A Study of the Attitudes of the People on Various Sexual Behaviors Across the Age Groups

A STUDY OF THE ATTITUDES OF THE PEOPLE ON VARIOUS SEXUAL BEHAVIORS ACROSS THE AGE GROUPS

BY

KAREN CONCEICAO

ABSTRACT
The present research made a comparative study on attitudes towards sexual behaviors across different age groups and found out which group had unfavorable, moderate or favorable attitude towards premarital sex, polygamy, pornography, lesbianism and homosexuality. The null hypothesis was that there will be no significant difference in the means of the three age groups towards all the five behaviors, and the alternative hypothesis was that there will be a significant difference in the means of the three age groups towards the behaviors. The study was conducted on 75 subjects irrespective of their gender. Out of which 25 belonged to the adolescents, 25 young adults and 25 were of the middle aged category.

A standardized test called the Sexual Attitude Scale (S.A.S) by Dr. Amit Abraham was used. Each sub scale i.e. premarital sex, polygamy, pornography, lesbianism and homosexuality had different number of items with a total of 70 items. The subjects were given the standardized questionnaires to be answered and were asked to fill in their details.

The responses were then scored using the scoring key and results were found. The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the attitudes of subjects of various groups for premarital sex, pornography, lesbianism and homosexuality, hence rejecting the null hypothesis. Significant difference was not found only in polygamy, thus accepting the null hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis which stated that there will be a difference in the attitudes of people across different age groups was proved in case of premarital sex, pornography, lesbianism and homosexuality, and rejected in the case of polygamy.

Some of the factors that could have influenced our findings are exposure to media (for e.g. internet, television, and movies), education (making it compulsory to educate students and people about sex, AIDS, condoms), cultural differences, and generation gaps.

iv TABLE OF CONTENT

v
Introduction

Psychology is a variegated and diverse discipline difficult to describe with a single definition. Basically, psychologists study individual organisms (both human and nonhuman) to figure out what behavior is normal and predictable. And sexuality forms one of the most important aspects of human behavior.
Sexuality in humans generates profound interest in psychologists. Psychologists have also focused on human sexuality in different aspects. They have also studied people’s approach and attitudes towards sexuality. Early psychological analyses were carried out by Sigmund Freud, the father of Psychology and other leading researchers of psychology.
Some theorists identify sexuality as the central source of human personality. Over the years the concept of sexuality keeps changing. The definition of sexuality has expanded dramatically in the past generation. It has come to mean not simply sex, but gender identities and roles. Sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy, and reproduction, all of which correspond to the way that people have come to understand sexuality today. This has changed peoples thinking and attitudes about human sexuality. The change in attitudes can be seen across various generations and this may lead to generation gap because of various reasons: cross-cultural differences, exposure to media, changing laws, coming of the internet age and education.
This project shows how people’s attitude towards sexuality change across various age groups. Earlier people felt shy or sinful to talk about sex or engage in various in sexual activities. This project throws light what people of different age group think or feel about various sexual behaviors. Attitudes towards sexuality are different in different parts of the world depending upon their exposure to media, internet and social norms.
There are different kinds of sexual behaviors such as heterosexuality, homosexuality, lesbianism, premarital sex, extra marital affairs, pornography, polygamy and polygyny. This project focuses on mainly five sexual behaviors namely premarital sex, polygamy, lesbianism and homosexuality, and pornography.
Premarital sex (also called non-marital sex, youthful sex, adolescent sex, and young-adult sex) is sexual activity, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, mutual masturbation, and anal sex, practiced by persons who are unmarried. The term "premarital sex" referred to sexual relations between two people prior to marrying each other the meaning has shifted, referring to all sexual relations a person has prior to marriage; this removes emphasis on whom the relations are with.
Polygamy is a marriage that involves multiple spouses, instead of two. Polygamy has been practiced for centuries but has been eliminated in most modern societies. There are a few different types of polygamy. A union that involves one woman and two or more men is correctly termed polyandry, while a union involving one man and two or more women is called polygyny.
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affection, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same sex; "it also refers to an individual 's sense of personal and social identity based on those attractions, behaviors expressing them, and membership in a community of others who share them.
Lesbianism is a sexual activity where the participants are only women. The participants can be lesbian or bisexual women, though some prefer to refer to themselves as women who have sex with women and dispense with sexual identification. As with most interpersonal relationships, any physical expression of intimacy between women depends on the context of the relationship along with social, cultural and other influences.
Pornography can be thought of as all sexually explicit material intended primarily to arouse the reader, viewer, or listener. The United States Supreme Court has said that there are four categories of pornography that can be determined illegal, which include: indecency, material harmful to minors, obscenity, and child pornography.
This project also speaks about how people’s attitude towards these five behaviors varies across different age groups. It reflects on the mindset of different age-groups of people through their responses given for each of the five behaviors mentioned above. This would help us gain a better understanding of how exposure to media, the extent of liberty to discuss sex related issues, sexual education, medicine etc has influenced us.
The project is divided into various chapters. each chapter gives an in depth study of people’s attitude towards premarital sex in chapter 1.2,homosexuality in chapter1.3, polygamy in chapter 1.4, pornography in 1.5 and how age is a determining factor for change in attitudes in 1.6.The data is analyzed statistically and conclusions are drawn.

SOCIAL NORMS ACROSS GENERATIONS/ CHANGE IN SOCIAL NORMS
Social norms are the explicit or implicit rules specifying what behaviors are acceptable within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been further defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. They have also been described as the "customary rules of behavior that coordinate our interactions with others." Social norms are rules that define the behavior that is expected or acceptable in particular circumstances.
Social norms are neither static nor universal; they change with respect to time and vary with respect to culture, social classes, and social groups. What is deemed to be acceptable dress, speech or behavior in one social group may not be acceptable in another.
Deference to social norms maintains one 's acceptance and popularity within a particular group. Social norms can be enforced formally e.g. through sanctions or informally e.g. through language and non-verbal communication cues. By ignoring or breaking social norms, one risks becoming unpopular or an outcast.
As social beings, individuals learn when and where it is appropriate to say certain things, to use certain words, to discuss certain topics or wear certain clothes, and when it is not. Thus, knowledge about cultural norms is important for impression management, which is an individual 's regulation of their nonverbal behavior. One also comes to know through experience what types of people he/she can and cannot discuss certain topics with or wear certain types of dress around. Typically, this knowledge is derived through experience i.e. social norms are learned through social interaction.
Social norms are rules or expectations of behavior within a specific cultural or social group. Often unspoken, these norms offer social standards of appropriate and inappropriate behavior, governing what is (and is not) acceptable and co-coordinating our interactions with others. Cultural and social norms persist within society because of individuals’ preference to conform, given the expectation that others will also conform. A variety of external and internal pressures are thought to maintain cultural and social norms. Thus, individuals are discouraged from violating norms by the threat of social disapproval or punishment and feelings of guilt and shame that result from the internalization of norms. Cultural and social norms do not necessarily correspond with an individual’s attitudes (positive or negative feelings towards an object or idea) and beliefs (perceptions that certain premises are true), although they may influence these attitudes and beliefs if norms becomes internalized. Cultural and social norms also vary widely; so, behavior acceptable to one social group, gang or culture may not be tolerated in another. Different cultural and social norms support different types of violence, as illustrated in Box. For instance, traditional beliefs that men have a right to control or discipline women through physical means makes women vulnerable to violence by intimate partners and places girls at risk of sexual abuse Equally, cultural acceptance of violence, including sexual violence, as private affairs hinders outside intervention and prevents those affected from speaking out and gaining support.
HOW SOCIAL NORMS CHANGE ACROSS GENERATIONS?
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing and tuna from a tin - and didn 't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no child-proof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a van - loose - was always great fun. We drank water from the garden hosepipe. We shared one soft drink with four friends and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cakes, white bread and real butter and drank pop with sugar in it, but we weren 't overweight because. WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We had no Play Stations, Nintendo 's, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no text messaging, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms...WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We played with worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We rode bikes or walked to a friend 's house and knocked on the door, rang the bell or just yelled for them! Local teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn 't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas." But, it is a different world out there... Our parents never had to take the kinds of precautions necessary today. The media played a much smaller role and social norms have changed tremendously. Informed Families was created 25 years ago, but is more valuable to parents today than ever. We provide parents with the training and tools that none of us were inherently born with.

HISTORY
The seeming contradictions of Indian attitudes towards sex can be best explained through the context of history. India played a significant role in the history of sex, from writing the first literature that treated sexual intercourse as a science, to in modern times being the origin of the philosophical focus of new-age groups ' attitudes on sex. It may be argued that India pioneered the use of sexual education through art and literature. As in all societies, there was a difference in sexual practices in India between common people and powerful rulers, with people in power often indulging in hedonistic lifestyles that were not representative of common moral attitudes.

