Studying Human Sexuality

Chapter 2
Main Topics
Sex, advice columnists, and pop
psychology
Thinking critically about sexuality
Sex research methods
The sex researchers
Contemporary research studies
Emerging research perspectives

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Sex, Advice Columnists, and Pop
Psychology
Sex information advice genre
Transmits information and norms, rather than
images
To a mass audience to inform and entertain
in a simplified manner

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Information and Advice as
Entertainment
Financial profits
Media personalities present information as
entertainment
Focus on morality
Traps findings from social sciences and
psychiatry

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The Use and Abuse of Research
Findings
To reinforce their authority, the media
incorporate statistics from a study’s
findings
Media report the results of a study that are
contradicted by subsequent research
Changes in current knowledge through
behavioral research
Distorted representation of sex-related
research

Example

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Thinking Critically About
Sexuality
Value judgments - Evaluations based on
moral or ethical standards rather than
objective ones
College students should be in a committed
relationship before they have sex.
Objectivity – Observation of things as they
exist in reality as opposed to our feelings or
beliefs about them
The majority of students have intimate
sexual behavior with another person
sometime during their college careers

Objectivity is hardMcGraw-Hill,
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Inc. 2013 to achieve
Thinking Critically About
Sexuality
What gets in the way of objectivity?
Opinions – Unsubstantiated beliefs about
what seems to be true to us – often
presented as objective fact
Biases – Personal learning or inclination –
cause us to select information that supports
our views
Stereotypes – Simple, rigid, overgeneralized
beliefs; often negative

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Common Sexual Stereotypes
Men are always ready for sex
“Nice” women are not interested in sex
Women need a reason for sex; men need a
place
Virgins are uptight and asexual
The relationships of gay men never last
Lesbian women hate men

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Thinking Critically About
Sexuality
Fallacy - An error in reasoning that affects
our understanding of a subject
Egocentric falacy
 Mistaken beliefs about others behavior based on
personal experience and values
Ethnocentric thinking or ethnocentricism
 Belief that our own ethnic group, nation, or culture is
innately superior to others
 Increasingly evident as a reaction to the increased
awareness of ethnicity

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Thinking Critically About
Sexuality

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Sex Research Methods
 Scientific method - Method by which a hypothesis is
formed from impartially gathered data and tested
empirically
 Research concerns
Ethical issues - Centering on the use of human beings as
subjects
• Informed consent - Full disclosure to an individual of the purpose,
potential risks, and benefits of participating in a research project
• Protection from harm and confidentiality
Sampling
• Random sample - A sample collected in an unbiased way, with the
selection of each member of the sample based solely on chance
• Representative sample - A small group representing the larger group in
terms of age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation,
and so on
• Biased sample - Samples that are not representative of the larger
group (e.g., college students)

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Sex Research Methods
Survey research
Uses questionnaires or interviews to gather
information
Quick and easier to obtain data from many people
People may be poor reporters of their own sexual
behavior; response bias
Defining variables:
[Behavior] “counts” as having sex
Gender identity, sexual orientation
Observational research
Unobtrusive observation without manipulation
The observation might influence the behavior

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Sex Research Methods
Experimental research –
Systematic manipulation of individuals or the
environment to learn the effects of such
manipulation on behavior
Demonstrates cause-and-effect relationships
Doesn’t always generalize to the real world,
some things can’t be manipulated
Correlational studies – Measure two or more
naturally occurring variables to determine
their relationship to each other
Can study anything you can measure
Doesn’t speak toward causation
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Sex Research Methods
Much experimental research on sexuality
depends on measuring physiological
responses.
 Vaginal and Clitoral Photo-Plethysmographs
 Vaginal and Anal Myographs
 Penile Strain Gauge
 Labial Thermistor

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The Sex Researchers
Three themes of study among modernists
They believe that sexual expression is
essential to an individual’s well-being
They seek to broaden the range of legitimate
sexual activity, including homosexuality
They believe that female sexuality is the
equal of male sexuality

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Views of Sexuality
Sylvester Graham
1794-1851

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The Sex Researchers
Richard von Krafft-Ebing – Most influential
of the early researchers
1886 - Published Psychopathia Sexualis – A
collection of case histories of fetishists,
sadists, masochists, and homosexuals
Origin of sexual problems is masturbation

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Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Karl Maria Kertbeny
(1825 to 1895)– (1824-1882) –
Developed the first Created the terms
scientific theory “heterosexuality”
about and
homosexuality – “homosexuality”;
“Urnings” as a third inborn
sex – inborn

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Sigmund Freud – Early 1900s
Attempted to understand
neuroses – Psychological
disorders characterized by
anxiety or tension
His research is mostly only of
historical interest to modern sex
researchers

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 Havelock Ellis
Studies in the Psychology of Sex
(1897 to 1910)– Consisted of case
studies, autobiographies, and
personal letters
First researcher to appeal to studies
in animal behavior, anthropology,
and history
Challenged the view that
masturbation was abnormal
Documented that women possessed
sexual desires no less intense than
those of men
People are born homosexual; as
such, it cannot be considered a vice

