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Broadening the concept of the sexual double standard: Assessing heterosexual attitudes and evaluations of gay men and lesbians' sexuality

Lennon, Erica S

Abstract Details

2007, Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, Psychology.
The subject of numerous research studies, the sexual double standard formally states that men are rewarded for engaging in casual sexual activity, while women are derogated for the same behavior. Although research has indicated a strong belief in contemporary society that the sexual double standard still exists, the research literature has yielded mixed results about its existence and application. Despite the abundance of studies focusing on the sexual double standard, all of these studies contained a heterosexual bias, as they only examined the presence or absence of the sexual double standard in the heterosexual population. To determine whether a sexual double standard exists with regard to the homosexual population, 174 heterosexual, undergraduate participants evaluated homosexual experimental targets described in scripts that manipulated the targets' sex and number of lifetime sexual partners. Results showed that although the participants' attitudes toward gay men were significantly more negative than their attitudes toward lesbians, the participants did not utilize the sexual double standard in their evaluations, as they rated both gay men and lesbian experimental targets in a similar negative manner as their number of reported sexual partners increased. These results suggest that although the amount of sexual activity influences evaluations of homosexuals, gay men and lesbians are not held to different sexual standards by the heterosexual population. Reasons for and implications of this noted disconnect between the participants' attitudes and evaluations are discussed.
Cynthia L. Crown, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Christine M. Dacey, Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Member)
Kandi Stinson, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
129 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lennon, E. S. (2007). Broadening the concept of the sexual double standard: Assessing heterosexual attitudes and evaluations of gay men and lesbians' sexuality [Doctoral dissertation, Xavier University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xavier1385994190

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lennon, Erica. Broadening the concept of the sexual double standard: Assessing heterosexual attitudes and evaluations of gay men and lesbians' sexuality. 2007. Xavier University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xavier1385994190.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lennon, Erica. "Broadening the concept of the sexual double standard: Assessing heterosexual attitudes and evaluations of gay men and lesbians' sexuality." Doctoral dissertation, Xavier University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xavier1385994190

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)