ANCIENT TIMES
Indian culture can be considered amongst the most ancient, with the ancient Indus Valley civilization being contemporary to ancient Egypt and Sumer, spreading across modern India and Pakistan at its peak, 4000 years ago. During this period, not much is known about social attitudes toward sex. One thing that has been observed about sexuality in the Indus Valley civilization is the practice of fertility rituals.
The first evidence of attitudes towards sex comes from the ancient texts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the first of which are perhaps the oldest surviving literature in the world. These most ancient texts, the Vedas, reveal moral perspectives on sexuality, marriage and fertility prayers. The epics of ancient India, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, which may have been first composed as early as 400 BCE, had a huge effect on the culture of Asia, influencing later Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan and South East Asian culture. These texts support the view that in ancient India, sex was considered a mutual duty between a married couple, where husband and wife pleasured each other equally, but where sex was considered a private affair, at least by followers of the aforementioned Indian religions. It seems that polygamy was allowed during ancient times. In practice, this seems to have only been practiced by rulers, with common people maintaining a monogamous marriage. It is common in many cultures for a ruling class to practice both polyandry and polygamy as a way of preserving dynastic succession. Nudity in art, was considered acceptable in southern India, as shown by the paintings at Ajanta and the sculptures of the time. It is likely that as in most countries with tropical climates, Indians from some regions did not need to wear clothes, and other than for fashion, there was no practical need to cover the upper half of the body. This is supported by historical evidence, which shows that men in many parts of ancient India mostly dressed only the lower half of their bodies with clothes and upper part of body was covered by gold and precious stones, jewellery. While women used to wear traditional sarees made of silk and expensive clothes as a symbol of their wealth. As Indian civilization further developed over the 1500 years after the births of Mahavira, and the writing of the Upanishads around500 BCE, It was somewhere between the 1st and 6th centuries that the Kama Sutra, originally known as Vatsyayana Kamasutram ( 'Vatsyayana 's Aphorisms on Love '), was written. This philosophical work on kamasutra, or 'science of love ', was intended as both an exploration of human desire, including infidelity, and a technical guide to pleasing a sexual partner within a marriage. This is not the only example of such a work in ancient India, but is the most widely known in modern times. It is probably during this period that the text spread to ancient China, along with Buddhist scriptures, where Chinese versions were written. It is also during 10th century to 12th century that some of India 's most famous ancient works of art were produced, often freely depicting romantic themes and situations. Examples of this include the depiction of Apsarases, roughly equivalent to nymphs or sirens in European and Arabic mythology, on some ancient temples, .The best and most famous example of this can be seen at the Khajuraho complex in central India built around 9th to 12th century.
MODERN INDIA
Conservative views of sexuality are now the norm in the modern republic of India, and South Asia in general. It is often argued that this is partly related to the effect of colonial influence, as well as to the puritanical elements of Islam in countries like Pakistan (e.g. the Islamic revivalist movements, which has influenced many Muslims in Pakistan and Bangladesh). However, such views were also prevalent in the pre-colonial era, especially since the advent of Islam in India which brought purdah as ideal for Muslim women. Before the gradual spread of Islam largely through the influence of Sufis, there seems to be evidence of liberal attitudes towards sexuality and nudity in art. However, scholars debate the degree to which Islam, as a mass and varied phenomenon was responsible for this shift. While during the 1960s and 1970s in the west, many people discovered the ancient culture of sexual liberalism in India as a source for western free love movements, and neo-Tantric philosophy, India itself is currently the more prudish culture, embodying Victorian sensibilities that were abandoned decades ago in their country of origin. However, with increased exposure to world culture due to globalization, and the proliferation of progressive ideas due to greater education and wealth, India is beginning to go through a western-style sexual revolution of its own, especially in cosmopolitan cities. In Punjab due to the acute shortage of females due to sex selection and to keep farm holdings from shrinking through division under male heirs polygamy is reviving as male heirs share a wife so that they do have to split farm holdings further due to questions of succession and can keep holdings within the family.

PRE-MARITAL SEX
Pre-marital sex (also called non-marital sex, youthful sex, adolescent sex, and young-adult sex) is sexual activity, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, mutual masturbation, and anal sex, practiced by persons who are unmarried. Although it has always been practiced, in the West, it has increased in prevalence since the mid-1950s. Historically considered taboo by many cultures and considered a sin by numerous religions, it has become more commonly accepted in the last few decades.
DEFINITION
Until the 1950s, the term "premarital sex" referred to sexual relations between two people prior to marrying each other. During that period, Western societies expected that men and women marry by the age of 21 or 22; as such, there were no considerations that one who had sex would not marry. The term was used instead of fornication, due to the negative connotations of the latter.
The meaning has since shifted, referring to all sexual relations a person has prior to marriage; this removes emphasis on whom the relations are with. The definition has a degree of ambiguity. It is not clear whether sex between individuals legally forbidden from marrying, or the sexual relations of one uninterested in marrying could be considered premarital.
Alternative terms for premarital sex have been suggested, including non-marital sex (which overlaps with adultery), youthful sex, adolescent sex, and young-adult sex. These terms also suffer from a degree of ambiguity, as the definition of having sex differs from person to person.
PREVALENCE
Starting in the 1920s, and especially after World War II, premarital sex became more common; this was especially prevalent among women. By the end of the 20th century, between 75 and 80 percent of Americans had vaginal intercourse before the age of 19. This has been attributed to numerous causes, including the increasing median age at marriage and the widespread availability of efficient contraceptives.
According to a 2001 UNICEF survey, in 10 out of 12 developed nations with available data, more than two thirds of young people have had sexual intercourse while still in their teens. In Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, the proportion is over 80%. In Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, approximately 25% of 15 year olds and 50% of 17 year olds have had sex. In a 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation study of US teenagers, 29% of teens reported feeling pressure to have sex, 33% of sexually active teens reported "being in a relationship where they felt things were moving too fast sexually", and 24% had "done something sexual they didn’t really want to do". Several polls have indicated peer pressure as a factor in encouraging both girls and boys to have sex.

INDIA- past and present
Attitudes towards premarital relationships are drastically changing in the Indian society. In a survey conducted by Current Opinion And Future Trends (COFT) as reported in the times of India (July 18th, 1994), an interesting finding, especially in the context of the appreciation among some sections about growing sexual permissiveness as a result of the influence of films and foreign satellite television programmes, is that 43% of young unmarried women and 61% of men approve of some degree of physical intimacy before, marriage. But when it comes to marriage, only 7% of men were prepared to accept a partner who has some physical relationships as compared to 19% of women who were prepared to accept.34% of women and 22% of men found nothing wrong in “holding hands”. While 30% of felt that there was no harm in “full intimacy”, only 10% of men and 5% of women felt kissing and caressing were alright. 48% of women and 315of men were totally unopposed to pre-marital intimacy. 9% of men and 7% of women had no definite view.
Among those under some “western” influence, 53% women and 77% men approved of some degree of physical intimacy. While only 7% favored full intimacy among women, as many as 52% of men approved of it.
No doubt, marriage is the perfect and highest form of sexual relationship, partly because marriage is the most complete association which includes all the component parts of sexual contact, partly because marriage is the goal of a person’s sexual development. However, man and woman have not limited their sexual relations only within marriage.

PREMARITAL SEX AND HINDUISM
India derives its original name (Bharat) from the legendary Bharatha who was born out of a premarital relationship between Shakuntala, a beautiful maiden, daughter of sage Kanva, and Dushyanta, a king.
In the epic Mahabharata, Kunti, the mother of Pandavas, begets a son (Karna) from the sun before her marriage to Pandu. She suffers for the rest of her life for this transgression. Fearing condemnation from her family, she deserts the new born baby who eventually grows up to become a great hero and an arch enemy of the Pandavas and participates in the Mahabharata (the great Indian) war against his own brothers.
The stories of Shakuntala and Kunti amply illustrate the fact that Hindu society has been sensitive to the problems of pre marital relationships but never approved of them. in ancient times premarital sex was not an issue because the girls were mostly married before they reached puberty and sent to their husbands’ homes where they would grow up under the careful attention of the elders of the families. Besides girls were not allowed to study or go outside freely on their own.
TRADITION
We can learn a great deal from the behaviors of what has been done in the past and retain those that have worked well. It is also crucial to weed out the ones that are not relevant anymore and create new cultures and traditions as the world is changing. Whether people follow the old traditions or create new ones- so long as they do them for the right reasons, they stand benefit from them.
FAMILY
Studies have shown that when sex is openly discussed the incidence of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, emotionally and physically abusive sex and even the premarital sex goes down. In order to be able to educate and provide guidance to their children, parents should first clarify their own mind-set and beliefs associated with sex

