Gendered Sexuality: Exploring dynamics of the sexual double standard

Abstract

The sexual double standard (SDS) is a divergent set of expectations for boys and men, and girls and women for engaging in romantic and sexual behaviour. It prescribes that boys and men should be sexually active, assertive and take sexual initiative, whereas girls and women should be sexually reactive, functioning as gatekeepers and be sexually passive. These prevailing gender norms encourage unequal judgment of men and women for exhibiting similar sexual behaviour, leading to serious consequences for male and female sexual health. These consequences seem to be most detrimental to girls and women. However, many of the underlying dynamics of the SDS remain unclear. Therefore, this dissertation describes six studies that further knowledge on SDS measurement, its psychosexual correlates and its gendered display in the form of sexual assertiveness. These studies were conducted among heterosexual Dutch adolescents and emerging adults. Firstly, this dissertation describes the development of new and good quality measures for the SDS. These measures have subsequently been used in the studies described. These studies show that the sexual double standard is still visible in the sexuality of Dutch young people. Although SDS endorsement is not particularly strong among this population in general, the results point towards a number of vulnerable groups. Secondly, this dissertation shows that SDS endorsement is connected to decreased sexual autonomy among Dutch women only, which is in turn related to decreased positive and increased negative emotions. Furthermore, two studies using different types of measures to study the SDS and sexual assertiveness, showed that these concepts seem to exist at different cognitive levels. This is particularly apparent among Dutch women, as their respective scores on the different types of SDS and sexual assertiveness measures revealed an experienced ambiguity concerning their sexuality, that is not seen among men. The last study in the dissertation shows that people adapt their sexually assertive behaviour, i.e. they socially tune their sexual behaviour to gendered characteristics of sexual situations and sexual partners. Future studies should focus on influence processes that underlie sexual attitudes in line with the SDS. Moreover, increased attention needs to be paid to the personal lived experiences of sexuality and sexual autonomy, in particular among girls and women. Transcending the level of the individual studies of this dissertation, is a recommendation to make Dutch sexuality education gender-transformative, to establish cultural change towards increased gender equality.