Showing papers on "Human sexuality published in 1971"

A Conflict Theory of Sexual Stratification

Abstract: Employment discrimination against women is explained as the result of a distinctive system of stratification by sex. The fundamental bases of sexual stratification are human sexual drives in conjunction with male physical dominance. Variations in the social organization of violence and of economic markets determine the resources available to men and women in the struggle for control, and condition prevailing ideologies about sexuality. Historical changes in sexual roles are explained as results of shifts in these resources.

Illegitimacy, sexual revolution, and social change in modern Europe.

Abstract: Illegitimacy, Sexual Revolution, and Social Change in Modern Europe Sexuality in traditional society may be thought of as a great iceberg, frozen by the command of custom, by the need of the surrounding community for stability at the cost of individuality, and by the dismal grind of daily life. Its thawing in England and Western Europe occurred roughly between the middle of the eighteenth and the end of the nineteenth centuries, when a revolution in eroticism took place, specifically among the lower classes, in the direction of libertine sexual behavior. One by one, great chunks-such as premarital sexuality, extraand intra-marital sexual styles, and the realm of the choice of partners-began falling away from the mass and melting into the swift streams of modern sexuality. This article considers the crumbling of only a small chunk of the ice: premarital sexuality among young people, studied from the evidence of illegitimacy. However, in other realms of sexuality, a liberalization was simultaneously in progress. There is evidence that masturbation was increasing in those years. The first transvestite appears in Berlin police blotters in 1823. Prostitution in Paris tripled in the first half of the nineteenth century. And, between 1830 and I855, reported rapes in France and England climbed by over 50 per cent.' It is not the concern of this paper, however, to pin down qualitatively these other developments. This is a task reserved for future research based upon a

Effects of Volunteer Biases in Studies of Sexual Behavior and Attitudes.

Abstract: One of the major problems facing researchers in the area of sexual behavior and attitudes is the extent to which the individuals who volunteer for such studies or complete all items on the questionnaires are representative of the populations from which they were drawn. This problem becomes particularly acute when one tries to assess the extent to which sexual attitudes and behaviors have changed over the past years or when one wishes to compare one population with

Different Equals Less: Female Sexuality in Recent Marriage Manuals.

Abstract: Eighteen bestselling marriage manuals of the past two decades were examined to see if changes had occurred in the portrayal of female sexuality since the beginning of the century. It was found that the woman is still assumed to have less sexual interest and experience than the man, who is ascribed the instrumental role of cultivating his wife's sexuality. While greater female initiative and "cooperation" in sex is advocated, the male continues to be the dominant partner. Radical implications of research on the multiorgasmic potential of women are virtually ignored in these books. These findings are interpreted as indicating the ideological nature of much of the advice proferred in this form of adult-education literature.

"Normal" and "deviant" sexual behavior.

Abstract: It is necessary to put aside our culturally acquired biases to achieve an objective perspective on what constitutes "normal" and "deviant" sexual behavior. Sexual practices and mores have varied widely in the course of human history and in different cultures. Our present concepts of normal and deviant behavior cannot be divorced from the value systems of contemporary society. Since value systems are always in the process of evolution and change, we must be prepared to face the possibility that some patterns of sexual behavior currently considered deviant may not always be so regarded.

Everywoman: A Gynaecological Guide for Life

Abstract: Covering the changes that occur from adolescence to the menopause, this is a comprehensive account of the fertile years and beyond In addition to providing the medical and gynaecological facts, it also covers the personal and social aspects of women's sexuality

Observations on Sex Role Research.

Abstract: A critical review of some recent research on sex roles; suggestions are made for an alternative approach. Much research is found to be misleading and seriously biased to minimize indications of strains and changes in American sex roles. Most research is limited to women's roles, not men's, and to the internal processes of the middle class family without consideration of functional, historical, or political aspects. American sex roles are explained in this paper as serving historical and psychological needs which are no longer appropriate. Differential. sex roles are maladapted to contemporary conditions of rapid social change and temporary associations.