CHANGES
-Lifestyle: in the olden times. It was not easy for a man and a woman to have time and space available to engage in sex in India. Nowadays, young people from both genders study and spend more time together.
-Marriage: the age which men and women get married has been slowly on the rise. Early 30’s is a socio-economic situation. What’s more some people may not want to marry at all.
-Contraceptive: in the past, young people were scared of being caught of unwanted pregnancy. This fear partly disappeared with the use of contraceptive methods.
-Media-: television. Movies, music, magazines, are full of sexual exposure. The internet has also opened the door to pornographic material to virtually everyone.
-Peer pressure: young people need to be accepted by their peers and sometimes have sex to do “like their friends”.
COHABITATION
Cohabitation is an arrangement where two people who are not married, live together in an intimate relationship, particularly an emotionally and/or sexually intimate one, on a long-term or permanent basis.
More broadly, the term cohabitation can mean any number of people living together.
Cohabitation in Asia * In Bangladesh cohabitation after divorce is frequently punished by the salishi system of informal courts, especially in rural areas. * Cohabitation in India had been taboo since British rule. However, this is no longer true in large cities, but is not often found in rural areas which are more conservative. Live-in relationships are legal in India. Recent Indian court rulings have ascribed some rights to long term cohabiting partners. Female live-in partners have economic rights under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005. * In Indonesia, an Islamic penal code proposed in 2005 would have made cohabitation punishable by up to two years in prison. * In Japan, according to M. Iwasawa at the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, less than 3% of females between 25-29 are currently cohabiting, but more than 1 in 5 have had some experience of an unmarried partnership, including cohabitation. A more recent Iwasawa study has shown that there has been a recent emergence of non-marital cohabitation. Couples born in the 1950s cohort showed an incidence of cohabitation of 11.8%, where the 1960s and 1970s cohorts showed cohabitation rates of 30%, and 53.9% respectively. The split between urban and rural residence for people who had cohabited is indicates 68.8% were urban and 31.2% were rural. * In the Philippines, around 2.4 million Filipinos were cohabiting as of 2004. The 2000 census placed the percentage of cohabiting couples at 19%. The majority of individuals are between the ages of 20-24. Poverty was often the main factor in decision to cohabit.

Live-in relationship, pre-marital sex not an offence: SC
NEW DELHI: In an observation that will cheer votaries of pre-marital sex and live-in-partners, the Supreme Court on Tuesday opined that a man and woman living together without marriage cannot be construed as an offence.
"When two adult people want to live together what is the offence. Does it amount to an offence? Living together is not an offence. It cannot be an offence," a three judge bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Deepak Verma and B S Chauhan observed.

POLYGAMY
Marriage is the approved social pattern whereby two or more persons establish a family or as a secondary institution devised by society to sanction the union and mating of male and female. A) Establishing a house hold b) entering into sex relation, c) providing care for offspring. In almost all societies one or the other form of marriage exists. The main forms are: monogamy, polygyny, polyandry.
Monogamy: in monogamy one man marries one woman at a time. This is the leading form of marriage it produces the highest type of affection and sincere devotion. Monogamy, as applied to human marriage, is explored by human sciences or humanities which assume as a principle that capacities or attributes associated with personhood substantially distinguish human beings from the rest of the animal world.
DEFINITION
Polygamy: The word polygamy comes from a Greek term which is going to mean “often married” .This way the polygamy means a marriage which is going to with more than two partners. Polygamy is a social practice that is not well tolerated in most countries and it is being kept against the law. The term is going to refer most of the time to a type of marriage where there would be more than one spouse, but most of the time this means more than one wife.
For much time, there were a lot of cultures, societies and civilizations around the world that accepted the polygamy as a normal thing to do, and there were absolutely no problem for a man to have more than one wife and sometimes even women could have more than one husband.
FORMS OF POLYGAMY
Polygamy exists in three specific forms: polygyny - wherein a man has multiple simultaneous wives; polyandry - wherein a woman has multiple simultaneous husbands; or group marriage - wherein the family unit consists of multiple husbands and multiple wives.
Historically, all three practices have been found, but polygyny is by far the most common. Confusion arises when the broad term "polygamy" is used when a specific form of polygamy is being referred to. Additionally, different countries may or may not include all forms in their Polygamy laws.
Patterns of occurrence worldwide
According to the Ethnographic Atlas Codebook, of 1,231 societies noted, 186 were monogamous. 453 had occasional polygyny, 588 had more frequent polygyny, and 4 had polyandry. At the same time, even within societies which allow polygyny, the actual practice of polygyny occurs relatively rarely. There are exceptions: in Senegal, for example, nearly 47 percent of marriages are multiple. To take on more than one wife often requires considerable resources: this may put polygamy beyond the means of the vast majority of people within those societies. Such appears the case in many traditional Islamic societies, and in Imperial China. Within polygynous societies, multiple wives often become a status symbol denoting wealth, power, and fame.

POLYGAMY AND HINDUISM
Polygamy was practiced in many sections of Hindu society in ancient times. There was one example of polyandry in the ancient Hindu epic, Mahabharata; Draupadi marries the five Pandava brothers. Regarding polygyny, in Ramayana, father of Ram, King Dasharath has three wives, but Ram has pledged himself just one wife.
The Hindu god, Lord Krishna, the 9th incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu had 16,108 wives at his kingdom in Dwarka. In the post-Vedic periods, polygamy declined in Hinduism, and is now considered immoral, although it is thought that some sections of Hindu society still practice polygyny, in the areas of Nepal.
Marriage laws in India are dependent upon the religion of the subject in question. Although the Vedas and the Hindu religion itself do not outlaw polygamy, the terms under the Hindu Marriage Act has deemed polygamy to be illegal for Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs. Only Muslim men in India are allowed to have multiple wives, since they are governed under Sharia law.
POLYGAMY IN ISLAM
Polygamy in Islam, polygyny is allowed, with the specific limitation that a man can have up to four wives at any one time. However, Muhammad had eleven wives. Muslim belief on Muhammad is that Allah had allowed Muhammad to marry more than four women. The Qur 'an clearly states that men who choose this route must deal with their wives justly. If the husband fears that he cannot deal with his wives justly, then he should only marry one. The Qur 'an does not give preference in marrying more than one wife but allows it to make it easier on a woman that has no support. Islamic scholars are of opinion that the husband must tell the first wife if he wants to marry another. A husband does not have to have permission from his first wife. Women, on the other hand, are only allowed to marry one husband, although they are allowed to remarry after a divorce. Although many Muslim countries still retain traditional Islamic law which permits polygamy, secular elements within some Muslim societies challenge its acceptability. Polygamy is prohibited by law in some Muslim-majority countries that have not adopted Islamic law for marital regulations, such as Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tunisia and Turkey.
EXTRA MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS OR ADULTERY: Adultery (also called philandery or cheating, anglicized from Latin adulterium) is sexual infidelity to one 's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one 's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.
The application of the term to the act appears to arise from the idea that "criminal intercourse with a married woman ... tended to adulterate the issue [children] of an innocent husband ... and to expose him to support and provide for another man 's [children]" Thus, the "purity" of the children of a marriage is corrupted, and the inheritance is altered. The law often uses the word "adulterate[d]" to describe contamination of food and the like.
Adultery is illegal in some jurisdictions. The interaction between laws on adultery with those on rape has and does pose particular problems in societies that are especially sensitive to sexual relations by a married woman and men. The difference between the offenses is that adultery is voluntary, while rape is not.
Economic inequality may be the largest obstacle to monogamous marriages and a major player in extra marital sexual involvement. According to evolutionary psychologists, women seek the protection, resources and genes of successful men, while men seek success to attract women. Social and occupational contacts with members of the opposite sex occur increasingly
CONTROL THROUGH CHOICE OF LAW RULES
As far as many Asian and African societies are concerned polygamy has been a long-standing practice which has often received recognition by the official legal sphere. Different states have adopted various approaches to its legal control, however, though few can be said to have achieved its outright abolition despite the advent of legal modernity. Among South Asian states, from which a large proportion of migrants in Britain originate, various approaches to legal regulation have been attempted. Modern Hindu law in India, which covers Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains too, goes furthest in this respect and potentially criminalizes it and also has the potential effect of a second marriage being declared void under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955. This has not prevented Indian courts from recognizing the legal consequences of polygamy, however, as the full enforcement of the statute law is seen as often leading to injustice for the women and children concerned. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, Hindus continue to be regulated by Hindu personal law, which allows polygamy. Interestingly, the Indian Hindu legal provisions were also applied in similar form in Kenya and Uganda though not in Tanzania just prior to independence, with as yet unascertained consequences. On the other hand, the Muslim shari’a is recognized in India, permitting Muslim men to marry up to four wives, although the absence of statutory regulation has not meant absence of control by the courts. In Pakistan and Bangladesh observance of certain statutory conditions prior to contracting a second marriage are stipulated by the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance of 1961. Non-compliance with these conditions does not however, result in voiding of the marriage, although judges have still had to grapple with the difficult position of first or second wives who reluctantly find themselves in polygamous situations. The trend of case law in South Asian countries indicates a gradually stricter approach being applied over time, with particularly strong judicial disquiet being expressed in Bangladesh (see in detail Menski 2001: 139-230 on India, Hinchcliffe 1970 and Pearl and Menski 1998: 237-273 on Muslim law in South Asia and elsewhere, Derrett 1963: 535-556 on Hindu law in East Africa).5 In all these jurisdictions polygamy continues to be observed as a social practice among Hindus and Muslims and others although its incidence has noticeably reduced over time. It is notable, however, that no state law, and arguably no customary, personal or religious law recognizes an untrammeled power of men to take as many wives as possible and that there are some norms regulating the practice at the different levels. This is especially when the first wife objects to a second marriage, or is effectively deserted without being accorded the rights of a wife or the dues owed to her consequent to divorce, or when a second wife is duped into believing that no prior marital relationship exists. On the other hand, despite the views of many academic commentators that an outright ban is the right or obvious course for South Asian countries, this may not be in fact the right approach. Although this has occurred in official terms under modern Hindu law in India, and in Turkey and Tunisia, this will not absolve official for a from finding appropriate solutions to the plight of women and children and results rather in the practice ‘going underground’ The uncritical acceptance of the official view that polygamy has been legislatively abolished in the countries of origin may be part of the explanation as to why there are so few reported cases in Britain on such issues concerning Hindus or Sikhs or migrants from Turkey.

