The reverse double standard in perceptions of student-teacher sexual relationships: the role of gender, initiation, and power

The present study tested the prediction that male teachers are judged more harshly than female teachers for engaging in heterosexual intercourse with a student. One-hundred and eighty-seven adults (116 women, 71 men) evaluated a hypothetical newspaper article describing an alleged student-teacher relationship as part of a 2 (Gender Dyad: Male Teacher/Female Student or Female Teacher/Male Student) x 2 (Initiator: Student or Teacher) between-subjects design. As expected, a reverse sexual double standard was revealed, in which participants judged situations involving male teachers more harshly than they judged situations involving female teachers, but only when the sexual contact was teacher-initiated. Participants also believed that male students received more social benefits from the sexual contact than did female students.     

The Reverse Double Standard in Perceptions of Student-Teacher Sexual Relationships: The Role of Gender,Initiation, and Power

ABSTRACT

The present study tested the prediction that male teachers are judged more harshly than female teachers for engaging in heterosexual intercourse with a student. One-hundred and eighty-seven adults (116 women, 71 men) evaluated a hypothetical newspaper article describing an alleged student-teacher relationship as part of a 2 (Gender Dyad: Male Teacher/Female Student or Female Teacher/Male Student) × 2 (Initiator: Student or Teacher) between-subjects design. As expected, a reverse sexual double standard was revealed, in which participants judged situations involving male teachers more harshly than they judged situations involving female teachers, but only when the sexual contact was teacher-initiated. Participants also believed that male students received more social benefits from the sexual contact than did female students.     

Young Adults’ Perceptions of Non-Forcible Sexual Activity: The Effects of Participant Gender, Respondent Gender, and Sexual Act

There is a gendered double standard for both sexual activity and criminal victimization, in that female sexual actors and victims are generally viewed more negatively than their male counterparts. In this study, 485 U.S. undergraduates at a large Northeastern university completed a questionnaire in which the gender of the victim and the nature of the non-forcible sexual act (sexual intercourse or oral sex) were experimentally manipulated. The provided scenarios depicted statutory rape situations, characterized by age discrepancies between the two parties. Respondents were asked to rate each of the parties on a series of questions to determine their level of condemnation for each of the parties involved. We hypothesized the existence of a sexual double standard, such that female actors would be more condemned than males. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated that respondents were more condemning of female than male victims, regardless of which act was depicted. Furthermore, male respondents were more condemning of a female perpetrator of statutory rape than of her male victim, and also more condemning of a female victim than of her male perpetrator, whereas female respondents did not differentiate between the victim and perpetrator, regardless of the depicted victim gender or sexual act. That is, whether she was depicted as the victim or perpetrator of the act, the female was more condemned than her male counterpart. Overall, female respondents were more condemning than male respondents, regardless of which act was depicted. These findings suggest the presence of a sexual double standard in perceptions of statutory rape.     

Susceptibility to sexual victimization and women’s mating strategies

Women show stable individual differences in mating strategies ranging from short-term to long-term. Short-term mating strategies may put women at greater risk of sexual victimization through increased exposure to risky situations or to men most inclined to pursue a strategy of sexual coercion. To test these predictions, we studied female college students who had experienced a completed rape, an attempted sexual victimization, or no sexual victimization. Women’s mating strategies were assessed through the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory. Victims further reported whether they engaged in consensual intimate behaviors with their victimizer before or after the victimization. Victims of completed rape scored highest on short-term mating strategy pursuit; non-victims scored lowest; women experiencing attempted victimization scored between these two groups. Victims of completed rape also more frequently reported consensual kissing and intercourse with their victimizer before and after the victimization than women who experienced attempted victimization. The findings of this study should not be interpreted as blaming the victim, but rather as identifying circumstances that put women at greater risk. Clearly, perpetrators are to blame for sexual victimization. Discussion focuses on future research directions and on practical implications for reducing rates of sexual victimization.     