Violence Potential in Extramarital Sexual Responses

Abstract: As divorce rates continue to climb in North America, we find no emergent normative setting to help alleviate extramarital sexual problems within the marital relationship. Although we are faced with increased opportunity to participate in extramarital sexuality, we are still confronted with old and often dysfunctional normative settings to accommodate problems which arise in extramarital sexual expression. A survey of three date sources, courtroom cases, survey data, and clinical cases, suggests that in general males are heavily socialized in instrumental and aggressive ways. Violence in family conflict seems to be more usual than commonly thought to be the case, in part due to male socialization, heavy individualism, and female passive-aggressive input. Data from court cases and survey data suggest strong male norms of aggressiveness as culturally appropriate, inhibiting good male-female relations at many levels. Those seeking alternatives to conventional marriage enjoin the struggle in the hope of establishing more rational modes of heterosexual interaction: their struggles are often confounded by past socialization, intrusion of sex-seekers, and ambiguity and difficulty with structuring new norms. Means to achieve more rational adaptations are discussed and include recognition of where we are and use of social science knowledge to further humanistic possibilities.

Human Sexuality in Medical Education and Practice

Abstract: SYNOPSISThe work of Masters and Johnson has tremendously stimulated an interest in and understanding of human sexuality. These authors have discredited certain myths and erroneous notions about sexual problems, their causes and treatment. More and more couples are turning to their physicians for advice and treatment for sexual problems, but doctors are often in the uncomfortable position of being considered experts, when in fact they have little or no training in this field. For patient and doctor alike, this is an untenable situation which medical educators are only beginning to recognize and remedy.

Masculinity Femininity, Personality and Sexual Attitudes.

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Evaluation of a sex education program for children and their parents: attitude and interactional changes.

Abstract: Within a small group of ten- and eleven-year-old children and a separate group of their parents changes occurred in attitudes and in parent- child communications following participation in a planned sex education program. Attitude changes objectively measured pointed to movement in both groups from lesser to greater permissiveness relevant to such aspects of sexuality as masturbation same-sex behavior nudity love-making touch-talk and gender identity. Responses to open-ended questions and anecdotal observations suggested a wide range of changes within parent-child relationships in terms of course- relevant communications. (authors)

Children's Concepts of Reproduction.

Abstract: Who shall teach sex education? At what age should it be taught? These questions are fiercely debated in arguments pro and con sex education (Kerckhoff, 1970) Their answers are based more frequently on protessional and personal opinion than on fact There remain more basic questions to which the answers are not known What do young children knoer? What are the correlates and sequelae of keeping young children ignorant about sex? Sirlce children rnust develop concepts slowly from little or nothing and since they live in a complex world about which so many concepts can be formed, it can be expected that at any stage of development their concepts are inaccurate and inaclequate But particularly regarding human reproduction and sexuality, the concepts a child forms early in life will most likely not be corrected but merely covered up by later acquisition of knowledt,e (Gagnon, 1965) It is important to deterrrline what these concepts are, when they developn and how they aSect the child's attitude toward reproduction A study which dealt with one of these questions was done by Kreitler and Kreitler (1966) They interviewed Israeli children ranging in age from fourto fiveand-one-half years to learn their concepts of sexuality and birth Even at that age Israeli children held fearful concepts about pregnancy and birth The preponderance of chiIdren described birth as cutting open the mothers stolnach Further evidence for this interpretation of the Kreitler's results was found in the fact that 75 per cent of the girls born of parents of European origin projected a miserable state, eg, cries? trembles, is lonely, is afraid c)f the dark, onto the unborn baby The purpose of this sttldy was to see if these results could }-)e replicated with middle classf midwestern, American children

Human Sexuality in the Social Work Curriculum.