HOMOSEXUALITY
DEFINITION
Homosexuality is the primary psychological and physical erotic attraction to members of one 's sex. we use the word "primary" because circumstances do not always allow one to act on all one 's desires. Homosexuals desire and prefer sexual partners of their own sex in most instances. Further, "attraction" in this definition need not be a feeling that one acts on; one can be certain about it but not necessarily behave accordingly. This definition deals with feelings of sexual attraction, the context in which such feelings arise, and how people define themselves. In other words, many factors are involved in this definition.
HISTORY, RELIGION, POLITICS AND HOMOSEXUALITY
When examined retrospectively, both the historical and contemporary study of homosexuality has been viewed from two very different perspectives, and the debate between them is nowhere near being resolved today. The first approach, called essentialism asserts that labels such as "bisexual," homosexual," and "heterosexual" have been used in similar ways by different cultures in different historical eras. In contrast, the social constructionist approach claims that such labels must be viewed and interpreted as creations of different societies and that their meanings may have been diverse throughout recorded human history. In other words, social constructionists maintain that these terms must be interpreted carefully as they might connote different things in different societies at different times. Basic to this debate is the question whether there have always been homosexual individuals, whether their thoughts, feelings and behaviors have been similar throughout history and in different cultures, and whether there are any basic or immutable features of homosexuality that have been invariant historically and culturally. Again, there is no simple resolution to this debate and it would be well if you kept this issue in the back of your mind as you read through the remainder of this chapter.
It is difficult to step outside the perspective of one 's historical era, especially when examining historical views on homosexuality. The word "homosexuality" did not even enter the vocabulary of Westerners until 1869, of course, same-sex attraction existed, but society generally did not classify individuals with these preferences. This situation stands in contrast to the high visibility of gay issues in today 's world.
The ancient Greeks thought and felt very differently about homosexuality than we do today. They were at home with the idea that men would be sexually attracted to young men while being married to a woman and having children with her. Homosexual pleasure outside the marital bond was a norm. Marriage was the appropriate arena for having children, but homosexual eroticism outside of marriage was not only condoned socially but more or less expected. For the Greeks, an idealized homoerotic inclination occurred most commonly in relationships between older men and men in their late adolescent years of early adulthood (Mondimore, 1996). Once a young man passed this stage of life, he usually discontinued his homosexual relationship with older men, married, and had children. Today the term pederasty refers to such a relationship between older and younger men or, more technically, boys. In ancient Greece some maintained an exclusively homosexual preference throughout their lives. Again, however, the Greeks had no special words to describe homosexual or heterosexual gender orientations, because they assumed that all men might have sexual feelings for members of their own sex. Interestingly, the Greeks had little to say about female homoerotic attractions and we have very little historical evidence of the place of lesbian attractions in ancient times.
Mondimore 's (1996) analysis of the history of homosexual expression encourages us to think carefully about our own categories of "heterosexual" and "homosexual". Our culture has created seemingly mutually exclusive groupings, but other cultures have had different visions of gender orientation. This writer believes that each different society constructs its own sexual mores and categories, and that comparisons between cultures may not fully account for unique social customs and pressures related to gender and sexual expression.
During the Middle Ages same-sex unions in many instances were encouraged and condoned by the Church and same-sex bonds were often viewed as a ' 'higher" form of affection and devotion than those between men and women.
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE I: ATTITUDES OF VARIOUS GROUPS IN SOCIETY TOWARD GAYS AND LESBIANS
Homophobia is a form of prejudice with clear public manifestations. Remember, of all the personal characteristics for which a person might be criticized, in many instances homosexuality is the most invisible (Mondimore, 1966). But consider all the bad things than can happen to homosexuals if or when they come out: they could lose their job or be passed over for promotion (the "lavender ceiling" as Mondimore, 1996 refers to it), be rejected by their family of origin or current nuclear family, be assaulted, be expelled from the church in which they pray, or be left out of peer group activities in which they formerly participated. Some homosexuals, therefore, work vigilantly to keep their homosexuality a secret and remain in a state of constant anxiety about being discovered. This has been called "stigma management." For most homosexuals, however, stigma management eventually takes more physical and psychic energy than the individual can manage. Often, coming out involves a decision to limit one 's life as completely as possible to homosexual acquaintances, businesses, friends, socializing, and "safe" places to live. They are big differences, however, in how homosexuals confront and deal with societal homophobia and gay bashing.
Just as social scientists are not fully certain about how and why people come to hate any religious or racial group, the sources of homophobia are not clearly understood. Reinisch (1990) notes that people with homophobic views usually think that they don 't personally know any homosexuals, have friends who are also homophobic, have less formal education, go to church more than the "average" Christian American, hold inflexible opinions about female and male sex roles, and are highly dogmatic and authoritarian. In a sense, their invert hatred of homosexuals is their way of telling everyone they are "straight" and don 't want to be confused with everyone who isn 't. Homophobic individuals seen unable to understand that all male homosexuals are not effeminate, all female homosexuals do not look and act masculine, and that gay men and lesbians do not routinely solicit or molest youngsters, have psychological disorder or behave promiscuously. Homophobic individuals often do not understand that a person cannot become homosexual by interacting with homosexuals. Homophobia is difficult to confront and extinguish, even in well-educated segments of our society. In many ways, homophobia is society forces may homosexuals to live their lives in a clandestine way.
HOSTILITY TOWARD HOMOSEXUALS IN VARIOUS SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY
We would like to think that people in the social, behavioral, and helping professions are more accepting and non-judgmental about gender orientation issues, but this is not always the case. Many professionals who work closely with the public harbor homophobic feelings and exercise heterosexist biases when dealing with students, clients or patients.
Like social workers, psychotherapists are expected to have an objective, non-judgmental attitude when working with homosexual clients or training other therapists. As Russell and Greenhouse (1997) noted, this is not always so. Homophobia and heterosexist can have powerful effects on a psychotherapist 's training, the therapist 's relationship with her or his clients, and perhaps the relationship between the therapist 's own sexuality and rapport with clients. Things about ourselves we consider private seldom remain private while one is undergoing psychotherapy, and clients are entitled to expect that their therapists have worked through any misgivings they may have about homosexuals or their own sexuality. This issue is important because gay men and lesbians with psychological problems often feel they have no place to go. Before beginning any therapy, the client is entitled to a candid informational interview with the therapists, and personal problems related to one 's homosexuality should be expressed at this time to determine whether the therapist can deal with them professionally and effectively.
Homophobia is also present in educational settings. In some instances, homosexual adolescents risk public humiliation, harassment, and even serious physical abuse just by going to school. In many instances, courts find for students who are victims of homosexual harassment. Homophobia and heterosexist are present too in higher education. Indeed, gay rights issues are more visible and controversial than ever before on college campuses. Gay lesbian and bisexual organizations exist now at most colleges, although sometimes they are not formally recognized - sometimes as an indirect result of administrative homophobia. For any group to be granted office space on campus or a share of student activity monies, a list of the members of the organization usually must be submitted to the administration, which for gay, lesbian and bisexual organizations could violate a student’s right to privacy. Nonetheless, many young adults who are coming out don 't mind being recognized as members of such a group. One would expect a growing recognition and acceptance of gay, lesbian and bisexual organizations on college campuses throughout the country.
As often occurs, someone who interacts with people about whom they had a stereotype finds that their beliefs are incomplete or simply wrong.
Some religious traditions are overtly hostile and in-accepting of homosexuality. They contemporary manifestations of this intolerance are not easily pinpointed, however. Knowing about this intolerance is different from seeing its consequences. Hunsberger (1996) found clear manifestations of religious fundamentalism, right-wing authoritarianism and hostility in his analysis of Muslim, Hindu and Jewish religions, as well as in individuals with Christian affiliations. Fundamentalism is similar with respect to homosexuality in many of the world 's major religions. When a religious group feels antipathy toward homosexuality and gay and lesbian lifestyles, there can be even be economic overtones. For example, in 1997 delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention voted by an enormous majority to boycott the Walt Disney Company because they felt the company adopted policies supporting gay and lesbian rights. They leadership of this group discouraged its members from patronizing Disney theme parks, stores, and the ABC television network, owned by the Disney Company (Christian Century, July 2-9, 1997) One Georgia pastor was quoted as saying, "If we approve this resolution, you have the moral obligation to go home, cancel your ESPN coverage, get rid of the A&E Channel, stop watching Lifetime television and never turn your TV to ABC including Good Morning America....."
HOMOSEXUALITY IN CINEMA AND TELEVISION
The last two decades have seen a remarkable increase in the depiction of gays and lesbians in the entertainment and communication industries. Movies and television are now more comfortable with gay themes, characters, and actors and actresses. These representations generally portray homosexuals as persons of worth and ability, and movies and television have done an excellent job of showing the agony and indecision accompanying the coming out process for individuals and their families. Dramatizations reveal the conflict of "passing for straight" when gays and lesbians feel that the revelation of their homosexuality would compromise their careers and social support system. The isolation and anger of being a stigmatized minority have been well portrayed.
The film Philadelphia raised public consciousness about many stereotypes and misperceptions about homosexuals and the gay community. Philadelphia was presented to the public as the first "major studio production to deal with the subject of AIDS" (Brookey, 1996) although AIDS were merely the film 's integrating theme and the movie showed much about homosexuality in general. Earlier, "queer theory" was described as a conceptualization of how influence operates in society along lines of gender and sexual orientation. Philadelphia presented this view with sobering and sensitive candor. The film is about a capable young attorney in a large Philadelphia law practice; he is admired and his work respected. When he discloses that he has AIDS, he is terminated from the firm and sues to regain his position and livelihood. This movie touches on heterosexism in professional America, the cohesiveness of the gay community, the impact of AIDS on gay and heterosexual friendships, portrays a caring homosexual community that is anything but deviant. An important aspect of this film is also seen in other films and television programs: the family atmosphere of the gay community When homosexuals are portrayed as part of some extended, mutually supportive family, they are shown in a highly positive light (Brookey, 1996). This representation, however, may be another example of the claims of queer theory: power lies in heterosexual values and customs. Society might benefit by thinking more broadly about what a "family", really is.
Even when gays and lesbians are the primary focus of a television series such as Ellen, the same family values issue emerges. This is true of Ellen 's relationships with gay and straight friends and the nurturing relationship she shares with her parents. This sitcom, like Philadelphia, shows homosexuals as non-deviant, productive members of society and as competent, serious people who sexuality is only one aspect of their personhood. The modest but important popularity of Ellen mirrors the public 's growing acceptance of gays and lesbians. An interesting aspect of this television series was that the actress, who played Ellen, Ellen DeGeneres, came out as the show concluded the season. This really gave viewers something to think about: the actress and her character disclosing their homosexuality at about the same time. Before this disclosure, the audience could explain their interest in the show because of its clever scripts and poignant, off-hand humor. Then the show changed to something entirely different.
HOMOSEXUALITY ON THE INTERNET
An enormous number of websites are devoted to homosexual issues and concerns, as well as heterosexual issues. As with most topics, such websites vary between the extremes of excellent sites and worthless misinformation. There are sites for chat rooms, gifts, matchmaking, message boards, book and movie reviews, entertainment and gay and lesbian pornography. Groups such as the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals maintain websites. Support sites help gays in domestic partnerships. Recently, may businesses have focused on homosexuals as a powerful economic segment of the population with significant discretionary income, and gay literature increasingly includes advertisements designed specifically to appeal to gays and lesbians. Some advertisements depict some interesting examples of this trend in marketing that are tastefully but plainly targeted to a gay and lesbian clientele. Of all the websites developed for the gay and lesbian community, some of the most popular deal with health issues and AIDS. Accurate and up-to-date medical data and drug developments frequently appear on the web before reaching weekly news magazines. The many websites on gay and lesbian concerns reveal how the "information age" has helped a once-closed segment of America society feel connected to an enormous support system and thus less isolated and stigmatized than in the past.