Sexual Double Standard: A Review of the Literature Between 2001 and 2010

The present article is a review of 26 studies on the sexual double standard. This phenomenon consists of different rules and standards of sexual behavior for men and women. Only scientific articles reporting empirical research published between 2001 and 2010 and available online in full were included. Our review was focused on the evidence of the existence of the sexual double standard and on the methods that have been used in the studies in this field. Most studies used quantitative methods based on scales or vignette tasks with a target to be evaluated by respondents. There was greater variability of results among the 6 studies using qualitative methods. These studies employed different interview techniques, focus groups and participant observation. There were also 2 studies reporting the use of mixed methods. The results of the studies showed that the sexual double standard still can be identified nowadays, although it seems that sexual behaviors and situations influenced by this phenomenon are changing. Today, premarital sex and sexual intercourse outside of committed relationships are more accepted for both genders. However, evaluations of other facets of sexuality continue to be based on different criteria for men and women.     

A Tale of Two Standards: An Examination of Young Adults�� Endorsement of Gendered and Ageist Sexual Double Standards

Current North American sexual standards allow women to be sexual within committed relationships but may still restrict women??s sexuality to a greater extent than men??s. We investigated whether these gender double standards interact with an age double standard that describes the elderly as less sexual than the young, to create particularly limiting sexual standards for older women. 305 Canadian undergraduates completed a 2 (target age) × 2 (target gender) × 2 (participant gender) within-subjects study measuring perceptions of younger (own age) and older (over 65 years old) men??s and women??s interest in traditional sex (e.g., cuddling, intercourse with main partner) and experimental sex (e.g., extra-relationship sex, viewing erotic materials). ANCOVAs controlling for ageist and sexist beliefs revealed the ageist double standard; the elderly were perceived to be less interested in sex overall than the young. There was also a sexual double standard; women were perceived to be more interested in traditional sex than men, and men more interested in experimental sex than women. For traditional sex, women perceived younger targets as more interested than the older targets, and women targets as more interested than men. For experimental sex, a three-way interaction showed the interplay between the sexual and ageist double standards. Elderly female targets were perceived as least interested, and young male targets as most interested. Results reinforce that the current sexual standards distinguish between sex for intimacy and sex for other reasons (e.g., pleasure) and that the standards are particularly restrictive for older women.     

Women of the fifties: Their past sexual experiences and current sexual attitudes in the context of mother/daughter relationships

As part of a study on sexual communication between mothers and daughters, 141 college-educated mothers of college-age daughters completed a questionnaire on their past sexual activities (including high school and college experiences, first love experience, first experience of intercourse, first and successive pregnancies, and birth of first child). Mothers also indicated the degree to which they had experienced 14 sex-related fears during college and at present. Several questions tapped present sexual attitudes concerning themselves and their daughters. Mothers were asked how they would feel if their daughters never married, never had children, or had a homosexual relation. The majority reported that their sexual attitudes had become more liberal since college and indicated that their daughters had influenced these attitudes. The majority also indicated they were satisfied with the current sexual communication with their daughters and with the mother/daughter relationship in general.This work was supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation. Please address correspondence to Marilyn Yalom, Center for Research on Women, Serra House, Stanford, California 94305.     

LABELING OF ABUSE EXPERIENCES AND RATES OF VICTIMIZATION

Research has consistently found that a history of previous sexual victimization increases risk for future sexual assault, which might be due to women with a history of sexual victimization having difficulty identifying risky cues and not perceiving their own vulnerability for future assaults. This study investigated how acknowledgment of previous experiences with interpersonal violence is related to risk perception and rates of victimization. Participants were 198 college women who completed assessments of victimization, personal risk appraisal, and acknowledgment. Analyses indicated differences in rates of victimization based on labeling of experiences and differences in efforts to change behaviors to reduce risk for future assaults based on level of acknowledgment. Also, there were a number of situational factors significantly related to likelihood of acknowledgment. The findings differed for physical and sexual violence. This study suggests that acknowledgment is an important factor to consider in studies of sexual and physical revictimization.     

Sexual aggression: perceptions of its likelihood of occurring and some correlates of self-admitted perpetration.

175 college undergraduate students completed a questionnaire which contained dating scenarios and questions designed to assess the participants' perceptions about the likelihood that sexual aggression would occur in the described dating situations and how justified sexual aggression would be in those situations. Also included were items to assess self-admitted sexual aggression, self-reported sexual victimization, attitudes toward certain affectionate behaviors, and enjoyment of several magazines including the "soft-core" sexually oriented publication Playboy. Analysis indicated that women made significantly higher estimates of the chances of sexual aggression occurring in the described dating situations. Relative to nonvictimized women, victimized women gave significantly higher estimates of the likelihood of sexual aggression and believed that sexual aggression was significantly more justified. Men rated sexual aggression as significantly more justified in a relationship in which the male had been paying all dating expenses relative to one in which dating expenses were shared. Women's ratings were not significantly different. Also, correlates of self-admitted male sexual aggression included greater rated enjoyment of Playboy magazine and less agreement with an item designed to measure attitudes toward physical affection.     

