Sexual Double Standards

Are men and women held to different standards of sexual conduct? In Derek Kreager and Jeremy Staff’s Article, The Sexual Double Standard of Adolescent Peer Acceptance, they look further into the sexual double standards that are held by male and female adolescents whether or not there is a sexual double standard for male and female adolescents. They define sexual double standard, “boys and men are thought to receive praise and positive attributions for nonmarital sexual contacts, while girls and women are believed to be derogated and stigmatized for similar behaviors.” While, authors characterize a lack of clarity about whether such a double standard exists, given limitations of qualitative research and mixed findings over time. Kreager and Staff investigate further into the idea to see whether a sexual double standard exists, later discovering whether or not they have found evidence to support the idea of this sexual double standard. Kreager and staff study the relationship between sexual behavior and peer approval by using data from national sample of adolescents called Add Health survey. They formulate the hypothesis, “If a strong double standard exists, then increased number of sexual partners should be positively associated with
Her argument sheds light on the difference in what young men and women want from a hook up, including the standards that young men and women have are not as different as they used to be. And, whether they be similar or not she concludes that women and men were still held to different sexual double standards. Kreager and Staff’s conclusions are similar to that of Bogle’s, for they both conclude that there are sexual double standards. They had come to their conclusions through different tactics; Kreager and Staff investigating and experimenting and Bogle experiencing it first hand, coming to the same end