PORNOGRAPHY
Pornography is one form or another has been present from the beginning of human civilization and is revealed in a wide variety of art forms. This cross-cultural reality suggests there may be some deep human interest in visual depictions of human bodies participating in acts that are usually highly pleasurable. What many people call pornographic has appeared independently in virtually all of the world 's cultures at one time or another.
The word "pornography" derives from an old Greek word that means to write about harlots or prostitutes. The term is most commonly associated with depictions of sexual activity in which women are obviously exploited, degraded or victimized. Rather than being full and willing participants in these sexual activities, they are shown in a submissive, subservient light. They are pleasing their partners with little focus on their own pleasures. Traditions of male supremacy are explicit in pornography, as is a woman 's role as sex object. In contrast, "erotica" refers to representations of sexual activity in which women and men are coequally enjoying explicitly their sexual sharing. "Sensuality" is more obvious in erotica than in pornography. Pornography and erotica can involve pictures, films or prose accounts of sexual activity as well as listening to sexually stimulating talk, like the type found on telephone sex services. Both prose and pictorial depictions of sexual activity have existed for thousands of years. It is interesting that virtually every society, both historical and contemporary, has had produces and consumers of pornography. People everywhere seem to have some propensity to view/read/listen to various forms of sexually arousing information as well as create them. A case could also be made for the fact that, historically, less "civilized" societies felt fewer restrains or inhibitions in creating images portraying powerfully pleasurable feelings and that may be what today is called pornography is a societal concept that has evolved over time. All cultures have not willfully created depictions of nudity and sexual activity with the intent of victimizing or humiliating women, as is true of much pornography today. Many cultures often have decidedly liberal attitudes about pornography, erotica and obscenity.
OBSCENITY
Throughout history, people have represented sexuality in literature and art. However, pornography, in the early twenty-first century use of the term, did not emerge as a mass industry until the late 1950s. While still proscribed by law in a variety of ways and considered unacceptable in many circles, pornography is used more openly, while at the same time pop culture has adopted many of the conventions of pornography In the 1973 Miller v. California decision, the Supreme Court established a three-part test for identifying obscenity, defining it as (1) material that appeals to the prurient interest, (2) material that portrays sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and (3) material that does not have serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. A separate category is child pornography, which comprises material that is either made using children or in the digital age, made through the use of technology that makes it appear that the sexual activity portrayed involves children
Obscenity laws tend to be enforced in places where there is political support from citizens. This prosecutorial discretion means that material for sale openly in one jurisdiction may not be available in another. The term used most often in the public debate over sexually explicit material is pornography. This term is not rooted in law and no commonly accepted definition. It is sometimes used as a generic term for commercially produced, sexually explicit books, magazines, movies and Internet sites, with a distinction commonly made between soft-core material (nudity with limited sexual activity that does not include penetration) and hard-core material (graphic inmates of actual, not simulated, sexual activity including penetration). In other contexts the term is juxtaposed to erotica, defined as material that depicts sexual behavior with mutuality and respect. Pornography, in contrast, is material depicting sex involving domination or degradation.
THE EFFECTS OF PORNOGRAPHY ON THE OBSERVER:
Just as people have somewhat different sexual tastes, preferences, and thoughts about sexual behavior so too are we likely to have different tastes, preferences, and thoughts about observing sexual behavior. For example, some people enjoy watching sexual behaviors amongst consenting adults, especially behaviors of reciprocal enjoyment. There may be an important element of vicarious experience in viewing pornography. In the 1970, the findings of the Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography caused quite a stir because at that time the data indicated that there were no harmful effects associated with viewing pornographic materials (Donnerstein & Malamuth, 1997). The current state of knowledge about the different effects of aggressive and nonaggressive pornography is far from clear, however. Donnerstein and Malamuth (1997) summarized this literature and noted the following findings. Among men who are normally somewhat aggressive individuals, exposure to this material somehow lowered their behavioral threshold to act in a way to which they may have already been predisposed. However other data reveal just the opposite: exposing these men to nonaggressive pornography may in fact diminish later aggressive behaviors. These writers suggest that as pornography becomes progressively more aggressive, it also becomes more arousing to some viewers. Nonaggressive pornography may in fact distract or even relax people, while aggressive pornography may make some individuals more aroused and likely to act out their anger and hostilities. From a behavioral perspective, when aggressive feelings are consistently paired with sexual feelings, sexual arousal may ultimately come to precipitate aggression.
Another issue is how the recipients of sexual aggression and violence react in the pornography. If the viewer is led to believe that women being treated aggressively and roughly during sex actually enjoy the violence as an aspect of their sexual arousal, then he may begin to think that such an assault is in fact justified and acceptable. An individual with highly aggressive tendencies may in fact be somewhat provoked by images portraying aggressive sex. The selective impact of pornography on males of various ages has long been an active area of research. In an excellent review of this topic, Stock (1997) emphasizes that a young boy 's first exposure to sexuality and sexual imagery is often through pornography and this medium therefore has a powerful potential to shape his developing sexuality as well as his perceptions of females. Most pornography illustrates what is called non-relational sex. Levant and Brooks (1997) define non-relational sex as, "the tendency to experience sex primarily as lust without any requirements for relational intimacy or emotional attachment. When strong pleasurable feelings associated with orgasm take place while a person is viewing depictions of non-relational sex, a powerful association is created, one that may be difficult or impossible to "unlearn". Stock also suggests that when males view pornography, they often use these experiences to create a personal belief system about male roles in sexual relationships. Exposure to pornography can contribute to some problems in the way males view themselves, their bodies, and their partner 's bodies
Social learning theory asserts that when we observe the behavior of others we often experience vicariously what we imagine they are experiencing and that through these observations we learn ways of acting without actually practicing those behaviors. Therefore social and behavioral scientists have had some very serious concerns about the impact of watching sexually aggressive pornography, although the relationship between viewing these images and later sexually aggressive acts is by no means clear. Bauserman (1996) reviewed the research exploring the correlation between viewing aggressive pornography and later sexual offences. A correlation only describes the magnitude of the relationship between two things, of course, and does not reveal a cause-and-effect relationship. When he examined the research on this issue, Bauserman found no apparent relationship between exposure to pornography during childhood or adolescence and committing sexual offenses later in life. Importantly, this researcher also reports that there is no apparent relationship between the regular use of pornography and acts of rape. Other research has focused on the relationship between exposure to pornography and men 's attitudes about feminism and rape. Data like these suggest that there may not be a clear relationship between men 's viewing or pornographic videos and their thoughts and feelings about women. To say that rapists regularly view pornographic materials (and not all do) is to say that these experiences provoke sexual assaults in many or most men. While viewing pornography may be physically arousing, it is premature to suggest that this arousal is readily channeled into sexually offensive attitudes and behaviors.
Still other writers, however, notably Russell (1998b) do not accept the validity of findings like these but have constructed a powerful case linking men 's viewing of pornography and their predisposition to rape women. In her book, Dangerous Relationships, Diana E. H. Russel presents a theoretical analysis that suggests that pornography may predispose some men to want to rape women and that viewing pornography may diminish a man 's internal inhibitions against restraining their desire to rape. Further, she suggests that pornography, particularly degrading and violent pornography, may also lessen social inhibitions against their desire to rape.
We noted at the beginning of this discussion of pornography that this is a very emotional issue that has generated a great deal of research, and some contradictory conclusions have been reached. Since no one has yet settled this controversy once and for all, it is important to see both sides of the issue.

