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Hedonism, as compared to the sexual values of relativism and absolutism, involves sexual behavior based on the pursuit of pleasure without the requirement for love and/or commitment. Analysis of responses to a 37 item Internet questionnaire completed by 391 undergraduate women revealed that thirty-one percent self-identified as being hedonistic (40% had hooked up). When compared to absolutist and relativistic women, hedonistic women were significantly (p < .000) less likely to require a committed relationship as a context for sex, less likely to be in a reciprocal love relationship and less likely to feel guilty/feel regret following a hookup encounter. Hedonistic women were also more likely to feel more comfortable making the first move in a relationship than absolutist and relativistic women. The primary mechanisms of stigma management by these hedonistic women were to believe in gender equality and to avoid discussing their sexual behavior with others who might disapprove. Symbolic interaction is used to interpret the data. Implications and limitations of the study are identified. Singer/celebrity Miley Cyrus has become the poster girl for hedonistic female sexuality. From her AMA dance to her "Wrecking Ball" video and personal interviews (where she talks of masturbation/Ben Wa balls), Cyrus has a libido on the loose. Reactions have been from "you go girl" to slut-shaming. What is clear is that female sexuality and its control, remain an issue and the double standard remains evident. Eighteen percent of 6660 undergraduate females compared to 30% of 1,149 undergraduate males self identified as being a sexual hedonist (defined as sex for pleasure without the requirement of a meaningful relationship context) (Hall and Knox 2015). While previous research has focused on male sexuality with 12% of 200 undergraduate males identifying their sexual values as "recreational" (Olmstead et al., 2013), the current study focused on factors associated with female sexual hedonism and the strategies they employ to avoid the accompanying stigma (e.g. being labeled slut, whore, trollop).
Older males having sex with younger females are known to increase unsafe sex practices,exacerbated by power and economic imbalances between partners. The purpose of this paper was toexamine transactional sexual relationships (i.e. long-term relationships constructed as “girlfriends not„prostitutes‟” based on the exchange of gifts and other obligations) among female studentsofhigher institutions in Kaduna state Nigeria. It particularly explored the implications for HIV education ininstitutions of higher learning in Nigeria. HIV/AIDS has been labelled as a disease of the poor and theuneducated, and it might be expected that as university students, they would engage in safer sexual practices even if the sexual practice is on transactional bases: ifthey do not, then it highlights the problem around gender and economic imbalances and their repercussionsevenmore clearly as the implications could impact negatively on reproductive health decision making by women generally whether married or unmarried. Design/methodology/approach – Using snowballing, 50 female students from each of the three institutions of higher learning (150) in the stateengaged in transactional sex were selected and interviewed using in-depth interview procedures, while those who declined to engage in a face to face interview filled out questionnaires, the quantitative data was used to support the qualitative data that was analysed thematically. Findings – These young women werenotperused as simple victims; these relationships are perceived as the result ofcomplex and conscious choices. They will not want to marry their partners and were clear that thesewere short-term relationships primarily for material gain, which they nevertheless kept secret fromfamily and most friends for fear of stigma, particularly in blighting their future marriage prospects.They protected themselves from emotional involvement, although they often saw their partnersas loving, taking the provision of gifts as a sign of affection and sometimes a replacement forparental love. Their motivation was primarily economic, to fulfil “wants” not survival “needs” – therelationships enabled them to purchase the trappings of affluent society such as clothes, hairstyles,fast food and gadgets. They were also motivated by the enhanced experiences these relationshipsallowed, such as feeling protected, respected, “high class”, part of a daring elite of women and beingable to travel and continue their education. The unequal nature of the relationships (often described as“father-daughter”) in a society, in which parents, older people and men are given unquestioningrespect, reduced their abilities to negotiate safe sex practices. In so far as they practiced safer sex itwas to avoid pregnancy rather than disease, believing they would be able to tell from physical signs iftheir partner was infected. Practical implications – This study shows that the “privileged” status‟ that higher education offersis no match for the socioeconomic and cultural factors which make female youths, whatever theireducational background, compromise on safer sexual practices, rendering them vulnerable to STIs andparticularly, HIV infection.
Journal of sex …
Identity, Peer Relationships, and Adolescent Girls' Sexual Behavior: An Exploration of the Contemporary Double Standard2011 •
Personality and Social Psychology Review
He is a Stud, She is a Slut! A Meta-Analysis on the Continued Existence of Sexual Double Standards2019 •
Journal of Gender Studies
'No girl wants to be called a slut!': Women, heterosexual casual sex and the sexual double standard.2017 •
Recent shifts in the western cultural landscape mean that practices such as casual sex are contradictory terrains for women. Although permissive and liberal discourses construct women’s casual sex as acceptable, and even desirable, traditional discourses and a sexual double standard, do not. This article examines 15 young women’s negotiation of the sexual double standard in their talk of heterosexual casual sex. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis, with borrowed insights from discourse analysis, within a constructionist framework. All 15 women in this study gave accounts of an agentic and desiring sexuality, yet talked about casual sex and a sexual reputation in contradictory and contested ways. Three main themes were identified: the (un)acceptability of casual sex, a sexual reputation is what other girls have, and the making of a slut. Although an enduring sexual double standard was identified, all participants challenged its relevance and appropriateness. However, a sexual double standard also seeped into women’s accounts when talking about other women and the threat of garnering a negative sexual reputation was linked to women’s silencing of their own casual sex experiences. This work supports the continued need to dismantle un/changing codes of gendered heterosexuality
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