Responding to controversies about the balance between nature and culture in determining human sexuality, the author proposes that the female sex drive is more malleable than the male in response to sociocultural and situational factors. A large assortment of evidence supports 3 predictions based on the hypothesis of female erotic plasticity: (a) Individual women will exhibit more variation across time than men in sexual behavior, (b) female sexuality will exhibit larger effects than male in response to most specific sociocultural variables, and (c) sexual attitude-behavior consistency will be lower for women than men. Several possible explanations for female erotic plasticity are reviewed, including adaptation to superior male political and physical power, the centrality of female change (from no to yes) as a prerequisite for intercourse, and the idea that women have a milder sex drive than men.

Gender differences in erotic plasticity: the female sex drive as socially flexible and responsive

The Logic of Survey Analysis.

The Social Context of Premarital Sexual Permissiveness

Four theories about cultural suppression of female sexuality are evaluated. Data are reviewed on cross-cultural differences in power and sex ratios, reactions to the sexual revolution, direct restraining influences on adolescent and adult female sexuality, double standard patterns of sexual morality, female genital surgery, legal and religious restrictions on sex, prostitution and pornography, and sexual deception. The view that men suppress female sexuality received hardly any support and is flatly contradicted by some findings. Instead, the evidence favors the view that women have worked to stifle each other's sexuality because sex is a limited resource that women use to negotiate with men, and scarcity gives women an advantage.

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Cultural suppression of female sexuality.

Parents of preschoolers in Oregon were surveyed about their future plans for educating their children about 15 aspects of human sexuality. Questions examined the topics parents planned to present their views about when they would introduce them and their anticipated level of comfort in discussing sexual information. Comparisons were made of the responses given by mothers of daughters mothers of sons fathers of daughters and fathers of sons. Specific recommendations are given for family practitioners seeking to increase parental involvement in childrens sex education. (authors modified)

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/584198.pdf

Parental Plans for Children's Sex Education.

In the present study parents' views of appropriate rules and behavior in teenage courtship were examined. Consideration was given to differences between democratic and autocratic attitudes concerning dating rules and teenage sexual behavior. Reiss (1967) has emphasized the importance of the liberal-conservative ethos as a predictor of courtship attitudes. He contended that a liberal or conservative life style was more important than social class in determining the degree of sexual permissiveness (Reiss, 1965). Reiss' findings emphasize the relevance of identifying subjects' liberal and conservative attitudes. Reiss also reported that equalitarianism with a departure from double standard adherence was approved by the majority of both his student and adult samples, but that a female's close ties to the family institution function as support to non-equalitarianism. Another of his specific findings was that in groups with lower levels of sexual permissiveness, social forces will have a greater likelihood of altering the individual's level of sexual permissiveness than in groups with higher levels of sexual permissiveness. The legitimacy of the proposition was questioned by Heltsley and Broderick (1969). Using religiosity as a measure of social forces they disputed this general finding and suggested the quality of the particular factor, in this case religion, influenced sexual permissiveness. The effective rejoinder by Reiss (1969) still leaves the proposition as one to consider in further research. Wake (1969, pp. 170-177) asserted that the double standard was nearly nonexistent for his sample of middle to upper socio-economic status mothers and fathers. Those parents were described as equally permissive toward sons' and daughters' sexual experiences. However, a progressive decrease in permissiveness was

Parental views on teenage sexual behavior

Professional persons enrolled in a sex education institute were studied regarding their attitudes toward sex education for adolescents. The direction and degree of attitude changes emanating from participation in the institute as well as demographic determinants of these changes were investigated. Workshop attitude change was measured in a pre-post design using the Sex Education Liberalism Scale (SELS) and the Sex Education Content Scale (SECS). Each respondent was his own control. Increased liberalism toward sex education was found. Marital status religion occupation and education were found to be discriminating variables whereas age and sex were not. (authors)

Gilbert D. Nass

Papers

Parental views on teenage sexual behavior

Attitude change among professionals toward sex education for adolescents.