Sexual Double Standards: Contributions of Sexual Socialization by Parents, Peers, and the Media

Abstract(Hetero)sexual double standards (SDS) entail that different sexual behaviors are appropriate for men and women. There is large variation in whether people endorse SDS in their expectations about the sexual behavior of women and men (i.e., SDS-norms). To explain these individual differences, we examined associations between SDS-norms of Dutch adolescents (aged 16–20 years, N = 566) and what parents, peers, and the media teach adolescents about appropriate sexual behavior of boys and girls (i.e., SDS-socialization). Adolescents completed an online survey at school. Regarding SDS-socialization, more traditional SDS-norms conveyed by the media and peers, but not of parents, and less perceived sexual activity of female peers, were associated with more traditional SDS-norms. Only for boys, exposure to sexy girls/women on social media and sexual music videos of female artists were associated with more traditional SDS-norms. Thus, SDS-socialization by peers and the media and opposite gender models (for boys) are important in light of adolescents’ SDS-norms.

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He is a Stud, She is a Slut! A Meta-Analysis on the Continued Existence of Sexual Double Standards

Personality and Social Psychology Review ◽

10.1177/1088868319891310 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 163-190 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Joyce J. Endendijk ◽

Anneloes L. van Baar ◽

Maja Deković

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Gender Equality ◽

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Social Cognitions ◽

Sociocultural Factors ◽

Women Studies ◽

Double Standards ◽

Men And Women ◽

Sexual Double Standards

(Hetero)sexual double standards (SDS) entail that different sexual behaviors are appropriate for men and women. This meta-analysis ( k = 99; N = 123,343) tested predictions of evolutionary and biosocial theories regarding the existence of SDS in social cognitions. Databases were searched for studies examining attitudes or stereotypes regarding the sexual behaviors of men versus women. Studies assessing differences in evaluations, or expectations, of men’s and women’s sexual behavior yielded evidence for traditional SDS ( d = 0.25). For men, frequent sexual activity was more expected, and evaluated more positively, than for women. Studies using Likert-type-scale questionnaires did not yield evidence of SDS (combined M = −0.09). Effects were moderated by level of gender equality in the country in which the study was conducted, SDS-operationalization (attitudes vs. stereotypes), questionnaire type, and sexual behavior type. Results are consistent with a hybrid model incorporating both evolutionary and sociocultural factors contributing to SDS.

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Teen Girls’ Experiences Negotiating the Ubiquitous Dick Pic: Sexual Double Standards and the Normalization of Image Based Sexual Harassment

Sex Roles ◽

10.1007/s11199-021-01236-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Ringrose ◽

Kaitlyn Regehr ◽

Sophie Whitehead

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Sexual Harassment ◽

Focus Group Interviews ◽

Double Standards ◽

Media Image ◽

Image Sharing ◽

Social Currency ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Group Interviews ◽

Sexual Double Standards

AbstractA range of important studies have recently explored adult women’s experiences of receiving unwanted dick pics (Amundsen, 2020). However, to date there has been limited research that has explored teen girls’ experiences of receiving unwanted penis images in depth. To address this gap we draw upon our findings from a qualitative study using focus group interviews and arts based drawing methods to explore social media image sharing practices with 144 young people aged 11–18 in seven secondary schools in England. We argue that being bombarded with unwanted dick pics on social media platforms like Snapchat normalises harassing practices as signs of desirability and popularity for girls, but suggest that being sent unsolicited dick pics from boys at school is more difficult for girls to manage or report than ignoring or blocking random older senders. We also found that due to sexual double standards girls were not able to leverage dick pics for status in the same way boys can use girls’ nudes as social currency, since girls faced the possibility of being shamed for being known recipients of dick pics. Finally we explore how some girls challenge abusive elements of toxic masculinity in the drawing sessions and our conclusion argues that unwanted dick pics should always be understood as forms of image based sexual harassment.

