An Examination of the Sexual Double Standard Pertaining to Masturbation and the Impact of Assumed Motives

An Examination of the Sexual Double Standard Pertaining to Masturbation and the Impact of Assumed Motives. Katherine R. Haus, Ashley E. Thompson. Sexuality & Culture, November 2 2019. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-019-09666-8

Abstract: Research reveals that masturbation is a highly stigmatized behavior for which people are harshly judged. Stigmatized sexual behaviors often result in discrepancies in social judgment such as the Sexual Double Standard (SDS; the tendency to judge women’s sexual behavior more harshly than men’s). However, no research has experimentally examined the SDS with respect to masturbation or the assumed motives influencing the potential SDS. Thus, in study one, a total of 496 U.S. adults (246 women, 250 men) were required to read one of four vignettes depicting a hypothetical man or woman engaged in masturbation. After reading the vignette, the endorsement of the SDS was assessed by asking participants to rate the perceived partner quality of the hypothetical masturbator. In study two, a total of 264 U.S. adults (115 women, 149 men) were again required to read vignettes, rate the target’s perceived partner quality, and report on the assumed pleasure and intimacy-focused motives of the target. The results of both studies revealed a reverse SDS, in which women were viewed as higher quality partners than men. Study two further demonstrated that women were assumed to have masturbated for both pleasure and intimacy-focused motives to a greater extent than men and that these motives helped to explain the reverse SDS. Overall, these findings highlight the need to equalize double standards in Western cultures to reduce potentially harmful effects on sexual health.

Keywords: Masturbation Sexual double standard Motives Perceived gender differences

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General Discussion
In order to address the existing research gap surrounding masturbation in regard
to the SDS, the current body of research utilized experimental vignettes depicting
hypothetical men or women engaging in masturbation, assessed participants’
perceptions of the target’s partner quality in study one, and their perceived
motives in study two. Although recent research indicates conflicting results surrounding
the existence of a SDS, the current research provided replicated evidence
of a reverse SDS whereby the hypothetical men were judged as being
lower quality partners than the hypothetical women based on their lack of pleasure
and intimacy-focused motivations when masturbating.

Neutral Attitudes Toward Masturbation

The neutral judgments of hypothetical masturbators discovered in both studies provide
evidence that masturbation may not be as stigmatized as previously thought
(Kontula and Haavio-Mannila 2003). Additionally, as the number of people who
self-report engaging in masturbation has increased over the years, it is possible that
attitudes are growing increasingly more accepting toward this behavior (Kontula and
Haavio-Mannila 2003). This could partly be due to the increase in availability of
sexually explicit media, and the ways in which it can impact peoples’ perceptions
of sexuality and their masturbatory practices (Prause 2019). However, because of
the minimal research conducted in this area, it is difficult to determine the extent
to which attitudes toward masturbation have changed over the years. Regardless,
research assessing attitudes toward other sexual behaviors indicates that we are currently
living in an era in which Western cultural norms related to sexuality appear
to be shifting, with younger cohorts reporting more positive and accepting attitudes
toward sexual behavior than older cohorts (e.g., Twenge et al. 2015, 2016). Thus, the
neutral judgments discovered in study one and study two provide evidence that these
recent shifts may also apply to attitudes toward masturbation.

The Reverse Sexual Double Standard

Both study one and study two captured a reverse SDS regarding judgments of partner
quality, confirming the results from other recent research documenting a reverse
SDS with respect to other sexual behaviors (e.g., Papp et al. 2015; Sakaluk and
Milhausen 2012). As the SDS has become difficult to analyze (Jonason and Marks
2009; Milhausen and Herold 1999; Sprecher and Hatfield 1996; Thompson et al.
2018), it is important to note that the reverse SDS was replicated in the current body
of research. This reverse SDS may be due to a number of things, the first of which
being societal shifts in our perceptions of women’s sexuality due to social media
campaigns such as #MeToo and #TimesUp.

The second explanation for the reverse SDS may be related to the gendered media
portrayal of masturbation in Western cultures. For example, in a content analysis of
popular Western media, Madanikia and colleagues (2013) found evidence of negative
depictions of masturbation in scenes with which men were portrayed in comparison
to those with which women were portrayed. Consequently, if the media is a
true reflection of cultural attitudes surrounding specific behaviors, then it is possible
that we are being socially primed by consuming popular movies and television to
perceive men’s masturbation less favorably than women’s.

The third explanation for the reverse SDS is evident in the assumed motives for
masturbation. In particular, the results of study two revealed that perceived motives
contribute to the reverse SDS among hypothetical masturbators, in which women
were perceived as higher quality partners than men due to their assumed participation
for pleasure-focused and intimacy-focused motives. Pleasure-focused motives
were particularly important in accounting for the reverse SDS, which may be due
to the desirability of sexually agentic partners, and the impact they can have in the
context of relationships (Fetterolf and Sanchez 2015). In particular, it is possible
that sexual agentic women are perceived as more sexually aware and empowered,
thereby more desirable. This is consistent with existing research revealing that hypothetical
sexually agentic women (those describe as liking to “take the lead” during
sex) are perceived as more desirable than sexually passive women (those described
as liking their partner to “take the lead” during sex; Fetterolf and Sanchez 2015).
Further, hypothetical agentic women were even viewed as a more desirable sexual
partner than the hypothetical agentic men. Regardless of what caused these motives
to contribute to the reverse SDS, it is evident that perceived motives impacted participant’s
judgments, and that they likely influence the ways in which people engaging
in a variety of sexual behaviors are perceived.