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Magnus Hirschfeld
(1868-1935)
First organization for
homosexual rights,
First institute for sex
research,
First sexuality-focused
academic journal

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Alfred Kinsey
Destroyed the belief in American
sexual innocence and virtue
Published Sexual Behavior in the Hu
man Male in 1948 and Sexual Behav
ior in the Human Female in 1953
Work showed diversity in sexual
behaviors
Reevaluated the role of
masturbation in a person’s sexual
adjustment
Sexual activity with folks of same
sex was more common than widely
believed
Rejected normal/abnormal
dichotomy Copyright McGraw-Hill, Inc. 2013
Figure 2.1 - The Kinsey Scale

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The Sex Researchers
William Masters & Virginia Johnson
Interested in treating sexual difficulties
Published Human Sexual Response in 1966
Revolutionized sex therapy by treating
sexual problems as difficulties that could be
treated using behavioral therapy
Behavioral approach led to an astounding
increase in the rate of successful treatment
of sexual problems

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The Sex Researchers
William Masters & Virginia Johnson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1rAX-Y
F7bs
(0:27 to (7:44)

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  Evelyn Hooker (1907-1996) –
 Revealed that same-sex
sexual relationships were
widespread among both
men and women;
 No personality differences
between gay men and
straight men, lesbian
women and straight
women
 De-pathologized non-
straight sexual
orientations

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1973 – American Psychiatric Association
removed homosexuality from its list of
psychological disorders (1972; John Fryer)

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Emerging Research
Perspectives
Feminist scholarship
Gender is significant in all aspects of social
life
Much previous research has devalued
women’s experience of sex.
The female experience of sex has been
devalued
Power is a critical element in different-sex
relationships
The experience of ethnic minorities, sexual
minorities, and other marginalized groups
must be addressed
Studying sexuality requires understanding
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Much of the existing research has been shaped
by the views of white researchers
Racism and white supremacy influences
sexuality
Racist stereotypes about the sexuality of Black
men and women
“Mandingo” – Black men have huge penises
and are uncontrolled and oversexed
“Jezebel” – Black women always want sex
and cannot be raped

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 Access to healthcare and education (including sex
education) has been intentionally limited.
 Racist stereotypes lead to focus on abstinence-only
sex education
 Tuskeegee – 1932, 399 Black men with syphilis
intentionally left untreated for 40 years.
 Justified mistrust of medical system
 Of the 37,832 new HIV diagnoses in 2018, 42%
were among Black Americans.
 Lack of testing – 1/7 are unaware
 HIV/AIDS research delayed because it is a
“minority” disease
 SES matters, but the experience of Black and White
people experiencing poverty
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Native and Indigenous peoples in the Americas
Experience high levels of sexual assault and
violence
Rape has long been a tool of war and colonialization
Disregard by local law enforcement, don’t contact
police because of high probability of racist
discrimination

Latinx folk in the US

Access to education, medical, and legal system may
be limited by immigration status
Acculturation and religion are often important
considerations
Stereotypes andCopyright McGraw-Hill, Inc. 2013
scripts related to gender roles
Some traditional Asian cultures have marked different
sexual standards by gender.
Dearth of research on sexuality of Middle Eastern
Americans

Understand that the information we have has a

context, and in general tends to privilege the sexual
lives of:
White
Cisgender
Straight
Men
With access to education, healthcare, and financial
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Large Descriptive Surveys
There are a variety of large studies
conducted to try and describe sex in the
United States. In general these are:
Survey-based
Use large, representative samples
Are federally funded (and may tap into a
variety of non-sexual topics)

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Contemporary Research
Studies - The National Health
and Social Life Survey (1992)
First nationally representative survey of the
US
Americans are largely exclusive
On an average, Americans have sex about
once a week
Extramarital sex is the exception, not the
rule
Most Americans have fairly traditional sexual
behaviors
Homosexuality is not as prevalent as
originally believed
Orgasms appear to be the rule for men and
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The National Survey of Family Growth
(2006-2008)
Collects data on marriage, divorce,
contraception, infertility, and health of
women and infants in the United States
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (conducted
every 2 years by CDC)
Measures the prevalence of six categories of
health risk behaviors among youth through
 Representative national, state, and local surveys
using a self-report questionnaire
The National College Health Assessment
(yearly since 2000)
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Figure 2.2 - Percentage of College Students Who Reported
Having Oral Sex, Vaginal Sex, and Anal Intercourse in the
Past 30 Days and the Percentage Reporting Using a
Condom or Other Protective Barrier, Spring 2014

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The National Survey of Sexual Health and
Behavior (2010)
Most expansive
Provides a needed and valuable updated
overview of Americans’ sexual behavior
< 10% Ided as other than heterosexual, but
proportion of same-sex interactions was
higher
Reveals an increase in sexual diversity since
the NHSLS
Condom use increasing with casual partners
Male orgasm facilitated by penetrative
intercourse, female orgasm facilitated by
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2015 Sexual Exploration in America Study
Internet-based
91% heterosexual

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