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Media Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Pathogenic or salutogenic? (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.33011 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marjolaine Rivest-Beauregard ◽

Justine Fortin ◽

Connie Guo ◽

Sabrina Cipolletta ◽

Ram Sapkota ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Online Survey ◽

Media Use ◽

Path Model ◽

Social Media Use ◽

Related Information ◽

The Media ◽

Support Seeking ◽

Peritraumatic Distress

BACKGROUND While exposure to COVID-related stressors, level of peritraumatic distress, and frequency of media use for seeking COVID-related information can increase the risk for trauma- and stressor-related (TSR) symptoms during the pandemic, frequency of social media use for support and connection may buffer these effects. OBJECTIVE We examined the associations between COVID-related stressors and frequency of media use for information-seeking on TSR symptoms, with a focus on the indirect effects of social media use for support-seeking and peritraumatic distress. METHODS A path model was tested in an international sample of 5 913 adults who completed an online survey. RESULTS COVID-related stressors (β = .25, p <.05) and information-seeking through media (β = .24, p <.05) were significantly associated with TSR symptoms in bivariate comparisons. Levels of peritraumatic distress and frequency of social media use for support were significant intermediary variables (respectively, β=0.71, p<.05; β=.02, p<.05). CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that exposure to COVID-related stressors and seeking COVID-related information through the media are associated with higher levels of peritraumatic distress and, in turn, higher levels of TSR symptoms. Although exposure to the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic may be unavoidable, the frequency consuming COVID-related information through the media should be approached with caution. CLINICALTRIAL NA

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Not One Sexual Double Standard but Two? Adolescents’ Attitudes About Appropriate Sexual Behavior

Youth & Society ◽

10.1177/0044118x20957924 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 0044118X2095792

Author(s):

Maud Hensums ◽

Geertjan Overbeek ◽

Terrence D. Jorgensen

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Female Sexuality ◽

Measurement Equivalence ◽

Double Standard ◽

Sexual Double Standard ◽

Double Standards ◽

Female Sexual Behavior ◽

Male Sexual Behavior ◽

Using Data ◽

Sexual Double Standards

Popular belief holds that sexual behavior is evaluated more liberally for males than females. However, the assessment of this “sexual double standard” is controversial. Therefore, we investigated measurement equivalence of commonly used items to assess sexual double standards in previous research. Based on established measurement equivalence, we investigated whether adolescents endorsed a sexual double standard. Using data from 455 adolescents ( Mage = 14.51, SD = 0.64), confirmatory factor analyzes showed that the sexual double standard concept was measurement equivalent across sex, and partly across evaluations of the same and opposite sex. Factor analyzes demonstrated that there was not one, but two sexual double standards. Male adolescents evaluated male sexual behavior more liberally than female sexual behavior, but female adolescents evaluated female sexual behavior more liberally than male sexual behavior. This contradicts the traditional notion of the existence of one sexual double standard that favors male and suppresses female sexuality.

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“Girls are addicted to likes so they post semi-naked selfies”: Peer mediation, normativity and the construction of identity online

Cyberpsychology Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace ◽

10.5817/cp2015-1-5 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Giovanna Mascheroni ◽

Jane Vincent ◽

Estefanía Jimenez

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Impression Management ◽

Peer Mediation ◽

Full Time ◽

Presentation Of Self ◽

Double Standards ◽

Self Presentation ◽

Construction Of Identity ◽

Sexual Double Standards ◽

Policy Guidance

This paper examines how children aged 11-16 in three European countries (Italy, UK and Spain) develop and present their online identities, and their interactions with peers. It focuses on young people’s engagement with the construction of an online identity on social media through pictures, and explores how peer-mediated conventions of self-presentation are appropriated, legitimated, or resisted in pre-teens’ and teenagers’ discourses. In doing so, we draw on Goffman’s (1959) work on the presentation of self and “impression management” to frame our analysis. Mobile communication and social network sites serve an important role in the process of self-presentation and emancipation, providing “full-time” access to peers and peer culture. Our findings suggest that there are gender differences and the presence of sexual double standards in peer normative discourses. Girls are positioned as being more subjected to peer mediation and pressure. Boys blame girls for posing sexy in photos, and negatively sanction this behaviour as being aimed at increasing one’s popularity online or as an indicator of “a certain type of girl.” However, girls who post provocative photos chose to conform to a sexualised stereotype as a means of being socially accepted by peers. Moreover, they identify with the pressure to always look “perfect” in their online pictures. While cross-national variations do exist, this sexual double standard is observed in all three countries. These insights into current behaviours could be further developed to determine policy guidance for supporting young people as they learn to manage image laden social media.

