Climax as Work: Heteronormativity, Gender Labor, and the Gender the Gap in Orgasms

Gender scholars have addressed a variety of gender gaps between men and women, including a gender gap in orgasms. In this mixed-methods study of heterosexual Canadians, we examine how men and women engage in gender labor that limits women’s orgasms relative to men. With representative survey data, we test existing hypotheses that sexual behaviors and relationship contexts contribute to the gender gap in orgasms. We confirm previous research that sexual practices focusing on clitoral stimulation are associated with women’s orgasms. With in-depth interview data from a subsample of 40 survey participants, we extend this research to show that both men and women engage in gender labor to explain and justify the gender gap in orgasms. Relying on an essentialist view of gender, a narrow understanding of what counts as sex, and moralistic language that recalls the sexual double standard, our participants craft a narrative of women’s orgasms as work and men’s orgasms as natural. The work to produce this gendered narrative of sexuality mirrors the gender labor that takes place in the bedroom, where both women and men engage in sexual behaviors that emphasize men’s pleasure to a greater extent than women’s.

An Implicit Measure of Sexual Double Standard Endorsement in Emerging Adults: Reliability and Validity Aspects

Psychometric characteristics were investigated of an Implicit Association Test to assess implicit endorsement of the sexual double standard (SDS-IAT) in emerging adults. The reliability of the SDS-IAT was investigated focusing on internal consistency across different phases of the test. Convergent validity of the SDS-IAT was evaluated against the Scale for the Assessment of Sexual Standards in Youth, an explicit measure of SDS, and against gender investment. Divergent validity was evaluated against the personality characteristics of extraversion, neuroticism, and social desirability proneness. Gendered patterns were examined. Attenuation-corrected alphas demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, with alphas ranging for .65–.70. A modest level of explicit SDS endorsement was found in both female and male participants. In line with their explicit SDS level, a modest level of implicit SDS endorsement was found in male participants, whereas a reverse implicit SDS was found among young women. In agreement with our theoretical expectations, we found low convergent validity in multitrait-multimethod analysis of the SDS-IAT with a measure of explicit SDS endorsement, and with general level of investment in gender ideals. Similarly, divergent validity analysis revealed absence of significant correlations with the conceptually unrelated concepts of extraversion, neuroticism, and social desirability proneness, except for extraversion in female participants. The present findings suggest that implicit SDS endorsement can be assessed using the SDS-IAT. The finding that explicit and implicit SDS approvals differ in young female participants, while they align in young male participants, warrants further research.

Toxicity and Femininity in Love Island: How Reality Dating Shows Perpetuate Sexist Attitudes Towards Women

Using episodes of ITV2’s Love Island (2016–2020) as a case study, this paper explores the extent to which reality dating shows perpetuate sexist attitudes towards women through a heteronormative focus. Examining the operation of gender roles in Love Island, in the context of emotional intimacy and physical intimacy, this paper proposes that the performance and portrayal of heteronormative ideals disadvantage women. Specifically, by presenting female contestants as overly emotional and irrational, outdated stereotypes surrounding emotionality and hysteria are reproduced within Love Island. Moreover, the stigmatization of sex-positive women in Love Island demonstrates the existence of a sexual double standard wherein male contestants are celebrated for their sexual prowess, while female contestants are shamed and deemed unruly, by virtue of their sexual dominance. Fundamentally, this paper contributes to research on contemporary sexualities by demonstrating how, despite the cultural shift towards greater gender equality, traditional gendered ideals continue to exist in heterosexual relationships, which serve to disadvantage women.

Study of Sexual Satisfaction in Different Typologies of Adherence to the Sexual Double Standard

The sexual double standard (SDS) refers to the acceptance of different criteria to assess the same sexual behavior in men and women. To date, the few studies that have addressed the relationship between SDS and sexual satisfaction have obtained inconclusive results. In addition, no study has analyzed sexual satisfaction in people who maintain different forms of adherence to the SDS. This study establishes three SDS typologies of adherence (man-favorable, woman-favorable, egalitarian) in two areas of sexual behavior (sexual freedom and sexual shyness) to examine the predictive capacity of personal variables (age, social dominance orientation, propensity for sexual excitation/inhibition), interpersonal variables (relationship satisfaction) and social variables (gender norms about sexual behaviors) in sexual satisfaction. A sample of 1194 heterosexual adults (51.1% men, 48.8% women) aged between 18 and 87 years (M = 40.63; SD = 15.67), who had been in a relationship for more than 6 months, was evaluated. In men, the highest sexual satisfaction levels were obtained in the egalitarian typology in the sexual freedom area. In women, no significant differences were found between the typologies of adherence to the SDS. Regression models showed that relationship satisfaction was the main predictor of sexual satisfaction in all the typologies in both men and women. In addition, the predictive relationship of personal variables with sexual satisfaction varied according to gender and the SDS adherence type. The results show the importance of studying sexual satisfaction by taking into account not only the differences between men and women. Furthermore, it is essential to consider other differences between people; for example, the difference that derives from the way of psychologically internalizing attitude toward the SDS.

Sexting among Young People: Towards a Gender Sensitive Approach

Drawing on key theoretical debates on childhood and youth sexuality in tandem with primary data, the article builds upon and advances existing narratives regarding the tensions surrounding gender, pressure and sexting behaviours among young people. Ultimately, the article illustrates a number of gendered pressures which exist when young people engage in sexting, including a prevailing culture of sexism and exposure to a very prevalent sexual double standard. The range and diversity of gendered pressures present thus raises important questions regarding “appropriate” interventions. Consequently, the author argues for a gender sensitive approach at both policy and practice level. In doing so, the article provides new insights on the complexity of gender roles and thus presents a more nuanced understanding of sexting among young people than previous narratives have suggested.