Men (n = 83) and women (n = 86) at nine dating bars in Ontario, Canada, were surveyed to determine gender differences in self‐reported casual sex and AIDS‐prevention behavior. Data analysis focused on 169 bar patrons who had experienced sexual intercourse. More men than women had some experience with casual sex. The women had as many sexual partners as the men, but were less likely to anticipate having casual sex and reported less enjoyment and more guilt about casual sex than did the men. Almost all men and women had declined at least one opportunity to have casual sex. Women expressed greater fear of being physically harmed during a casual encounter and were more concerned about the risks of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases than were men. Although the respondents reported favourable attitudes toward condoms, many had not used condoms during their last experience with casual sex. Women reported stronger intentions to use condoms during casual sex than did men, but there was no gender differen...

Given the heavy reliance on self‐report measures, volunteer bias due to patterns of nonresponse is an important issue in sex research. In the present study, rates of nonresponse to self‐administered sexual experience questions posed to individuals in a national probability sample (NORC data; Davis & Smith, 1990) of English‐speaking adult households (N = 3,646) were analyzed as a function of demographic characteristics. Differences between responders and nonresponders in reported sexual experience on other items were also investigated. In general, rates of response to most of the sexuality items were quite high. With regard to three of the four sexual experience questions considered, men were more likely than women to respond. Among both men and women, nonresponders to each of the four sexuality items were generally older and reported less income and educational attainment than did responders. There were no differences in likelihood of responding to the sexuality items as a function of religious affiliation or size of city in which the participant resided. Self‐reported religious attendance and marital status were related in limited ways to likelihood of responding. Ethnicity was unrelated to likelihood of response to the sexual experience items for men, but was related for women with regard to two of the items. In general, when there were differences, nonresponders to one or more sexuality items reported having less sexual experience than did responders. Implications of the findings for survey research in human sexuality are discussed, as are related issues in need of further research.

Heterosexual adolescent males’ negative attitudes toward gays were examined using data from a 1988 national survey of male youth 15 to 19 years of age. Results indicated that the vast majority of young males, 89%, found sex between two men “disgusting,” and only 12% felt confident that they could befriend a gay person. Multivariate analyses revealed, as expected, that respondents with more traditional male role attitudes, a religious fundamentalist orientation, and a parent who had completed fewer years of education were significantly more likely to express homophobic views. However, these models also indicated that homophobic attitudes were not associated with the absence of a religious affiliation, placing greater importance on religion, or frequency of worrying about AIDS. The discussion underscores the importance of conducting future research that will facilitate a better understanding of the processes underlying how young males acquire, maintain, and change their attitudes toward gays.

The relationship of stress to sexual functioning and marital satisfaction was investigated in 165 men and women, age 21–84, approximately half of whom were unemployed. Adults completed inventory measures of life experiences, hassles, marital satisfaction, and sexual functioning. Regression analysis showed that for men, unemployment was associated with difficulty attaining an erection. This effect increased significantly with age. Wives of unemployed men also reported greater erectile difficulties for their spouses than wives of employed men. This result was mediated by marital satisfaction: For women whose husbands were unemployed, marital satisfaction had a strong negative relationship to reported erectile difficulty. Contrary to expectations, hassles scores were positively related to sexual desire for both men and women. Although unemployment in women was not related to any sexual dysfunction, desired frequency of intercourse declined with age more sharply for women who were unemployed than for those who were employed. Results were interpreted with respect to the psychological significance of specific stressors.

According to the traditional sexual script, men are the initiators and women the restrictors of sexual activities (McCormick, Brannigan, & LaPlante, 1984). While recent attitudes have shifted toward a more egalitarian standard (DeLamater & MacCorquodale, 1979) and sexual experiences are becoming more permissive (Finlay, Starnes, & Alvarez, 1985), it is not known whether this has resulted in changes in sexual scripts. Therefore, 50 men and 55 women were used in a self‐monitoring procedure to record three aspects of sexual frequencies: sexual initiations, responses to initiations and considering initiations over a two‐week period. The results indicate that men and women are guided by a similar sexual script with regard to responding to initiations and considering initiations, but not with regard to initiation of sexual activity. Men still initiate sexual activity more frequently than women. It was concluded that men and women still appear to be guided by the traditional sexual script with respect to initiat...

The purpose of this research was to extend previous studies examining the influence of a person's sexual behavior on others' perceptions of his/ her relationship desirability. Over 750 students from three universities judged the friendship, dating, and marriage desirability of a person based on information ostensibly provided by him/her about current sexual activity. Overall, the results indicated that a target person portrayed as engaging in low sexual activity in a current relationship was perceived to be more desirable as a friend and marriage partner than a person engaging in moderate or high sexual activity, whereas moderate or high sexual activity was preferred more in a dating partner. Whether the sexual activity occurred in a casual or steady dating relationship, however, also affected desirability perceptions. Finally, evidence was found for a reverse double standard in ratings of dating desirability: males were perceived as most desirable as a date when they engaged in moderate sexual activity, ...

The purpose of this article is to examine ethnographic methodologies (and the conceptual frame used to define and apply such methodologies) relevant to the global study of AIDS. Included for consideration are participant observation, category systems, interviewer bias, formal/informal language and developmental perspective. As an illustration of ethnographic methodology, the present article also examines the significance of such methods within the Chicago Women and Children with AIDS Project.

Jus Primae Noctis (Right of the first Night) was a subject of much interest and considerable controversy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Scholars debated whether it was a custom, a right, or even a myth. Recent evidence would emphasize the so‐called right was simply the ability of the powerful to subject the less powerful to their will. Rape might be a better term to apply since husbands and families had to resort to subterfuge to thwart the desires of the powerful.

This paper presents an analysis of interviews with two women, in intravenous drug use and a sex partner of an intravenous drug user. Their discourse reveals how women may assume different relations to traditional ideals of womanhood and heterosexual intimacy as defined by mainstream culture, and how the circumstances underlying their everyday personal experience are often in conflict with ideal gender roles. Analysis demonstrates that decisions regarding the use of condoms are constrained by this tension between the circumstances of addiction and mainstream ideals. Interview segments focus on sources of ambivalence toward condoms and the way in which economics, emotions, and addictions may affect women's willingness and ability to negotiate sexual risk reduction with steady male partners.

This paper examines research, conducted under the auspices of the Committee for the Study of Sex Variants during the 1930s in New York City, which sought to determine what characteristics distingui...