The Theory of Sex Markets

Ellingson, Stephen; Laumann, Edward O.; Paik, Anthony; Mahay, Jenna

doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226470337.003.0001

Cited by 54 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…Relationship markets are often operationalized in different ways, ranging from whole nations to neighborhoods to high schools. Of course, individuals are not strictly bound by these markets and may search for partners outside of them, but individuals' searches for partners are typically bounded by space and geography, and influenced by that area's demographic, cultural, and structural characteristics (Ellingson et al. 2004).…”

Section: Mechanisms Explaining the Effect Of Sex Ratios On Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bare Market: Campus Sex Ratios, Romantic Relationships, and Sexual Behavior

Uecker

Regnerus

2010

The Sociological Quarterly

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Using a nationally-representative sample of college women, we evaluate the effect of campus sex ratios on women’s relationship attitudes and behaviors. Our results suggest that women on campuses where they comprise a higher proportion of the student body give more negative appraisals of campus men and relationships, go on fewer traditional dates, are less likely to have had a college boyfriend, and are more likely to be sexually active. These effects appear to stem both from decreased dyadic power among women on campuses where they are more numerous and from their increased difficulty locating a partner on such campuses.

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Section: Mechanisms Explaining the Effect Of Sex Ratios On Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bare Market: Campus Sex Ratios, Romantic Relationships, and Sexual Behavior

Uecker

Regnerus

2010

The Sociological Quarterly

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“…Varying types and degrees of social embeddedness (such as in a religious community) influence the sexual script an individual follows (Ellingson et al 2004). Further, institutional actors (like churches or pledging organizations) are key players that determine “the meaning systems and scripts that guide sexual behaviors and relationships” (Ellingson et al 2004, p. 25). The degree to which these scripts are adopted by young people may also depend on the value accorded the institution that promotes it (Smith 2003).…”

Section: Religion Abstinence Pledging and Technical Virginitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Going most of the way: “Technical virginity” among American adolescents

Uecker

Angotti

Regnerus

2008

Social Science Research

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Reports from academic and media sources assert that many young people substitute non-vaginal sexual activities for vaginal intercourse in order to maintain what could be called "technical virginity." Explanations for technical virginity, however, are based on weak empirical evidence and considerable speculation. Using a sample of 15-19-year-olds from Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth, we examine technical virginity and its motivations. The results suggest that religious adolescents are less likely than less-religious ones to opt for non-vaginal sex over total abstinence. Abstinence pledgers who are virgins are neither more nor less likely than nonpledgers who are virgins to substitute non-vaginal sex for intercourse. Moreover, religion and morality are actually the weakest motivators of sexual substitution among adolescents who have not had vaginal sex. Preserving technical virginity is instead more common among virgins who are driven by a desire to avoid potential life-altering consequences, like pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. KeywordsTechnical virginity; sexual behavior; abstinence pledging; religiosity; oral sex; anal sex Although oral sex and anal sex are far more common among those who also have vaginal intercourse, significant media and social scientific attention has been paid to those who abstain from vaginal sex while engaging in these other forms of sexual activity-a group dubbed "technical virgins" (Gagnon and Simon 1987;Gates and Sonenstein 2000;Woody et al. 2000). According to the USA Today and The New York Times, technical virginity is simply "part of teens' equation" (Jayson 2005), and "many girls see [oral sex] as a means of avoiding pregnancy and of preserving their virginity" (Lewin 1997, p. 8). Social scientists report that about 10 percent of adolescent girls and 15 percent of adolescent boys are technical virgins, but the proportion decreases quickly with age, as rates of vaginal intercourse increase: Only about four percent of 20-24-year-olds have had oral or anal sex but not vaginal sex (Mosher, Chandra, and Jones 2005). There is little evidence that this practice of sexual substitution is anything new. In the early 1980s, about 15 percent of * The first and third authors were supported by a research grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R03-HD048899-01, Mark Regnerus, PI). © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Direct correspondence to Jeremy Uecker, Department of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A1700, Austin, TX 78712-0118. Phone: 512-475-8643. Email: juecker@prc.utexas.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could af...

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“…We hypothesize that neighborhood drug markets may persistently increase the availability of individuals involved in drug markets, thereby increasing the likelihood local residents will select a sex partner who is engaged in drug market activities. This hypothesis rests on the fact that sex partnerships are often formed in tightly confined social settings with spatial and cultural boundaries (Ellingson, et al 2004; J. J. Potterat, et al 1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…J. Potterat, et al 1985). These settings become, in a sense, sex marketplaces as they provide the types of individuals and opportunities available for partnering as well as the social rules that guide the selection of sex partners (Ellingson, et al 2004). Similarly the presence of neighborhood drug markets may alter neighborhood sexual norms surrounding the selection of high-risk sex partners (Friedman, et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neighborhood drug markets: A risk environment for bacterial sexually transmitted infections among urban youth

Jennings

Taylor

Salhi³

et al. 2012

Social Science & Medicine

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We hypothesized that neighborhoods with drug markets, as compared to those without, have a greater concentration of infected sex partners, i.e. core transmitters, and that in these areas, there is an increased risk environment for STIs. This study determined if neighborhood drug markets were associated with a high-risk sex partnership and, separately, with a current bacterial STI (chlamydia and/or gonorrhea) after controlling for individual demographic and sexual risk factors among a household sample of young people in Baltimore City, MD. Analyses also tested whether links were independent of neighborhood socioeconomic status. Data for this study were collected from a household study, systematic social observations and police arrest, public health STI surveillance and U.S. census data. Nonlinear multilevel models showed that living in neighborhoods with household survey-reported drug markets increased the likelihood of having a high-risk sex partnership after controlling for individual level demographic factors and illicit drug use and neighborhood socioeconomic status. Further, living in neighborhoods with survey-reported drug markets increased the likelihood of having a current bacterial STI after controlling for individual level demographic and sexual risk factors and neighborhood socioeconomic status. The results suggest that local conditions in neighborhoods with drug markets may play an important role in setting-up risk environments for high-risk sex partnerships and bacterial STIs. Patterns observed appeared dependent on the type of drug market indicator used. Future studies should explore how conditions in areas with local drug markets may alter sexual networks structures and whether specific types of drug markets are particularly important in determining STI risk.

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The Theory of Sex Markets

Cited by 54 publications

References 0 publications

Bare Market: Campus Sex Ratios, Romantic Relationships, and Sexual Behavior

Bare Market: Campus Sex Ratios, Romantic Relationships, and Sexual Behavior

Going most of the way: “Technical virginity” among American adolescents

Neighborhood drug markets: A risk environment for bacterial sexually transmitted infections among urban youth

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