ACCEPTANCE AND EXPECTATION OF SEXUAL AGGRESSION IN COLLEGE STUDENTS

This study examines college students' acceptance and expectations of sexual aggression in common dating situations. Five hundred and forty-six college students completed a measure of rape acceptance beliefs to explore the "campus climate" regarding sexual assault. Results suggest that consensus on definitions of unacceptable behavior in dating situations is emerging: young college men and women overwhelmingly rejected the use of violent and coercive behavior. A surprisingly high number, however, expected this type of behavior in a variety of situations, for example, on dates involving the use of drugs or alcohol. Women's expectations of sexual aggression generally surpassed men's. Yet, in several situations, participants, regardless of their gender, expected the use of verbal threats of harm in order to obtain intercourse. Students expected the use of force to obtain sexual intercourse the least. Results are discussed in relation to the reporting behavior of sexual assault victims and the development of primary prevention techniques.     

Do women sometimes say no when they mean yes? The prevalence and correlates of women's token resistance to sex

We investigated whether women ever engage in token resistance to sex--saying no but meaning yes--and, if they do, what their reasons are for doing so. A questionnaire administered to 610 undergraduate women asked whether they had ever engaged in token resistance and, if so, asked them to rate the importance of 26 possible reasons. We found that 39.3% of the women had engaged in token resistance at least once. Their reasons fell into three categories: practical, inhibition-related, and manipulative reasons. Women's gender role attitudes, erotophobia-erotophilia, and other attitudes and beliefs varied as a function of their experience with token resistance and their sexual experience. We argue that, given society's sexual double standard, token resistance may be a rational behavior. It could, however, have negative consequences, including discouraging honest communication, perpetuating restrictive gender stereotypes, and--if men learn to disregard women's refusals--increasing the incidence of rape.     

THE SEXUAL DOUBLE STANDARD

To explore the operation of the sexual double standard, 111 men and 143 women evaluated either a male or female target, described in a fictitious interview as involved in either monogamous or multiple heterosexual relationships and depicted as engaged in either above average, average, or below average levels of sexual activity. Targets described as involved in multiple relationships or depicted as engaged in above average levels of sexual activity were evaluated less positively than targets in other conditions. Women presented as more sexually active were seen as more liberal and more assertive than other female targets. In this study the sexual double standard was not operating in the formation of overall evaluations of individuals, but it did exert influence on other judgments that people make about men and women.     

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN WOMEN'S SEXUAL ASSAULT EXPERIENCES BASED ON TACTICS USED BY THE PERPETRATOR

Only a few studies have examined the characteristics of sexual assault based on the tactics used by the perpetrator. In this study we compared the experiences of women who were forced to engage in vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse due to verbal coercion, physical force, or intoxication. Random-digit dialing was used to obtain a sample of 272 single African American and Caucasian women between the ages of 18 and 49 from the Detroit metropolitan area. Participants completed a computer-assisted self-interview that asked detailed questions about a past sexual assault and their reactions to it. Among the 139 women who were forced to engage in vaginal, anal, or oral intercourse, sexual assaults that involved physical force produced the most severe negative outcomes. Situations that involved the woman being too intoxicated to resist differed from others primarily in terms of how much alcohol the man and woman consumed. Although all types of sexual assault were perceived as being at least moderately serious, verbally coerced assaults were on average perceived as being least serious. These findings suggest that the perpetrators' tactics affect women's responses to sexual assault.     