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Sex, Digital Devices, Social Media, and Social Isolation: A Study on Sexual Behavioral During COVID -19 Pandemic

Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health ◽

10.2174/1745017902117010235 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 235-241

Author(s):

Isabela A. Melca ◽

Antonio E. Nardi ◽

Lucio L. Gonçalves ◽

Rachel M. Ferreira ◽

Mariana S. K. Lins de Padua ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Sexual Behavior ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Online Survey ◽

Safer Sex ◽

Demographic Factors ◽

Physical Distance ◽

Sexual Content ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Digital Devices

Introduction: Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused social and economic damages. People have adapted to a new reality of physical distance. Objective: The study aimed to assess the use of digital devices and social media, focusing on psychosocial and demographic factors of people´s sexual behavior during the pandemic. Methods: A total of 1,357 Brazilian adults participated in a cross-sectional online survey. They were recruited through social media to obtain information regarding sexual behavior and the use of digital devices and social media. Results: Digital devices and social media were used by 38.8% of the participants. Among the group that used technological devices, most claimed to have changed their sexual behavior, with 76.9% consuming more sexual content through movies or series. Conclusion: In a smaller group, technological resources appeared as an alternative for safer sex, reducing the risks of COVID-19 transmission.

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Investigating vertical social media impact through influencer on risky sexual behavior among adolescents in Indonesia

INFORMASI ◽

10.21831/informasi.v51i2.40900 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

pp. 327-344

Author(s):

Raidah Intizar Yusuf

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Sexual Behavior ◽

Risky Sexual Behavior ◽

Online Survey ◽

Hypothesis Test ◽

Test Results ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Media Impact ◽

Initial Assumption ◽

Central Hypothesis

Social media has been identified as a factor in adolescents' adoption of risky sexual behavior. This research is here to answer whether social media has a vertical effect on adopting risky sexual behavior, given the increasing number of influencers on the platform. We sought the connection of whether influencers can influence the dating standards of adolescents, which will end up contributing to the adoption of risky sexual behavior. As risky sexual behavior is becoming more prevalent in Makassar, we picked Makassar adolescents as our study object. We also compared urban and rural by including Maros adolescents. Data were collected data with an online survey. Four surveyors are employed to find targeted respondents: youth in their 15-18 years old. Respondents filled out an online questionnaire from September 7, 2020, to September 14, 2020. As many as 313 responses were valid, 50.5 percent of the respondents were domiciled in Makassar, and the remaining 49.5 percent came from Maros. Two out of three respondents are women (63.3 percent). A series of independent t-tests, and Andy F Hayes PROCESS scheme, were used to analyze the data. The independent t-test results showed that male urban adolescents are more likely to exhibit risky sexual behavior. The central hypothesis test results showed that social media influencers indirectly affect risky sexual behavior mediated by adolescent dating styles, answering the study's initial assumption.

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Az okostelefon- és közösségimédia-használat néhány sajátossága egy fiatalok körében végzett online felmérés alapján

Információs Társadalom ◽

10.22503/inftars.xix.2019.1.5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 108

Author(s):

Bettina Pikó ◽

Hedvig Kiss

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Young People ◽

Online Survey ◽

Media Use ◽

Smart Device ◽

Social Media Use ◽

Time Period ◽

The Social ◽

The Media ◽

Smartphone Use

A média és az információs technológia egyre fontosabb szerepet játszik az életünkben, különösképpen a fiatal generációk számára vált nélkülözhetetlenné a kommunikáció, a tanulás és a kapcsolattartás terén. Az előnyök mellett azonban számos probléma is felmerül, többek között a túlzott használat következtében jelentkező függőség. Bár az internet-, az okostelefon- és a közösségimédia-használat és –függőség között vannak átfedések, érdemes külön is megvizsgálni ezek sajátosságait. Jelen tanulmányban ezért az okostelefon-függőség és -használat mellett megnéztük, hogyan függ össze ez a jelenség a közösségimédia-használattal és annak jellemzőivel. Online felmérésünkben 14 és 30 év közötti fiatalok szerepeltek (N = 244 fő; 66% lány, átlagéletkoruk 23,1 év, szórás 3,4). Eredményeink szerint az okostelefon- és közösségimédia-függőségre leginkább a használat időtartama hajlamosít, főként az okoseszköz kényelmessége, könnyű elérhetősége, szórakoztató jellege miatt. Az okostelefonok használata szinte univerzális, bár bizonyos alkalmazásokat a lányok (például Pinterest) kedvelnek, míg a játékokat a fiúk. A korral a használat és a függőség is csökken. --- Several characteristics of smartphone and the social network use based on an online survey among young people The media and information technology play an increasingly important role in our lives, they have become necessary, particularly for young people in the fields of communication, education and connections. However, alongside the advantages a number of problems have also started to emerge, one being addiction due to excessive use. Although there are overlaps among internet, smartphone, and social media use and addictions, it is worth examining their characteristics separately. The present study focused on smartphone use and addiction, and we also detected how these might interact with social media use and their features. In this online survey participants were young people aged between 14 and 30 years (N = 244; 66 per cent females, mean age = 23.1 years, S.D. = 3.4). Our results suggest that the time period itself is accountable for smartphone and social media addictions especially due to the convenience, and easy-to-reach and entertaining nature of the smart device. The smartphone use is universal, although some applications are preferred more by girls (e.g., Pinterest) or boys (online games). Both use and addiction tend to decrease with age. Keywords: smartphone, social media, youth, behavioural addictions

