Do Men or Women Have Uncommitted, Heterosexual Sexual Intercourse - Assignment Example

Do men or women have more uncommitted, heterosexual sexual inter Introduction There has been a sexual double standard in the society that appreciates men for having several sexual partners while women are penalized for such sexual behavior. The standard later developed into a conditional norm that allowed women to indulge in sexual relationship in a committed love relationship. At the same time men were allowed to have adequate sexual partners according to their needs without any condition. Research on sexual behavior of both genders suggest that the double standard continues and men report to have sexual intercourse at early ages and have a greater number of sexual partners than women. Aim The purpose of the research is to find out whether men or women involve more in casual and uncommitted sexual intercourse. Social learning theory explains the double standard on uncommitted sexual intercourse on the basis of the cultural norm that punished or isolated women for behaving in a sexually permissive manner while men gain admiration and popularity for similar behaviors. On the basis of sexual learning theory, the pattern of sexual behavior is explained by sexual script theory. A 1982 research points out that women were more probable to label sexual behavior of other women as immoral to suggest that women support the double standard that they should have less sex or no sex in uncommitted relationships (Milhausen, R.R. & Herold, E.S. 1999 pp.361-368). Literature Review Uncommitted sexual intercourse is a topic of interest in recent times due to the evolution of sex differences and their relationship to sexual attraction. A research led by Michael Bailey found that men in the past enhanced their mating opportunities by indulging in uncommitted, casual sexual encounters. With respect to this supposition, men have more frequent yearning for sex with new partners when compared to women. Further, men are more willing than women to indulge in impersonal and casual sex. On the basis of this argument, it is considered that women commit more resources for reproduction and they gain very less advantage from casual frequent sexual action unless it is an extra effort taken for occasional copulation with a superior male to improve reproductive success. The researcher points out that heterosexual man has a high desire for sexual activity with a number of sexual partners. While comparing the frequent sexual activity of women, Bailey and colleagues consider the frequent sexual activity of heterosexual women as accommodating to the demands of male partners rather than the women’s true yearning for frequent intercourse. Another explanation indicates that women generally are socialized in a way that they are assertive in prompting sexual activities. It is also noted from Bailey’s research that men gain strategically through immediate sexual arousal while women do not gain such benefits. Men are considered to have unquenchable depths of sexual appetite and are aroused to visual stimuli resulting in sexualizing social encounters (Kauth 2000 p.153). According to parental investment theory, the mating pattern of a species is based on the quantum of investment in the way of energy, time and survival risk taken to produce and raise an offspring. The theory explains that members of a gender that contributes smaller investment competes to increase mating opportunities with the other gender that contributes larger investment and the gender that makes larger investment is likely to be more discriminating to select partners. On the basis of the above theory, humans as in several other mammalian species, men are required to make less investment in the reproduction of an offspring after the act of copulation and therefore the reproductive potential of men is maximized by mating with the maximum possible number of women. To substantiate such a potential men are required to prefer attractive and young women because it is assumed to signify qualities like fertility that increases the opportunities for conception and the transfer of genes to another generation. Based on the theory, the situation is quite different for women. Women are required to invest time during pregnancy and devote several years in nourishing the offspring with breastfeeding and further upbringing. These practical factors inhibit the number of offspring a women produce (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn & Hammer 2008 p.244) irrespective of the number of men they have sexual intercourse. The responsibilities that accompany women as a result of sexual intercourse with a number of men are of no or little incentive. Women can instead maximize their reproductive potential by mating with a committed partner to gain better material resources and a long term relationship. Thus among human beings, men are considered to compete with other men to acquire the relatively valuable and scarce commodity of reproductive opportunities. Therefore, according to parental investment theory men indulge in more sexual activity than women to fulfill the desire for mating with a number of sexual partners and indulge in uncommitted sex. Women are considered to be a discriminating and conservative gender that is more selective about mating with partners in an uncommitted relationship (Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn & Hammer 2008 p.245). The heterosexual sexual intercourse of women is restricted by the social norms that consider sexual activity as immoral or sinful. Since sexual activity combines potential for pleasure and joy, human sexuality is often constrained by shame, guilt and anxiety and is related to erotophobic attitudes. Due to the immoral or sinful aspect culturally associated with sex, women restrain the expression of sexual desire and tend to have less sexual experience, lesser lifetime partners and few brief uncommitted sexual encounters. These sexual behaviors of women is presumably due to the fact that women tend to display faithfulness, chastity and restrain to improve their value as a long term partner. It is found by researchers Schmitt and Buss that the beginning of such norms of women’s sexuality is the uncertainty of men’s conduct when it comes to paternity. The faithfulness and commitment factors together with a negative or ambivalent attitude towards sex restrains women to indulge in uncommitted relationship and prefers to attract and retain long term partners. Women and men adjust to different adaptive issues in the long term and short term mating strategies and different actions spur negative emotions for both genders. For instance, women associate themselves with emotional interpersonal orientation on sex with the expression of affection and love and expect men to be responsive to their emotional demands during heterosexual intercourse. The failure to satisfy the demands from partners leads women to develop negative emotions like anger, disappointment and resentment and preoccupation with relational issues. These negative effects reflect in emotional detachment from the partner and the sexual intercourse event. These are some of the most significant dimension of women’s feeling and thoughts about sexuality in intimate uncommitted relationships (Womens sexual working models 