Ambivalent Sexism and the Sexual Double Standard

The sexual double standard is the notion that women are evaluated negatively and men positively for engaging in similar sexual behaviors. Because traditional, gender-based stereotypes are reflected in the attitudes that people hold towards men and women, it is likely that sexism plays a part in the manifestation of the double standard. The goal of the present study is to investigate the relationship between sexism (prejudice against individuals based on their gender) and the sexual double standard. There are two types of sexism: hostile (negative prejudice) and benevolent (positive prejudice). We hypothesized that participants displaying high levels of either type of sexism would be most likely to exhibit the sexual double standard. A US-sample of 232 undergraduates from a Southwestern university completed the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) and the Ambivalence Towards Men Inventory (AMI) and then evaluated a hypothetical target individual who reported having zero, one or 12 sexual partners. Results show that participants’ sexist attitudes towards men and women were related to their exhibition of the sexual double standard. Specifically, men and women’s hostile attitudes towards targets of their own gender were related to negative evaluations of highly sexually active targets of the same gender, while men and women’s benevolent attitudes towards the opposite gender were related to positive evaluation of highly sexually active targets of the opposite gender. Implications of the present results and directions for future research are discussed.     

Self-Other Perspective and Sexual Attitudes Affect Estimates of Sexual Risk

This study evaluated the effects of self-other perspective, sexual attitudes, and a sexual victimization history on women’s estimates of sexual risk for a set of vignettes describing situations that they may face when interacting socially with men. One hundred and twenty-four women from a medium sized southwestern university in the US were assigned to two different conditions (imagine self vs. an anonymous woman) and asked to rate how risky the situations described were in terms of having an unwanted sexual experience. Results revealed that participants asked to imagine an anonymous woman estimated sexual risk as higher than participants asked to imagine themselves, and that participants reporting liberal sexual attitudes estimated sexual risk as lower than participants reporting more conservative attitudes.     

Women's perceptions of female contraceptive behavior: experimental evidence of the sexual double standard

A social perception study was conducted to examine the effect of the sexual double standard on impressions of a female target. As part of a "social memory" study, 57 female undergraduates read a fictitious woman's diary describing a sexual encounter where the woman provided a condom, the man provided a condom, or the couple had unprotected intercourse. Participants made behavioral judgments and interpersonal judgments about the couple, and rated the female target on several personality traits. Women rated the target's behavior more negatively, and as more inappropriate, when she provided a condom, than when her partner provided a condom. Participants also assumed that the target's partner would feel less positive about her when she provided a condom than if he provided a condom or if they had unprotected intercourse. These results are discussed with respect to the continued existence of the sexual double standard, and its impact on women's contraceptive behavior.     

Gender’s Role in Misperceptions of Peers’ Sexual Motives

The sexual double standard influences men’s and women’s sexual attitudes and behavior, leading men and women to consider distinct sexual motives, or reasons whether or not to engage in sexual intercourse. The goal of the present paper was to document how the sexual double standard shapes perceptions of peers’ sexual motives. We build on past research by using open-ended questions and measuring perceptions of both same-gender and other-gender peers. The sample included 154 heterosexual college students (50 % female, 49 % European American, 25 % Latino American, 26 % African American) recruited via probability sampling. When we compared perceptions of men’s and women’s sexual motives, we found that participants seemed to rely on the sexual double standard. Participants were more likely to attribute a female-stereotyped motive (e.g., romantic relationship characteristics, feeling “ready”, emotional investment) and less likely to attribute a male-stereotyped motive (“easy”, arousal, physical appearance) to female peers than to male peers. However, when we compared participants’ own motives to perceptions of their peers’ motives, participants overestimated male-stereotyped motives and underestimated female-stereotyped motives in peers, regardless of peer gender, possibly in congruence with stereotypes of hookup culture. These findings demonstrate that, although individuals sometimes rely on the sexual double standard to attribute sexual motives to others, misperceptions of peers’ sexual motives may also be influenced by stereotypes of hookup culture. These misperceptions contribute to pluralistic ignorance that may influence college students’ sexual behaviors.     

Women's beliefs about the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome and biases in recall of premenstrual changes.

The present study investigated the relationship between women's beliefs about the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and biases in recall of premenstrual changes. Forty-nine women completed the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (R. H. Moos, 1968) both retrospectively and prospectively. Afterward, they were asked about their beliefs concerning the prevalence of PMS. The women reported higher premenstrual changes when they completed the retrospective questionnaire. Seventy-five percent of the women believed that the majority of women have premenstrual changes. From this percentage, those who answered that the majority also experience PMS were more biased in their premenstrual changes in the retrospective assessment. Many women have a misperception about the meaning of PMS; consequently, they amplify their premenstrual changes in recall, reflecting women's cultural stereotypes rather than their actual experiences.