WOMEN’S RESPONSES TO PORNOGRAPHY
So far this discussion has focused primarily on how men respond to various kinds of pornography. A recent study has explored the impact of male-oriented and female-oriented pornography on women. Male-oriented pornography tends to focus on visual depictions of a variety of penetrative sexual behaviors in which the male is more or less in charge of the sexual interaction. This may or may not imply coercion or aggression. Additionally, male-oriented pornography is likely to focus on depictions of a woman 's anatomy and usually includes close-up film views of penetration and sometimes ejaculation, which usually takes place outside of the woman 's vagina. While female-oriented pornography may include many of the elements just described, it is typically focuses on co-equal sharing and the depiction of intimate behaviors in which there isn 't a "leader" or "director". There is much more kissing and hugging as well as natural verbalization. Presumably, female-oriented pornography is manufactured because it appeals to erotic preferences of women not addressed by male-oriented pornography. In 1997, Pearson and Pollact published a study in which women 's reports of sexual arousal were associated with their viewing male- or female-oriented pornography. The subjects in this research, between the ages of 18 and 26, filled out questionnaires and explored their sexual experiences, degree of sexual guilt, and demographic and personal characteristics. While they were watching these videos, the subjects rated their degree of sexual arousal. The results were clear: subjects who observed the female-oriented videos reported significantly higher levels of sexual arousal than subjects in the group who observed the male-oriented video. In analyzing their data, further, Pearson and Pollack found that subjects with previous experience with pornographic films, novels and magazines reported higher levels of sexual arousal after viewing female-oriented pornography. However, sexual arousal was not related to the subject 's age or previous sexual experiences.
PORNOGRAPHY ON THE INTERNET
Because of the incredible technological advances that have taken place since earlier Supreme Court rulings about definitions of pornography, potentially questionable images and materials are reaching the public through new sources. Magazines continue to cater to customers with highly diverse sexual tastes and preferences. Videos depict explicit images of sexual intercourse and other sexual activities. Many family video stores have an Adult section. Cable and closed-circuit television systems show pornography and erotica. CD-ROMs with plainly sexual content have become very popular. The movies continue to be a focus of controversy regarding standards of obscenity and decency. And of course, the Internet has an enormous number of websites that appeal to individuals interested in viewing sexually frank pictures. In fact, the Internet is the area of greatest growth in the production of pornography for the American consumer. Pornography was close to a billion dollar year industry in 1998 after having generated about 40% in annual growth over the few previous years. This is a large share of the total amount of revenue from the internet of $4.8billion in 1998. In the second quarter of 1998, 4% of all Internet traffic found its way to sexually related websites (Tedesco, 1998). Pornography is clearly big business.
One of the most controversial issues involving the availability of sexually explicit material on the Internet is the access minors may have to these materials. Although most agree there is a problem with children and teens viewing pornography on their home or school computers, policing Internet access involves a number of legal issues.
THE SPECIAL CASE OF SADOMASOCHISTIC PORNOGRAPHY
The somewhat unique nature of sadomasochistic pornography has received a good bit ot serious scholarly attention. (Shortes, 1998), Sadomasochistic pornography is clearly different from "traditional" pornography in which nudity and/or the depiction of heterosexual or homosexual sexual acts is the centerpiece. S/M pornography, instead, focuses on the complex roles of fantasy and power as aspects of sexual expression and very often does not reveal genitalia, genital or oral-genital contact. Shortes (1998) notes that it wasn 't until the mid-1980s that S/M pornography could be recognized ask clearly different from what she calls "mainstream pornography.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

