, when it came to male masturbation, they both replied that they would talk to their son about sex. This seems to imply that for these two participants, male masturbation is perfectly normal, while female masturbation is disturbing and something to be punished for.
In the area of a double standard and pornography, again the majority of the respondents did not display any gender bias. One of the twelve surveyed, a twenty-one year old female Hispanic, who placed herself at four on the Kinsey scale, expressed more enthusiasm for the female scenario than for the male. The other two participants expressing gender bias with regard to pornography were both males in their thirties and either married or in a relationship. They both were negatively inclined toward the male scenario in the survey. That particular scenario was written by this researcher, who now sees that it needs to be rewritten. In the survey conducted it read, “A good friend, Dave, constantly brags about his extensive collection of porn. One day when you’re at his place….sure enough….in the bathroom there are numerous adult magazines, in his media center there are quite a few adult videos, not to mention the magazine rack in the living room. How do you feel about this? Are you comfortable?” Both male respondents felt that he was showing it off. “He’s a loser,” one of them said. “I’d probably make fun of him,” the other said. These responses were valuable because they made it clear the question was unrealistic and excessive. On the other hand, the female counterpoint question didn’t seem to cause any out of the ordinary responses. It read, ”A good friend, Kelly, has currently discovered how much she enjoys watching adult films a couple of days a week and is now considering exploring other adult entertainment. What do you think about this?” These are not equivalent questions and if future research was intended, the male scenario would be rewritten. Our final area of interest was in participants opinions on the appropriate age of first sexual intercourse. The male question read, “Your sixteen year old son comes to you and confesses to being sexually active since fourteen. What do you say to him?” The female counterpoint read, “Your sixteen year old daughter asks you to take her to the gynecologist for birth control. What do you say to her?” Eleven of the twelve surveyed expressed no double standard in response to these two scenarios. The one participant that did present a double standard did so in reference to the female situation. He stated that he would be upset and that she is too young. For the male situation, he said that he would advise his son to use protection. This is the same participant who would “go crazy” if he found the vibrator in his daughter’s bed.

Discussion/Conclusion

Overall, the vast majority of our findings seem to indicate that the existence of a double standard is questionable. However, our population was certainly not representative and this may have significantly affected our outcome. We surveyed a fairly well educated group. The age of the participants that I personally interviewed was older (thirty-eight to forty-two) than the mean of thirty-one. My experience in the survey process was that the participants were very liberal in their thoughts concerning sexuality. The experience of interviewing them was much more relaxed than I anticipated. They readily volunteered much information without appearing the least bit uncomfortable. Both of the participants that I knew well actually surprised me with some of their answers and as one of them is my husband, it was illuminating. The assignment was a fair amount of work, but I found it enjoyable to see a project through to the end. In other words, initially it was challenging to construct the survey questions. But each step brought new challenges. The most enjoyable aspect was analyzing the data to see what we learned. With respect to a sexual double standard, it has been my experience that it still exists despite our data.
Keeping this discussion alive, along with further research, may be one of the most effective methods to raise awareness of the sexual double standard.

References
Chandler, C.R. and Paul H, Chalfant. 1985. “The Sexual Double Standard in Country Music Lyrics.” Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology 13: 155.
Gentry, Margaret. 1998. “The Sexual Double Standard: The Influence of Number of Relationships and Level of Sexual Activity on Judgments of Men and Women.” Psychology of Women Quarterly 22: 505.
Jacson, Susan M. and Fiona Cram 2003. “Disrupting the Sexual Double Standard: Young Women’s Talk about Heterosexuality.” British Journal of Social Psychology 42: 113.
Malamuth Neil M. 1996. “Sexually Explicit Media, Gender Differences and Evolutionary Theory.” Journal of Communication 46(3): 8.
McCarthy, Barry W. and L. Elizabeth Bodnar 2005. “The Equity Model of Sexuality: Navigating and Negotiating the Similarities and Differences Between Men and Women in Sexual Behavior, Roles, and Values.” Sexual and Relationship Therapy 20 (2): 225.
Marks, Michael J. and R. Chris Fraley 2006. “Confirmation Bias and the Sexual Double Standard.” Sex Roles 54(1/2): 19.
--------. 2005. “The Sexual Double Standard: Fact or Fiction?” Sex Roles 52(3/4): 175.
Milhasen, Robin R. and Edward S. Herold 1999. “Does the Sexual Double Standard Still Exist? Perceptions of University Women.” The Journal of Sex Research 36(4): 361.
Murnen, Sarah K. and Mary Stockton 1997. “Gender and Self-Reported Sexual Arousal in Response to Sexual Stimuli: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Sex Roles 37(3/4): 135.
Suitor, Jill J. and Rebecca S. Carter 1999. “Jocks, Nerds, Babes and Thugs: A Research Note on Regional Differences in Adolescent Gender Norms.” Gender Issues 17(3): 87.
Vause, Mary M. 2004. “Doing it Ourselves: Female Masturbation Past and Present.” Iris (48): 58.
White, Emily 2002. Fast Girls. New York, NY: Scribner.

References: Chandler, C.R. and Paul H, Chalfant. 1985. “The Sexual Double Standard in Country Music Lyrics.” Free Inquiry in Creative Sociology 13: 155. Gentry, Margaret. 1998. “The Sexual Double Standard: The Influence of Number of Relationships and Level of Sexual Activity on Judgments of Men and Women.” Malamuth Neil M. 1996. “Sexually Explicit Media, Gender Differences and Evolutionary Theory.” Journal of Communication 46(3): 8. --------. 2005. “The Sexual Double Standard: Fact or Fiction?” Sex Roles 52(3/4): 175. Vause, Mary M. 2004. “Doing it Ourselves: Female Masturbation Past and Present.” Iris (48): 58.