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No tears in heaven: did the media create the pseudo-phenomenon “altitude-adjusted lachrymosity syndrome (AALS)”?

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.4569 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e4569

Author(s):

Paul Wicks ◽

Lee Lancashire

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Online Survey ◽

Female Gender ◽

The United States ◽

Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽

Annual Household Income ◽

Emotional Life ◽

Life Event ◽

Public Figures ◽

The Media

Objective In the media, numerous public figures have reported involuntary emotional outbursts arising from watching films on planes, resembling neurological phenomena such as pseudobulbar affect. Putative risk factors put forward include altitude, mild hypoxia, or alcohol. Our objective was to determine whether watching a film on an airplane is really more likely to induce involuntary, uncontrollable, or surprising crying than watching one on the ground, described in some social media as “altitude-adjusted lachrymosity syndrome” (AALS), or whether this is a pseudo-phenomena. Methods Amazon Mechanical Turk survey participants (N = 1,084) living in the United States who had watched a film on a plane in the past 12 months were invited to complete an online survey. The main outcome measures were likelihood of crying in a logistic regression model including location of viewing, age, gender, genre of film, subjective film rating, annual household income, watching a “guilty pleasure” film, drinking alcohol, feeling tired or jetlagged, or having a recent emotional life event. Results About one in four films induced crying. Watching a film on a plane per se does not appear to induce involuntary crying. Significant predictors of crying included dramas or family films, a recent life event, watching a “guilty pleasure”, high film ratings, and female gender. Medical conditions, age, income, alcohol use, and feeling tired or jetlagged were not significant. Conclusion People reporting the pseudo-phenomena of AALS are most likely experiencing “dramatically heightened exposure”, watching as many films on a plane in a week’s return trip as they would in a year at the cinema. Such perceptions are probably magnified by confirmation bias and further mentions in social media.

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Age, sex, and other demographic trends in sexual behavior in the United States: Initial findings of the sexual behaviors, internet use, and psychological adjustment survey

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0255371 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (8) ◽

pp. e0255371

Author(s):

Hannah Roberts ◽

Angus Clark ◽

Carter Sherman ◽

Mary M. Heitzeg ◽

Brian M. Hicks

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Sexual Behavior ◽

Romantic Relationships ◽

Psychological Adjustment ◽

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Internet Use ◽

Online Survey ◽

The United States ◽

Future Research ◽

Use Of The Internet

It remains unclear how the seemingly ubiquitous use of the internet impacts user’s offline personal relationships, particularly those that are romantic or sexual. Therefore, we conducted a national online survey to better understand the associations among internet use, sexual behavior, and adjustment called the Sexual Behaviors, Internet Use, and Psychological Adjustment Survey (SIPS). Here, we report patterns of sexual behavior in a sample of adults (N = 1987; ages 18–70) in the United States to establish its representativeness and consistency with similar recent surveys. We found age- and sex-related trends in oral, vaginal, and anal sex in terms of prevalence, frequency, number of partners, and age of initiation consistent with prior studies. We also detected differences in sexual behaviors based on relationship status and sexual orientation, but small and relatively few significant differences across racial and ethnic groups. The results confirm and expand upon trends identified in prior national surveys of sexual behavior, establishing the representativeness of the SIPS sample for use in future research examining the links among sexual behaviors and romantic relationships, internet use, and adjustment.

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