LITERATURE REVIEW ON PORNOGRAPHY
Stock (1997) reported that exposure to pornography can contribute to some problems in the way males view themselves, their bodies, and their partner 's bodies. 60% of males in her study compared themselves unfavorably to actors they see in pornographic films and videos. Of these subjects, 22% felt that they were not tall enough, 48% thought that they were not sufficiently muscular, and 29% believed that their penises were too small. These males also made comparisons between their partners and the bodies of actresses portrayed in films and videos and 51% reported feelings of disappointment with their partners, 27% felt that their partners ' breasts were too small, 35% reported that their partner 's buttocks were unattractive in such a comparison, 27% felt that their partners ' legs were unappealing and 23% reported that their partners weighed too much. Data like these indicate that pornography may contribute to the way men view women as sex objects rather than as individuals in an intimate relationship.
Bauserman (1998) presented slides of mutually enjoyable sex, exploitative sex and aggressive sex to 115 male undergraduates. He attempted to find out whether different kinds of pornography affect men 's attitudes and thoughts about women. All depicted female-male sexual interactions. While this researcher was unable to demonstrate any attitudinal shift among these subjects based on the type of pornography they viewed, subjects did, however, report that they had the most positive thoughts and feelings after viewing scenes in which a couple enjoyed mutual, egalitarian sexual interactions. It is heartening to note that in this sample of young men, many reported an aversion to viewing scenes of exploitative and aggressive sexual behavior by men. Attitudes are relatively stable and enduring personality traits, and it is unlikely that these men 's attitudes would change noticeably as a result of exposure to stimulus materials such as pornography.
Davies (1997) collected data from 194 men who rented pornographic films from a video rental business in a large metropolitan area in the late 1980s. Subjects were asked their opinions about the Equal Rights Amendment, a statute against marital rape, and penalties for date and marital rape. No correlation was found between the number of X-rated videos a man rented and his attitudes about these feminist and rape issues.
Laan, Everaerd, van Bellen, and Hanewald (1994) studied the physiological responses of women presented with female- and male-oriented pornography. Photoplethysmographic responses were measured in a group of 47 subjects who observed short segments of female- and male-oriented erotic films. Interestingly, there were no differences in amplitude of the physiological responses while viewing these two types of films. However, as in the research cited above, subjective sexual arousal among these women was reported to been significantly greater while viewing the female-oriented films.
LITERATURE REVIEW ON HOMOSEXUALITY
Geasler, Heineman, and Edlund (1995) studied how a group of 260 college students altered their perceptions of homosexuals after attending a panel presentation by lesbian, gay and bisexual speakers. The subjects in this study between 18 and 48 years old filled out a questionnaire. Many respondents reported that they had changed their attitudes toward homosexuals, at least to some degree, and many reported that their misconceptions and stereotypes about homosexuals were dispelled by their personal exposure to the panel 's presentation. Many subjects noted areas of similarity between themselves and panel members and reported a better grasp of the problems and frustration of homosexuals in our society. Exposure to self homosexuals may enhance people 's understanding of gays and lesbians.
Berkman & Zinberg (1997) studied a sample of 187 social workers who harbored subtle prejudice against homosexuals. ). The mean age of their subjects was 46 years, meaning that many of these social workers were "baby boomers" educated in the supposedly liberal 1960s. These respondents completed a questionnaire designed to assess attitudes toward homosexuality and any heterosexist bias. The study revealed that 10% of the subjects had frank homophobic attitudes and most had clear signs of heterosexist biases. Because of the small sample size, these data may not represent society at large, however. Interestingly, the degree of homophobia or heterosexist in this sample was far less among social workers who had more contact with gay men and lesbians indicated that real life experiences may help to dispel myths and prejudices about homosexuals. Berkman and Zinberg also found that social workers with deep religious convictions were more likely to manifest these tendencies. Perhaps most interestingly, social workers educated on homosexual issues were neither more nor less likely to have homophobic beliefs and heterosexist biases.
LITERATURE REVIEW ON PREMARITAL SEX
A study was conducted in Gujarat college students with regard to their attitudes on premarital sex. They were asked about the extent to which they adhered to, or rejected traditional norms (In your views and behaviors, how traditional “do you consider yourself to be?”) Findings, suggest that the large majority—about four in five—reported that they had “somewhat” traditional attitudes, or that they completely rejected traditional norms. Students were questioned extensively about their attitudes towards premarital intimate and sexual relationships. Findings suggest that attitudes were mixed. On the one hand, the majority of students found it acceptable for an unmarried boy to have a girlfriend (70% females and 81% males) and an unmarried girl to have a boyfriend (67% and 76%, respectively). On the other hand, students were far less likely to approve of pre-marital physical intimacy or sex. For example, three in five male students, and over half of female students agreed that it was acceptable for unmarried boys and girls to kiss, but many fewer believed that pre-marital sex was acceptable. Gender double standards were especially evident among male students: while 70% believed that girls should remain virgins until marriage, only 53% believed that boys should not have sex until marriage. At the same time, almost half of male students (47%) believed that pre-marital sex was acceptable if the couple practiced contraception. Female students’ responses reflected more traditional attitudes towards pre-marital sex among both young men and women and their attitudes toward pre-marital sex among boys and girls were similar; just 15% believed that pre-marital sex was acceptable if contraception were practiced.
LITERATURE REVIEW OF POLYGAMY
Nisa Wulan Sari (2010) conducted a study was to determine initial picture of adult female attitudes toward polygamy, the factors that led to the attitude of the subject, and the attitude of early adult female. Sample size was 255women.Data collection techniques in this research using interview and observation methods applied to the subject and significant other. Complete with interview guidelines, observation guidelines, and a recorder. The results of analysis conducted, it can be seen that: Overview of adult female attitudes early in polygamy, is as follows: That is basically the subject experiencing depressed conditions in which the subject was forced to accept the husband to remarry with another woman for fear of being divorced by her husband. The factors that led to the attitude of the subject, among others: Given that the subject received in polygamy because it did not want his children to experience the impact of divorce, making the subject stand with the life of polygamy because her children. The process of development of attitudes on the subject, is as follows: The first time the subject does not agree husband married again, but because her husband threatened to divorce the subject, the subject was forced to accept the husband to marry again because of the subject still requires the husband to menaf kahinya. Until now, the subject may willingly accept the husband married again, to the subject of polygamy is the best solution to save the marriage from divorce.
LITERATURE REVIEW ON A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN POLYGAMY AND MONOGAMY

Alean Al-Krenawi (December 2008) conducted a study which is among the first to consider within the same ethno racial community such essential factors as family functioning, life satisfaction, marital satisfaction and mental health functioning among women who are in polygamous marriages and women who are in monogamous marriages. A sample of 352 women participated in this study: 235 (67%) were in a monogamous marriage and 117 (33%) were in a polygamous marriage. Findings reveal differences between women in polygamous and monogamous marriages. Women in polygamous marriages showed significantly higher psychological distress, and higher levels of somatisation, phobia and other psychological problems. They also had significantly more problems in family functioning, marital relationships and life satisfaction.

Alean Al-Krenawi and Vered Slonim-Nevo (2006) conducted a study with A sample of 352 Bedouin Arab children— 174 from monogamous and 178 from polygynous families—participated in this study. The authors used standardized measures to assess the participants’ level of self-esteem, mental health, social functioning, father-child relationships, mother-child relationships, and family functioning. The findings revealed that children from polygynous families reported more mental health and social difficulties as well as poorer school achievement and poorer relationships with their fathers than did their counterparts from monogamous families. In addition, the children from polygynous families rated their families’ functioning and economic status as poorer than did those of monogamous families. Thus, the authors suggest that a polygynous family structure negatively affects the family’s socioeconomic status and interpersonal relationships and impairs the children’s psychological and social functioning. The authors discuss implications for practice and policy.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Aim
To study attitudes towards sexual behaviors across different age groups.
Objectives
* To study whether there is a significant difference in attitude towards sexual behavior across three age groups- adolescents, young adults and middle age.

Hypothesis * There will b no significant difference in the means of the 3 age groups for their attitudes towards Pre-marital sex. * There will be a significant difference in the means of the 3 age groups for their attitudes towards Pre-marital sex. * There will b no significant difference in the means of the 3 age groups for their attitudes towards Polygamy. * There will be a significant difference in the means of the 3 age groups for their attitudes towards Polygamy. * There will b no significant difference in the means of the 3 age groups for their attitudes towards Pornography. * There will be a significant difference in the means of the 3 age groups for their attitudes towards Pornography. * There will be no significant difference in the means of the 3 age groups for their attitudes towards Lesbianism. * There will be a significant difference in the means of the 3 age groups for their attitudes towards Lesbianism. * There will be no significant difference in the means of the 3 age groups for their attitudes towards Homosexuality. * There will be a significant difference in the means of the 3 age groups for their attitudes towards Homosexuality.

Operational definition: * Independent variable Different age groups – adolescents, young adults and middle age * Dependent variable
-Attitudes towards sexual behaviors in general
-Attitudes towards pre-marital sex
-Attitudes towards pornography
-Attitudes towards polygamy
-Attitudes towards homosexuality
Research design:
This is an exploratory study.
Sample:
The sample size was 75 of which 25 were adolescents, 25 were young adults and 25 were middle age. Convince sampling was followed to select the entire sample.
Procedure
The study was conducted on 75 individuals of whom 25 were adolescents, 25 were young adults and 25 were middle age. After giving clear instructions, questionnaires were administered. The responses were then scored and tabulated. This data was compared to arrive at a conclusion.
Tools
Sexual Attitude Scale by Amit Abraham was administered to a sample of 75 individuals.
Details of the test
This is a standardized test, consisting of 5 sub scales namely: * Pre-marital scale * Polygamy scale * Pornography scale * Lesbianism scale * Homosexuality scale

* Sub scale measuring attitudes toward pre-marital sex had 14 items. * Sub scale measuring attitudes toward polygamy had 14 items. * Sub scale measuring attitudes toward pornography had 16 items. * Sub scale measuring attitudes toward lesbianism had 14 items. * Sub scale measuring attitudes toward homosexuality had 12 items.

* In all there were 70 items.

Administration
The SAS are self-administering scales. The purpose of the scale/s is frankly explained to the respondents. It is assured that their responses will be kept confidential. They are requested to read the instructions carefully and clear doubts if any. The respondents are asked to shed all inhibitions and respond as freely as they can. No item should be omitted and there is nothing “right” or “wrong” about the statements. There is no time limit for the scale/s.
Scoring
Some items are positively worded and some are negatively worded. For positively worded statements are assigned a weight of “4”,”3” ,”2”, “1” and “0” for “strongly agree”, “agree”, “undecided”, disagree” and “strongly disagree” respectively. For negatively worded items reverse scoring is done. Positive and negative items are outlined in the manual.

