Attitudes toward sex doll ownership: Scale development and preliminary validation

Sex dolls are beginning to become more mainstream, both in the public’s consciousness and in academic research. However, there is no current systematic examination of public attitudes toward sex dolls within the peer-reviewed literature, which represents a barrier to the efficient study on this topic. In this paper we report the development and initial validation of such a measure. Using an international public sample (N = 377) we found that public attitudes toward sex doll owners were underpinned by three factors: ‘Acceptability of Doll Ownership’, ‘Doll Owners as Immoral’, and ‘Doll Owners as Dysfunctional’. Scores on each of these factors, which make up the Sex Doll Ownership Attitudes Scale (SDOAS), were predicted by participant sex, religiosity, permissive sexual attitudes, right-wing authoritarianism, and the endorsement of moral intuitions that favor personal liberty. We present a full form 66-item version of the SDOAS, as well as an 18-item short form which both possess strong psychometric properties. We highlight potential future uses of the SDOAS as this emerging field of study continues to rapidly grow.

A FEMINIST REVIEW ON COMPARATIVE ANIMAL PROTECTION LAW

This research studies applied feminism theories to evaluate animal protection law and its related implementation, practical measures, and insufficient measures with a comparative approach. Elizabeth Cady Stanton's liberal Feminism was employed to investigate the current dilemmas of animal protection law. The goal is to identify and discover the best practice internationally to guide the ongoing animal protection law legislation in China, a principal legal lacuna of the Chinese civil law system with a holistic perspective of feminism theories. Betty Friedan changed philosophical and ideological attitudes toward sex and raised the ethical argument of animal rights. This study found that the differences between social conditions, legislation reasons, social economics, cultures, conventions must be considered. At the same time, the human emotions, the animal's human relationship, the male-controlled capitalist hierarchy, the relationship between animal and female rights are universal. A historical context perspective was employed in all analyses between animal protection and Feminism in history. The roots of the current animal protection issues were found and studied. A number of solutions on the current animal protection were suggested based on feminism theories. "Equality of opportunity" is the primary instrument for designing solutions. Harming animals is also related to patriarchy. "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal." Therefore, if we want to make a breakthrough in animal protection law, we must be able to implement measures in many aspects at the same time to maximize the effect.

Impact of Internet Pornography on Chinese Teens: The Third-Person Effect and Attitudes Toward Censorship

Based on the third-person effect hypothesis–people’s belief that the media influences others more than it influences themselves–we administered a questionnaire to Chinese teens ( N = 1,538) to discover the impacts of exposure to internet pornography on perceptions of pornography and attitudes toward censorship of pornography. The results validated the third-person effect hypothesis and showed that teens’ subjective perceptions of what constitutes internet pornography and their exposure to it are critical variables for predicting perceptions of negative impacts of pornography on self and others and affirmative attitudes toward censorship. The study also found that the impact on self is the best variable for predicting attitudes toward censorship. The discussion is framed in the context of Chinese collective culture and conservative attitudes toward sex.

Curiosity and other attitudes towards sex robots: Results of an online survey

As artificial intelligence and technology advance, mobile robots capable of human intimacy are an inevitable consequence of this progress. Such a profound shift in sexual technology will herald both advantages and disadvantages for human intimate relationships, yet a paucity of research exists on the study of human-robot sexual relationships. We believe a greater understanding of attitudes toward sex robots will be of value as this emerging technology progresses from its currently incipient stage. We conducted an online survey exploring potential gender differences in attitudes and opinions about sex robots. Survey responses were analyzed by gender, age, relationship status, relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction. Results confirm our hypothesis, that men report more positive reactions to sex with robots than women. Indeed, on no question did women report more enthusiasm or optimism about the arrival of sex robots than did men. This conclusion begs the question, what will sex robots mean to the future of gender relations, and in particular, sexual relationships? Engaging one another in a dialogue about the increasing impact technology will have on human intimacy can only strengthen our efforts to mold its effect into a primarily positive one. In addition, it is our expectation that dialogue about these gender differences can assist psychologists, sex therapists, anthropologists, roboticists and couples in navigating technological advancements as they increasingly impact human intimacy. Indeed, this dialogue may be increasingly urgent as the sudden and severe impact of COVID-19 raises increasing safety concerns for human/human sexual relationships.

