Differences in men's and women's GLOBAL, SEXUAL, and IDEAL-SEXUAL expressiveness and instrumentality

Positive and Negative Cognitions of Sexual Submission: Relationship to Sexual Violence

“…This is consistent with the traditional sexual script for women, predictions based on sexual selection, and previous research on sexual fantasy (Byers, 1996;Knafo & Jaffe, 1984;Lawrance et al, 1996;Leitenberg & Henning, 1995;Wilson, 1987). As found by Byers et al (1998), the women also reported more frequent negative cognitions of sexual submission than did the men.…”

“…One explanation is based on the traditional sexual script: Women are more likely than men to find cognitions of sexual submission positive and erotic because being passive and submissive in sexual situations is the prescribed role for women whereas being active and instrumental is the prescribed role for men (Byers, 1996;O'Sullivan & Byers, 1993). Consistent with the traditional sexual script, Lawrance, Taylor, and Byers (1996) found that, compared to female students, male university students were more instrumental and less affective in sexual situations. A greater preference for submissive sexual cognitions by women than by men is also consistent with arguments based on sexual selection (Leitenberg & Henning, 1995).…”

Gender, Internalization of Expressive Traits, and Expectations of Parenting

“…There has also been a corresponding shift in the skills, characteristics and traits that are viewed as gender appropriate; men tend to report possessing more traditionally feminine characteristics and women tend to possess more traditionally masculine characteristics than they have in the past (Auster and Ohm 2000;Özkan and Lajunen 2005;Twenge 1997). In correspondence with past research (Kerpleman and Schvaneveldt; Lawrance et al 1996), the men in the present sample evidenced only slightly higher levels of masculinity or instrumentality but appreciably lower levels of femininity or expressivity than women. However, ingender variation in masculine and feminine traits, along with the past findings that the internalization of feminine traits by men are related to both parental satisfaction (Renk et al 2003) and parental behaviours (Bonney et al 1999), lead to our general hypothesis that feminine characteristics would be positively related to the parenting variables under study.…”

“…Although men still rate higher in masculine or instrumental attributes than women (Kerpelman and Schvaneveldt 1999;Lawrance et al 1996), women's self-ratings of traditionally defined masculine traits and men's self-ratings of traditionally defined feminine traits have increased over recent decades (Auster and Ohm 2000;Özkan and Lajunen 2005;Twenge 1997). Contemporary women and men increasingly indicate that it is important to possess a combination of both masculine and feminine traits (Auster and Ohm), likely reflecting their dual participation in both work and family roles.Following this line of reasoning, it would be expected that the internalization of traits traditionally associated with childrearing and care giving (i.e., feminine or expressive traits) should be related to the experience of the care-giving parental role.…”

The Importance and Meaning of Sexual Fantasies in Intimate Relationships

“…Sexual scripts are culture-specific guidelines that dictate the sexual behaviors that are considered normal and acceptable within a particular culture (Bowleg et al 2004;Hyde and DeLamater 1999). Common sexual scripts within the USA describe how men should be the pursuers and women should be the pursued, thus assigning women the role of passive participants within heterosexual sexual activity (Byers 1996;Greene and Faulkner 2005;Peplau 2002, 2003;Lawrance et al 1996). For example, it is considered much more commonplace for a man to ask a woman on a date, than vice versa.…”