Title

Sexual Scripts Among Young Heterosexually Active Men And Women: Continuity And Change

Publication Date

7-1-2013

Document Type

Article

Abstract

While gendered sexual scripts are hegemonic at the cultural level, research suggests they may be less so at dyadic and individual levels. Understanding ÒdisjuncturesÓ between sexual scripts at different levels holds promise for illuminating mechanisms through which sexual scripts can change. Through interviews with 44 heterosexually active men and women aged 18-25, we delineated ways young people grappled with culture-level scripts for sexuality and relationships. Findings suggest that although most participantsÕ culture-level gender scripts for behavior in sexual relationships were congruent with descriptions of traditional masculine and feminine sexuality, there was heterogeneity in how or whether these scripts were incorporated into individual relationships. Specifically, we found three styles of working with sexual scripts: Conforming, in which personal gender scripts for sexual behavior overlapped with traditional scripts; exception-finding, in which interviewees accepted culture-level gender scripts as a reality, but created exceptions to gender rules for themselves; and transforming, in which participants either attempted to remake culture-level gender scripts, or interpreted their own non-traditional styles as equally normative. Changing sexual scripts can potentially contribute to decreased gender inequity in the sexual realm and to increased opportunities for sexual satisfaction, safety, and wellbeing, particularly for women, but for men as well.

Publication Title

Journal Of Sex Research

Volume

50

Issue

5

First Page

409

Last Page

420

DOI

10.1080/00224499.2012.661102

Publisher Policy

pre-print, post-print

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