Sexual and reproductive health and attitudes towards sex of young adults in China

BackgroundThe study aimed to discuss the importance of socioeconomic status (SES) and family sexual attitudes and investigate their association with sexual and reproductive health in a large sample of Chinese young adults.MethodsWe analysed a large sample of 53 508 youth aged 15–24 years from an internet-based survey from November 2019 to February 2020. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed to examine the association between SES, family sexual attitudes, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH), stratified by sex and adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsIndividuals with the highest expenditure were more likely to engage in early sexual intercourse (female: OR 4.19, 95% CI 3.00 to 5.87; male: OR 3.82, 95% CI 2.84 to 5.12). For both sexes, the likelihood of young adult sexual risk-taking such as first intercourse without using a condom, acquiring sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy was lower in those with higher maternal educational attainment, whereas it was higher in those with open family sexual attitudes.ConclusionsLower SES and open family attitudes toward sex had a significant association with a range of adverse young adulthood SRH outcomes. Public health policies should focus on more deprived populations and advocate suitable parental participation to reduce risky sexual behaviours in youth.

The Behavioral Ecology of Sex Tourism: The Consequences of Skewed Sex Ratios

The operational sex ratio (i.e., the ratio of reproductive-age females to males in a population) shapes both animal and human behavior in important ways. Drawing on research in evolution and ecology, the author proposes that a local male-skewed sex ratio (i.e., a surplus of males) influences local men’s attitudes toward sex tourism. Analyzing historical field (study 1) and experimental data (study 2), the author demonstrates that male-skewed sex ratios increase men’s sex tourism rationalization and intent, while women’s predispositions are not sensitive to sex ratios. Sex tourism is explained as a subconscious ecological plasticity in response to perceived increased intensities of same-sex competition for mates, signaled by male-skewed sex ratios. The findings demonstrate a link between mating ecologies and sex tourism, with the latter serving as a compensatory behavior of same-sex mating competition. This research contributes a novel, biological perspective on sex tourism with implications for future research and practice.

Moral psychology of sex robots: An experimental study − how pathogen disgust is associated with interhuman sex but not interandroid sex

The idea of sex with robots seems to fascinate the general public, raising both enthusiasm and revulsion. We ran two experimental studies (Ns = 172 and 260) where we compared people’s reactions to variants of stories about a person visiting a bordello. Our results show that paying for the services of a sex robot is condemned less harshly than paying for the services of a human sex worker, especially if the payer is married. We have for the first time experimentally confirmed that people are somewhat unsure about whether using a sex robot while in a committed monogamous relationship should be considered as infidelity. We also shed light on the psychological factors influencing attitudes toward sex robots, including disgust sensitivity and interest in science fiction. Our results indicate that sex with a robot is indeed genuinely considered as sex, and a sex robot is genuinely seen as a robot; thus, we show that standard research methods on sexuality and robotics are also applicable in research on sex robotics.

Teaching About Sexualized Violence in Educational and Clinical Institutions: Evaluation of an Interdisciplinary University Curriculum

Introduction Sexualized violence is still a rather avoided topic in teaching at German universities, even though a remarkable proportion of the German population experienced child sexual abuse, including many in institutional settings (e.g., schools, clubs of leisure activities). This study examines the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary university curriculum about sexualized violence in educational and clinical institutions. Methods Students participated in seminars about sexualized violence, sexual socialization and education, and professionalism and ethics. In 2017/2018, n = 156 students assessed the curriculum before, immediately after and/or 6 months after participating. The assessment covers knowledge about and confidence in handling issues of sexualized violence and attitudes toward sex-related myths. The same questionnaires were used in a control group (n = 54). Results In the curriculum group, self-assessed and declarative knowledge improved, the students were more confident in their abilities to handle issues of sexualized violence in a professional way, and sex-related myths were rejected even more strongly after the curriculum. Conclusion The findings suggest that awareness and knowledge about sexualized violence in institutions can be increased and sustained through the use of the curriculum “Sexualized Violence in Institutions.” These encouraging results suggest that the curriculum should be taught in pedagogical and clinical disciplines at more universities. Policy Implications In view of the decentralized education system in Germany and the freedom of research and teaching at German universities, the curriculum can only be implemented on a voluntary basis. However, in terms of education policy, such an implementation could be supported by state-funded programs that provide lecturers both with necessary qualifications and necessary resources.