Why men don’t say no: sexual compliance and gender socialization in heterosexual men

Khera, Devinder; Champion, Amanda; Walton, Kari A.; Pedersen, Cory L.

doi:10.1080/19419899.2022.2031263

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…A seminal study on men's reports on unwanted sexual activity by Muehlenhard and Cook (1988), showed that men experienced more unwanted sex than women and that this may be due to sex role concerns, peer pressure, inexperience and popularity; studies have shown how men with no previous sexual interaction are more anxious and lack self-confidence (Komarovsky, 1976) and how men are expected to be experienced and should want to have sex (Zilbergeld & Zilbergeld, 2004). Recent research by Khera et al (2022), also confirms these findings, stating that men don't say no to unwanted sexual activity due to various reasons such as traditional gender role endorsement and belief in male sexual stereotypes and other factors such as sexual inexperience, peer pressure, popularity and sex-role concerns. While this may be the reason why heterosexual men give consent to unwanted sex, the situation is slightly different for gay and bisexual men.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attachment styles and unwanted consensual sex: Mediating role of Dark Triad traits

Madonna,

Rangaiah

2023

Interpersona

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Past research has shown that insecure attachment, particularly anxious attachment has a role to play in consenting to unwanted sex. While previous studies have taken various factors that may come into play in consenting to unwanted sex, they have not focused on understanding the role that the personality traits of the Dark Triad could play on unwanted consensual sex, particularly in the context of individuals’ attachment styles, we are studying the participants not as perpetrators of abuse, rather how they can be susceptible to giving consent to sex when they don’t want to due to underlying factors like attachment and personality traits, particularly the Dark Triad traits of personality. The current study has 274 participants (Females = 55.50%, Males = 43.80% and Non-Binary = 0.70%) and examines the role of personality traits of the Dark Triad on the relationship between attachment styles of participants and their unwanted consent to sex. We assumed that all three traits machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy would explain unwanted consensual sex and attachment styles, but only machiavellianism and psychopathy showed a partial role in explaining the relationship between both anxious attachment and avoidant attachment with unwanted consent to sex or sexual activity. This study can be used to help in understanding the lesser discussed nuances of what underlies sexual abuse.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attachment styles and unwanted consensual sex: Mediating role of Dark Triad traits

Madonna,

Rangaiah

2023

Interpersona

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“…Notably, though, having sex to please a partner or promote intimacy might be reflective of social coercion, or it might be reflective of a genuine desire to strengthen the relationship. It is interesting that, in their study with men, Khera et al (2022) labeled these same types of motives as “altruistic,” whereas in their study with women, Conroy et al (2015) labeled them as “social coercion,” suggesting that scholars are interpreting the same motives for UCS in different ways when used by men versus women. This is an important reminder that, when examining gender differences in men’s and women’s UCS, researchers can inadvertently exaggerate differences or imply differences that don’t exist through their semantic choices.…”

Section: Research Challenges and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Notably, women reported all of these same reasons for unwanted sex, but men were more likely than women to engage in unwanted sex due to pressure from peers or because they believed it would make them more popular (see Table 2 for a summary of gender differences in motives for UCS). Khera et al (2022) revised Muehlenhard and Cook's (1988) motives for engaging in unwanted sex to ensure that items reflected reasons for consensual (noncoerced) unwanted sex. They administered the adapted measure to 426 heterosexual men, ages 16-80 (M = 31.5).…”

Section: Quantitative Studies Of Masculinity and Men's Ucsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond sexual victimization and perpetration: Men, masculinities, and unwanted consensual sex.

Peterson

2024

Psychology of Men & Masculinities

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The field of men and masculinities has examined rigid adherence to traditional masculine gender roles as a risk factor for sexual perpetration and as a vulnerability factor for sexual victimization. Very little research, however, has examined the role of masculinities in unwanted consensual sex (UCS). UCS is sex that is not wanted or desired by an individual but to which the individual consents or agrees-even though there is no immediate pressure from their partner to do so. UCS is sometimes called "sexual compliance" or "sexual acquiescence." This conceptual article reviews the literature on UCS, including describing the theoretical distinction between unwanted and nonconsensual sex, discussing sexual script theory as the predominate theoretical approach to research on UCS, summarizing the potential consequences of UCS, and addressing the-fairly limitedresearch on the intersections between masculinities and UCS. This article argues that traditional masculine ideologies may put men at risk for consenting to sex that they do want and may make them less sensitive to their partners' lack of desire during consensual sex. The article offers several future directions for research on men, masculinities, and UCS, and it discusses how research on UCS might guide prevention and therapeutic interventions to reduce rates of problematic UCS for men and their sexual partners. Public Significance StatementResearch has demonstrated that wanting (i.e., desiring or wishing for) sex and consenting (i.e., agreeing or giving permission) to sex do not always correspond. Adherence to traditional masculine gender roles may make men more likely to consent to unwanted sex, and it may make them more likely to have a partner who consents to unwanted sex, but these proposals have rarely been researched. The intersection of masculinities and unwanted consensual sex represents an important future research direction that could expand the understanding of men's sexuality. For example, understanding the role of traditional masculine ideologies in unwanted consensual sex may help to guide prevention and therapeutic interventions (e.g., involving deconstructing stereotypes of men's sexuality) to reduce negative sexual experiences among men and their partners.

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“…Literature on gender socialisation has reported that biological sex can be important in determining individuals' social, psychological, and physical needs [ [63] , [64] , [65] , [66] , [67] ]. Studies have observed biological sex and age differences in users’ social, psychological, and physical motivations for dating applications [ 2 , 14 , 54 ].…”

Section: Theoretical Framework and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Bumble motivations framework- exploring a dating App's uses by emerging adults in India

Menon

2024

Heliyon

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Why men don’t say no: sexual compliance and gender socialization in heterosexual men

Cited by 7 publications

References 51 publications

Attachment styles and unwanted consensual sex: Mediating role of Dark Triad traits

Attachment styles and unwanted consensual sex: Mediating role of Dark Triad traits

Beyond sexual victimization and perpetration: Men, masculinities, and unwanted consensual sex.

The Bumble motivations framework- exploring a dating App's uses by emerging adults in India

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