Latino Studies Class 10

Individual, Marriage and the Family Class 10: Steamy perspective on courtship, but? - Both exchange theory and evolutionary theory help explain why partners may be attracted to each other - Despite their different perspectives What does sex mean to you? - Connection - Happy - Intimacy - Sex = intercourse? - Expression of love - Way to nourish committed relationship - A highly personal experience - Rite of passage - Means of demonstrating surrender - Commodity that can be sold - Mechanism for bringing forth life Changing patterns of sexual behavior Pre- 20th century-patriarchal sex 1920s ? 1950s ? tradition, but evolution 1960s ? Sexual revolution - Birth control, sex outside marriage 1980s ? 1990s ? BiGLARU - Lessened homophobia; fear HIV/AIDS 21st Century ? intimacy but risk - Abstinence; sex as politics Sex on Campus: The 1970s D?Augelli and Cross at Penn State - In-depth interviews - Self-selected volunteers - Moral stances toward pre-marital sex o Inexperienced virgins o Adamant non-virgins o Committed non-virgins (perm. with affection, sex with caring) o Liberated non-virgins (hippies) o Confused non-virgins Elements of Double Standard - 2 different rules: man vs. woman - If a male has multiple partners than he is praised but a woman is chastised/ a ?slut? - Men may have sex before marriage but women should not - Men may have multiple sex partners, but women should not - Men may have sex without commitment but women must be in love Sex on Campus: The 1980s Moffatt at Rutgers - Participant observation, conversations - Anonymous class papers - Moral stances toward singles sex o Neo-traditional o Romantic (men; of PSU committed, non-virgins) o Experimentalist (women) o Liberals (like PSU liberated virgins) o Radicals o Non-heterosexual Sex in America - Michael et al. (1994) N= 3,432 o Median # of X/week = once o Median # partners/lifetime: men: 6/woman: 2 o Men think about sex more than women o Men have orgasms more often than women - Call et al. (1995) N= 7,463 o Couples under 25: 12X/ month o 25-34: 8X/ month, 35-44: 7X, 45-54: 6X o 55-64: 4X, 65-70: 2-3X, 70+: ~1X/month Sex Surveys - All research has limitations and weaknesses, but studies on sexuality are particularly vulnerable. Why? - Samples usually not representative - Questions are sometimes ambiguous - Knowledgeable questions are time/region dependent - Responses may be colored by culture Jaimie