Sample
The SAS was standardized on a total of 75 respondents, male and female, married and unmarried, who had attained the age of 18 years or above.
Reliability
The reliability was worked out by both split-half and test-retest method for each of the SAS ranging between .83 to .93. The test is highly reliable with scales.
Validity
The face validity of the scales is fairly high. The content validity was adequately assured as only items which showed cent per cent agreement amongst the judges regarding their relevance to the sexuality study were selected. Of these, only those items which had high t-value following items analysis, were finally selected for the scales.
Norms
The mean, median, mode, standard deviation first quartile and third quartile for each scale were found. Skewness and Kurtosis were calculated to examine if the sample deviated from normality. Percentile values were calculated for each scale to help meaningful interpretation of the sexual attitude scores.
Range
The range found for premarital sex, polygamy and lesbianism is 0-56. 0-18 being highly unfavorable, 19-36 having a moderate attitude and 37-56 being highly favorable.
The range found for pornography is 0-64. 0-21 being highly unfavorable, 22-42 having a moderate attitude and 43-64 being highly favorable.
The range found for homosexuality is 0-48, 0-16 being highly unfavorable, 17-32 having a moderate attitude and 33-48 being highly favorable.

Data analysis
Mean was computed, standard deviation was obtained. Significance of difference between the means was tested using ANOVA.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION:
The aim of the Sexual Attitude Scale test was to compare the attitudes of people towards various sexual behaviors namely premarital sex, polygamy, pornography, lesbianism and homosexuality across various age groups. A survey was conducted across three different age groups-adolescents, young adults and middle-aged. The total sample for the study was 75 individuals of which 25 were adolescents, 25 were young adults and 25 were middle aged. A questionnaire was administered to these individuals and it covered the 5 sexual behaviors which were taken for the study.
The scores of each individual on every sexual behavior were calculated. These scores were further calculated to find the mean.
For Pre-marital sex, the null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference in the means of the three age groups. The mean for adolescents was 28.60; the mean was 31.56 for young adults and 18.68 for middle aged. To study the significance of the means Anova was computed whereby F= 12.709 which is significant at 0.05. Thus our null hypothesis was rejected.
Table 1.1 Pre-marital sex Age groups | Mean | Standard deviation | F | Adolescents | 28.60 | 28.68 | 12.709 | Young adults | 31.56 | 33.02 | | Middle age | 18.68 | 21.54 | |

According to table 1.1 adolescents and young adults had a moderate attitude towards premarital sex, whereas people of middle age had a very unfavorable attitude towards it.
For Polygamy, the null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference in the means of the three age groups. The mean found for adolescents was 16.88, 15.04 by young adults, and 13.04 for middle aged. To study the significance of the means Anova was computed whereby F= 0.966. Thus the hypothesis is accepted.

Table 1.2 Polygamy Age groups | Mean | Standard deviation | F | Adolescents | 16.88 | 18.64 | 0.966 | Young adults | 15.04 | 17.07 | | Middle age | 13.04 | 17.81 | |
According to table 1.2, all three age groups had a highly unfavorable attitude towards polygamy.

For Pornography, the null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference in the means of the three age groups. The mean found for adolescents was 27.92, young adults it was 30.44 and middle age was 20.32. According to Anova calculated F= 7.264. Thus the hypothesis was rejected.
Table 1.3 Pornography Age groups | Mean | Standard deviation | F | Adolescents | 27.92 | 29.22 | 7.264 | Young adults | 30.44 | 32.10 | | Middle age | 20.32 | 22.57 | |

According to table 1.3, adolescents and young adults have a moderate attitude towards pornography and middle age had a highly unfavorable attitude towards pornography.
For Lesbianism, the null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference in the means of the three age groups. The mean found for adolescents was 30.32; it was 23.64 for young adults, and 20.32 for middle aged subjects. According to Anova scale scores calculated were F= 8.179. Thus the hypothesis was rejected.
Table 1.4 Lesbianism Age groups | Mean | Standard deviation | F | Adolescents | 30.32 | 31.32 | 8.179 | Young adults | 23.64 | 25.24 | | Middle age | 20.32 | 22.33 | |

According to the table 1.4 the three groups adolescents, young adults and middle aged,all had a moderate behavior towards pornography.
For Homosexuality, the null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference in the means of the three age groups. The mean found for adolescents was 23.44,da mean score young adults was 20.40 and for middle age it was 15.60. According to Anova scale scores calculated were F= 4.719.Thus the hypothesis was rejected.
Table 1.5Homosexuality Age groups | Mean | Standard deviation | F | Adolescents | 23.44 | 25.24 | 4.719 | Young adults | 20.40 | 22.45 | | Middle age | 15.60 | 17.50 | |

According to table 1.5 adolescents and young adults had a moderate attitude towards homosexuality and middle aged subjects had a very unfavorable attitude towards it.

Fig: Represents mean scores of different groups.

Cal F stands for calculated value of F statistics
.p is p – value

For all the behaviors, except for polygamy, the subjects of different age groups had different attitudes towards them. The adolescents and young adults are likely to be more favorable towards the various sexual behaviors than the middle aged groups as the trends are changing, due to generation gap, youngsters are more open to such topics. Besides the changing laws, ex. acceptance of homosexuality, exposure to media.

CONCLUSION The null hypothesis which stated that there will be no significant difference in the means of the three age groups was rejected for all – pre-marital sex, homosexuality, pornography, and polygamy except in the case of polygamy, which was accepted.
The alternative hypothesis which stated that there will be a significant difference was proved, except for polygamy.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Book sources: 1) Bernstein, Penner, Clarke. S, Roy. Psychology, 2008, Houghton Mifflin Co., USA, 8th Edition. 2) William. A, Darity JR (Editor), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol 6: Oaxaca – Quotas, 2008, Gale Group, USA, 2nd Edition. 3) W. J, Kalat. Biological Psychology, 2007, Thomas Learning Inc. Publishers, Canada, 9th edition. 4) Westheimer. R, K. Lopater, S. Human Sexuality: A Psychological Perspective, 2005, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, USA, 2nd edition. 5) Kakar. S, Kakar. K, The Indian Portrait of People, 2007, Penguin group, India, 71-106. 6) Shankarrao. E. N, Sociology of Indian Society, Chand and Company Ltd, New Delhi,108-128. Internet sources: 1) http://ebintra.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/pornography-a-social-norm-emma-ebintra.pdf 2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_(social) 3) http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241598330_eng.pdf 4) http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/western-cultures-overbearing-influence 5) http://www.asylumlaw.org/docs/sexualminorities/HomosexualityinIslam0407.pdf 6) http://www.englishdaily626.com/high_school_english_essays.php?506 7) http://family.jrank.org/pages/1484/Senegal.html 8) http://family.jrank.org/pages/1483/Senegal-Impact-Westernization.html 9) http://www.myspace.com/informedfamilies/blog/297128724 10) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sex_in_India 11) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premarital_sex 12) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16287113/ns/health-sexual_health/t/even-grandma-had-premarital-sex-survey-finds/ 13) http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_premarital.asp 14) http://erasmus-in-india.blogspot.com/2006/02/premarital-sex.html 15) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohabitation#Asia 16) http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-03-23/india/28142517_1_apex-court-madrash-high-court-offence 17) http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/6/09-020609/en/ 18) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_polygamy 19) http://www.pri.org/stories/politics-society/polygamy-in-america1873.html 20) http://www.islamawareness.net/Polygamy/why.html 21) http://www.polygamy.com/ 22) http://psyrel.blogspot.com/2006/08/demographics-and-attitudes-about.html 23) http://www.casas.org.uk/papers/pdfpapers/polygamy.pdf 24) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_polygamy 25) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premarital_sex 26) http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_premarital.asp 27) http://erasmus-in-india.blogspot.com/2006/02/premarital-sex.html 28) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohabitation#Asia 29) http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-03-23/india/28142517_1_apex-court-madrash-high-court-offence 30) http://www.safetylit.org/citations/index.php?fuseaction=citations.viewdetails&citationIds%5B%5D=citjournalarticle_325120_18 31) http://www.arabpsynet.com/archives/op/apnJ8LotfiElsherbinie.pdf 32) http://papers.gunadarma.ac.id/index.php/psychology/article/viewFile/10952/10493 33) http://www.springerlink.com/content/h27210m8802k2421/ 34) http://isp.sagepub.com/content/52/1/5.abstract 35) http://stoppolygamyincanada.wordpress.com/effect-of-polygamy-on-women-and-the-family/

LIMITATIONS
There are two noteworthy limitations of this study:
1. Sample size being 25 individuals for each group was too small to be chosen for the study.
2. Individuals from the middle age were too hesitant to respond to the questions.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Our study was conducted on different age groups but it could be conducted on gender based studies, different cultural groups, and people of different ethnic groups.

Bibliography: 2) William. A, Darity JR (Editor), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol 6: Oaxaca – Quotas, 2008, Gale Group, USA, 2nd Edition. 3) W. J, Kalat. Biological Psychology, 2007, Thomas Learning Inc. Publishers, Canada, 9th edition. 4) Westheimer. R, K. Lopater, S. Human Sexuality: A Psychological Perspective, 2005, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, USA, 2nd edition. 5) Kakar. S, Kakar. K, The Indian Portrait of People, 2007, Penguin group, India, 71-106.