2006). Various researches that evaluate uncommitted sexual relationship among youngsters and divorced people Uncommitted sexual behavior and one night stands is not a recent phenomenon, yet past research centered around attitudes, personality traits, and differences in willingness to indulge in sexual behavior. Past research indicates that sexual relationship in a committed relationship is unproblematic while uncommitted sexual relationship needs explanation. In college campuses, the problematic view has now transformed into a normative process and students call this as hooking up. There is no future commitment in a hooking up relationship. A research in 2000 by Paul et al indicates that seventy eight percent men and women in campus involved in a hook up at least once. A research among college students by Kahn et al. in 2000 found that 88 percent men and 86 percent women had hooked up. Around one half of the men (47%) and one third women in the sample conducted by Paul et al involved in sexual intercourse in a hook up (Lambert, Kahn & Apple 2003). Men and women are influenced by the cultural rules of sexuality ( Schwartz & Rutter 1998 p.93). Men are considered to have more sexual expertise when compared to women and this reason indicates that boys have sex in an early age than girls and are happy about their sexual experiences. A research in the 1980’s found that the age of first intercourse for heterosexual men is 15.5 and the age is slightly older for heterosexual women. Most of the people have sexual intercourse with one or two partners before marriage. However there is an increase in the number of partners and young men and women are turning to be similar in this aspect. The first sexual intercourse of both genders is not a carefree or unproblematic act. Research demonstrates that individuals have mixed reactions regarding sexual initiation. Women and men have different emotions to the same act. Young women are less comfortable than young men and consider less adequate as a romantic or sexual partner in addition to their feeling of lower self esteem (Schwartz & Rutter 1998 p.95). A gendered research on sexual curiosity found that men were curious while women were less curious. Curiosity is a major factor that led men to have sex together with a feeling a readiness when the affection factor is nil. Peer pressure is another reason that drives young men and women to indulge in casual sexual intercourse because they assume that virginity is a burdensome social status and they seek to eliminate it with whoever is willing to have sex. The sexual revolution has emphasized pleasure as a characteristic, but the respondents in the NHSLS research indicate that only few people indulge in sexual intercourse for pleasure. Men outnumbered women in the non-pleasure sexual intercourse category. These findings from research conclude that young people are interested and aroused in sex but the motivation of men and women diverge. Lesser number of men compared to women say that their first sexual intercourse was out of love, while lesser number of women state that their first experience was to overcome their curiosity (Schwartz & Rutter 1998 p.96). Gender differences are larger among unmarried than among the divorced while evaluating sexual frequency of individuals. Single men tend to indulge in sexual activity more frequently than unmarried women while divorced women and men indulge in sexual activity at almost the same rate of frequency. The gender gap between the two groups points out that age and experience decrease women’s inhibition towards non-marital sex. The sexually experienced women modifies their position of a more traditional view of commitment in a relationship before sex and therefore tend to desire sex for the sake of it because of the deprivation which they freely enjoyed in their marriage ( Schwartz & Rutter 1998 p.100). The heterosexual sexual intercourse among uncommitted men and women has become a subject of interest for social scientist only in the past decade. Among the various factors associated with sexual yearning, gender is considered by social scientists as the most significant aspect. Limited empirical research suggests that men experience sexual yearning more frequently than women though sex differences in the level of desire or intensity is yet to be evaluated. A research among 676 ethnically diverse men and women found that the actual frequency when men experienced sexual desire is 37 times per week which is extensively higher than the women’s experience of sexual desire which is 9 times per week. Variable The result does not mean that men always experience sexual desire or that women have inadequate sexual desire. Both men and women feel sexual desire regularly though men outnumber women (Regan & Atkin 2006 p.95-102). Conclusion It may be concluded from the above literature review and the findings from various research that men have more sexual desire and the society has laid down norms for men to freely engage in casual, uncommitted sexual intercourse. The assumptions under parental investment theory also indicates that men are required to make less investment in transferring genes to the next generation and therefore tend to mate with a number of partner without emotion or commitment. The theory also suggests the reasons why women engage less in casual sexual intercourse due to the larger investment they are supposed to make. Further the extent of sexual desire is high for men when compared to women. The frequency of sexual desire is also high for men than for women. Research indicates that young people indulge in casual sexual encounters due to their age and environmental factors and even in these circumstance men outnumber women in engaging in uncommitted sexual intercourse to solve their curiosity, peer pressure and social status. Therefore, men have more uncommitted heterosexual sexual intercourse than women. Reference Kauth, M.R.2000 True nature: a theory of sexual attraction New York: Springer Lambert , T.A., Kahn, A.S., & Apple, K.J. 2003 Pluralistic ignorance and hooking up The Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 40 Available: http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LpHYpvT1pKq2cKd7zyYhVN16pJVDRhTnQjvzGX23Kfx2gd7N94ZL!103739492!1173647674?docId=5001963386. Accessed on March 15, 2010 Milhausen, R.R. & Herold, E.S. 1999 Does the Sexual Double Standard Still Exist The Journal of Sex Research Vol.36 No.4 pp.361-368 Available: http://www.jstor.org/pss/3813720. Accessed on March 15, 2010 Regan, P.C. & Atkins, L. 2006 Sex differences and similarities in frequency and intensity of sexual desire Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, Vol.34, No.1 pp.95-102(8) Available: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/sbp/sbp/2006/00000034/00000001/art00009. Accessed on March 15, 2010 Schwartz, P. & Rutter, V. 1998 The gender of sexuality Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Weiten, W., Lloyd, M.A. Dunn, D.S. & Hammer, E.Y. 2008 Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century Belmont: Cengage Learning Womens sexual working models: an evolutionary-attachment perspective 2006 The Journal of Sex research Available: http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6114842/Women-s-sexual-working-models.html. Accessed on March 15, 2010 Read More