Abstract: Social work must address itself to educating students in the field of human sexuality if it is to prepare them to deal adequately with the problems of the family, adolescence, mental health, etc. Social work has a limited literature in this area, and only recently have the curricula of schools of social work begun to reflect the interest in human sexuality. In this study, forty social work students were tested to determine how their SKI (Sex Knowledge Inventory) scores compared with those of other professional students. Tests revealed the social work student was not as knowledgeable as the student of medicine, law, or nursing.

Lower-class sexuality: Some emotional and social aspects in West German males and females.

Abstract: Emotional and social aspects of lower-class sexuality in West Germany are examined on the basis of results of interviews with 150 male and 150 female, single, 20–21-year-old, unskilled or semi-skilled workers from six large cities. Particular attention was given to the relation between sexuality and love, the significance of fidelity and virginity, partner mobility, mutuality of sexual relations, attitudes to marriage and family, double standards and gender roles, emotional reactions to coitus, as well as the experience of orgasm in the female. A comparison between American and Scandinavian patterns of lower-class sexuality shows that the West German pattern is largely congruent with the Scandinavian pattern.

A sex counseling service for college students.

Abstract: 'the setting up and functioning of a sex counseling service at Yale College is discussed. The service is staffed by a husband and wife, gynecologist and social corker respectively, functioning as a team, with the goal of helping students with any problem relating to sexuality. The sex counseling service was placed within the Mental Hygiene Division of University Health since the nsychiatric staff had a good reputation among students. A good response was noted the first year, with a total of 38/ cases. The three major categories of problems: CO requests for birth control;

Parental views on teenage sexual behavior

Abstract: 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

Patterns of sexual behavior in West German workers and students

Abstract: Sex surveys have until now almost always dealt with the middle class. Only to a very limited extent were there reliable data regarding lower class sexuality. A systematic analysis therefore of class differences in sexual behavior and in the attitudes toward sexuality could at best be made only partially. The relatively most extensive material published has been about the American lower classes (Whyte, 1943; Kinsey et al., 1948, 1953; Gebhard et al., 1958; Rainwater, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1966 a, 1966 b; Komarovsky, 1964; Reiss, 1964, 1967; Clark, 1965; Hammond and Ladner 1969). Special studies regarding lower class sexuality in European countries have until now not been published. Only from the investigations of Jonsson (1951), Zetterberg (1969), Israel et al. (1970) in Sweden, Hertoft (1968, 1970) in Denmark, Schofield (1965) in England and v Friedeburg (1953) in Germany could some class comparisons be inferred. We have discussed the most important results of these studies in another place (Schmidt-and Sigusch, 1971). In this study we wish to examine by means of our own data, the sexuality of young unskilled or semiskilled workers as well as students in order to determine to what extent the sexual behavior patterns of young, single men and women in West Germany are influenced by social class. The samples that we examined are particularly suited for class comparisons as they comprise extreme social groupsas measured by the criterion of "education". For reasons of method we limit these comparisons to some fundamental findings regarding sexual behavior and attitudes. We have already described in detail the psychosocial and emotional aspects of lower class sexuality in other places (Sigusch et al., 1970; Schmidt and Sigusch, 1971).

A course in human sexuality for the college student.

Abstract: A CONTENT analysis of current offerings from television, the cinema, the theater, magazines, and books might convince an outsider that Americans are preoccupied-perhaps even obsessedwith sex. Four of the ten books on the current nonfiction best seller lists are about sex, "X" rated films attract a high percentage of moviegoers, and our contemporary agony about the issues of obscenity and pornography coincides with a burgeoning volume of erotica in all the media. The consequence is that massive sex education is being accomplished wholely within the context of sensationalism and commercialism-a context which is far from reality and which is promoting sex in a most pejorative sense. At the same time, "society" is at odds about many issues concerning responsible sex education-whether it should be done at all, if so by whom and, especially, what should be told and when. The recent controversial report of the Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography opens with an emphatic statement concerning this: