Psych 522 Exam 3

Sexual Orientation

Generally describes the people/groups of people an individual would describe themselves as feeling attracted to

• Shapes how people experience and express sexuality

Sexuality

The capacity for sexual responses and experiences

• Based on how and what one enjoys/desires intimately/sexually

William Masters

• Began research on the physiology of sexual response in 1954

• Interviewed prostitutes to gather info on arousal, tension, response, orgasm, etc

• Hired Virginia Johnson as an RA and they developed tools to measure arousal in a lab setting

Human Sexual Response

• Excitement

  • Beginning of arousal

• Late Excitement (Plateau)

  • Sexual tensions intensify

• Orgasm

  • Peak of arousal

  • Release of tensions

• Resolution

  • Return to unaroused state

Excitement

First stage of Human Sexual Response Cycle

• Beginning of erotic arousal

• Erection, vaginal lubrication

• Vasocongestion: blood flow to genitals

• Myotonia: muscle contraction

Late Excitement (Plateau)

Second stage of Human Sexual Response Cycle

• Sexual tensions intensify and reach an extreme level

• Duration is largely dependent on stimulation and individual drive to keep going

Orgasm

Third stage of Human Sexual Response Cycle

• Intense sensation that occurs at the peak of arousal

• Release of sexual tensions

Resolution

Fourth stage of Human Sexual Response Cycle

• Body returns physiologically to an unaroused state

• Reversal of the processes that build up during the excitement stage

Criticisms of Human Sexual Response Cycle

• Focuses solely on physiological processes

• Ignores cognition and affect

Triphasic Model

Adds sexual desire as an additional phase on the human sexual response cycle model

• Kaplan, 1979

Dual Control Model

Focuses on both:

• Excitement phase (“When I think of a very attractive person, I easily become aroused’)

• Inhibition phase (“I need my clitoris to be stimulated to continue feeling aroused)”

Bancroft et al, 2009

Sexual Double Standard

The evaluation of male behavior and female behavior according to different standards

• Tolerance of male promiscuity

• Disapproval or female promiscuity

• Refers to conservative attitudes toward female sexuality

• May be heightened for certain women of color

Women’s Sexuality is Racialized

• White women: Often portrayed as submissive and dependent on men

• Black women: Portrayed as independent and domination; stereotyped as very hypersexualized

• Asian American Women: Stereotypes as “exotic sex toys”

• Indigenous Women: Women and their sexuality are largely invisible

Casual Sex

Judged by a double standard: more positive evaluation of men relative to women who engage in it

• sexual double standard

Casual Sex Experiment

• Approached strangers on campus: “Would you go to bed with me tonight?”

• 75% of men said yes

• 0% of women said yes

• Go-to evidence that men want casual sex far more than women

Attractiveness

Sex differences in preferences for ____ and status disappear when considering actual (rather than ideal) partners

Sexual Partners

Do women desire and have fewer ____ than men?

• No differences in desire looking at median values

• Most people desire one sexual partner

• Social desirability may lead men to exaggerate number of actual partners

Think; Self-focused

Do men ___ about sex more than women do?

• It may be that men have a greater number of personal-need-based thoughts than did women, in general

• Men are socialized to be more agentic and _____

Orgasm Difference

Do women orgasm less frequently than men?

• Yes, but the difference is smaller when examined within the context of committed relationships

Casual Sex Difference

Do men like casual sex more than women?

• Yes, but differences disappear when you account for whether women perceive a casual sex partner to have high sexual capabilities and when they have less fear of stigma

Choosier

Are women ___ than men?

• Yes, but maybe only because men are socialized to approach women more than vice versa

Gender Differences in Sexuality

• Men reported more sexual experience than women on 13 of 14 of the sexual behaviors examined

• Men reported more permissive sexual attitudes

• Men reported engaging in more casual sex, masturbation, pornography use and more favorable attitudes towards casual sex

• Women were more likely to report same-sex sexual experiences and more favorable attitudes towards sex accompanied by emotional commitment

Conclusion: Men and women are more similar than different regarding sexual behavior and attitudes

Bogus Pipeline Study

• College students reported their number of sex partners on one of three conditions

• Bogus pipeline: hooked to a fake lie detector

• Anonymous: sealed in a lock box

• Exposure threat: experimenter sees answers

NO significant gender difference in the number of sexual partners reported

Sexual Desire in Context

Desire is shaped by experience and depends on context

• Pleasurable, fulfilling sex → more desire

• Unsatisfying or painful sex → less

Feminist critique: with adequate clitoral stimulation, gender differences in desire would likely be trivial

Orgasm Views

• Freud: distinguished between clitoral and vaginal orgasms (only the “mature” orgasm was vaginal)

• Masters and Johnson: Established that. physiologically, there is only one kind of orgasm

  • with Alfred Kinsley: found women can have multiple orgasms

    • no refractory period

The Grafenberg Spot (G spot)

• A small gland on the front wall of the vagina, emptying into the urethra

• The popularized term for the Skene’s gland or paraurethral gland (female’s prostate)

• Debated: some women may have a G-spot and others not

• May be responsible for female ejaculation

• Squirting is similar to but distinct from ejaculation

Orgasm Gap

The tendency for women to have lower rates of orgasm than men during heterosexual sexual encounters

• 75% of men had an orgasm during their most recent sexual encounter

• 45% of women

Closing the Orgasm Gap

• Orgasm is strong predictor of sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction for heterosexual, lesbian, and bisexual women and heterosexual men

• May be related to both biology and socialization

• Lesbian women tend to have higher rates of orgasm

• Closing the gap: penis-in-vagina intercourse alone is rarely sufficient

  • Oral or manual stimulation tends to be much more effective

Masturbation and Sexual Development

• For many people, masturbation is their earliest sexual experience

• 31% of women who had not masturbated to orgasm before marriage had no orgasm by the end of their first year of marriage vs. 13-16% of women who had

• Boys mostly learn about masturbation by hearing about it; girls mostly by accidental discovery

  • more taboo for girls

• Can be a source of feeling of sexual empowerment for adult women

Medicalization of Sexual Changes

• Sexual desire increases from puberty through midlife and then gradually declines from age 55 and on

• Medicalization

  • Societies tend to view normal, natural conditions and transitions as medical illnesses

• Can produce bias and stigma related to the sexuality of older adults

Medicalization

Societies tend to view normal, natural conditions and transitions as medical illnesses

• ex: menopause and erectile dysfunction

Sexuality and Aging

Among women ages 75-80

• 10% had frequent sexual thoughts

• 18% had masturbated in the past year

• 20% had engaged in sexual intercourse

Still sexually active

Why Focus on Orgasm

1. May be easier to measure than subjective feelings or arousal or pleasure

2. Early feminist research on orgasms sought to debunk oppressive myths about sexuality, such as the notion that women do not have strong sexual needs or desires

3. Masters and Johnson (1966) endeavored to show that both women and mens responded similarly, physiologically, to sexual stimulation

Medical Model of Sexuality

Feminist research and critiques challenged dominant discourses about women’s sexuality, but also inadvertently defined women’s sexual liberation in terms of the ability to have orgasms

• The ability to reach orgasm is viewed as a sign of health

• Lack of orgasm is viewed as dysfunction

Medical/pharmaceutical establishment has redefined women’s orgasmic and other sexual difficulties as disease

Sexual Well-Being

Distinct form the absence of dysfunction or the mere experience of an orgasm: being able to explore and express one’s sexuality freely and safely, being respected by one’s partners, feeling comfortable communicating about one’s sexuality, and affirming one’s bodily capacity for sexual pleasure

Sexual Disorder

Refers to various disturbance or impairments of sexual functions, such as inability to have an orgasm or premature ejaculation, that cause a person to be distressed

Hypoactive Sexual Desire

Lack of interest in sex or sharply reduced interest, or a lack of responsive desire

Discrepancy of Sexual Desire

If one partner wants sex less frequently than the other, there is a discrepancy and conflict

• often the problem with hypoactive sexual desire, not the individual’s absolute level of desire

Asexuality

Distinct from a sexual desire disorder

• experience little or no sexual attraction to other people

• OR

• does not feel an interest in or desire for sexual activities with others

• most still experience romantic attraction and connection/intimacy

Female Sexual Arousal Disorder

Refers to a lack of response to sexual stimulation, including a lack of lubrication

• involves subjective, psychological component and a physiological element

• can struggle to feel aroused despite stimulation or have difficulties with vaginal lubrication

Anorgasmia

The ability to have an orgasm

• Lifelong: woman has never had an orgasm

• Situational: woman has orgasm in some situations, but not in others

Dyspareunia

Painful intercourse

• can trigger other problems with sexual functioning

• too often dismissed in women

Vaginismus

Involves a tightening or spasm of the outer third of the vagina. possibly to such an extent that the opening of the vagina is closed and intercourse becomes impossible

Tiefer’s Categories

1. Sexual problems due to sociocultural, political, or economic factors

   1. inadequate sexual education; absence of info about impact o gender roles

2. Sexual problems relating to partner and relationship

   1. discrepancies in desire or preferred behaviors; dislike or fear of partner, poor communication about sex

3. Sexual problems due to psychological factors

   1. sex aversion, pleasure inhibition due to past abuse; problems associated with attachment issues; depression, anxiety

4. Sexual problems due to medical factors

   1. pain or lack of response; specific conditions or side effects of medications

Heteronormativity Theory (of low sexual desire)

• Low sexual desire in women from a more structural explanation

• Heteronormativity contributes to low sexual desire in women partnered with men

  • Inequitable house labor

  • Emotional, cognitive, physical labor leaves women too tired for sex

  • Sexual double standard makes women hesitant to initiate sex

Evelyn Hooker (1957)

Research showed no differences in psychological adjustment between heterosexual and gay male participants

Stonewall Uprising (1969)

Police raid on the Stonewall Inn, NYC

• six days of resistance

• Watershed for the gay liberation movement

• Lead to the removal of homosexuality from the DSM-II in 1973

Law and Sexuality

• 60+ countries where same-gender sexual activity is illegal

• 12 of those countries: punishable by death

• United States

  • until cases in 2015 and 2020: most states didn’t recognize same-gender partners and it was legal to fire someone for being queer or transgender

Path to Marriage Equality

• 1996: Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA): marriage = one man and one woman

• 2000: Vermont: civil unions

• 2000s: 6 states legalize; 29 states pass constitutional bans

• 2015: Obergefell v. Hodges: equal protection clause → marriage equality

Why Marriage Equality Matters

• Legally recognized couples: better mental health

• State marriage equality → fewer youth suicide attempts

• Today

  • about 1.3M US households led by same-gender couples, 58% married

  • Legal in about 39 countries (2026)

Homophobia

A strong, irrational fear of sexual minority persons

Antigay Prejudice

Preferred by some scholars: antagonistic or disparaging attitude and prejudices behaviors are more common than “phobia”

Heterosexism

Discrimination or bias against people based on their sexual orientation, and nonheterosexuality in particular

Heteronormativity

The pervasive cultural belief that heterosexuality is the norm

Attitudes on Sexuality

• 1973: 74% say same-gender sexuality “Always wrong”

• 2022: 29% say “Always wrong”, 6 times as many say “not wrong at all”

• Since then:

  • Support for same sex marriage: 71% (2023) → 65% (May 2026)

Queer Theory

• Binaries, both gender and sexual, should be challenged

• Sexual and gender orientation are not essential

  • Fluid and dynamic over time and in different situations

• Challenges concepts like heteronormativity and other ideas about what is “normal”

• Binary categories themselves

  • Exert power over people and their interactions

  • Create privilege as well as marginalization

Performativity

The idea that gender and sexual orientation are constructed through a constant set of performances by people

• Gender: women perform through clothing, jewelry, etc

• Heterosexuality: man-woman couple holding hands in public

Sexuality Across Time

• 1860s: became more common to classify people into categories based on the sex of the people they were attracted to

• Early 1900s: homosexuality and heterosexuality were becoming widely used terms

• Result: labeling of sexual orientation contributed to categorization of some sexual behavior as natural/normal and others as deviant

Language

• “Homosexual”: considered offensive by many now, due to its association with an era in which people pathologized sexual minorities

• Preferred terms

  • queer, LGB, same-sex sexuality, sexual minority individuals

Dimensions of Sexual Orientation

1. Attraction: whom one is sexually attracted to

   1. own gender, other, or multiple

2. Identity: how one thinks of oneself

   1. "I’m straight, bi, queer

3. Behavior: whom one engages in sexual behavior with

   1. own gender, other, or multiple

May not align: some men have a heterosexual identity yet occasionally have sex with men

Identity

Label that a person used to describe their sexual orientation and the emotional reactions that they have to this label

• Some choose to reject using a label

Sexual Orientation Stats

• Alfred Kinsey estimated that 10% of the US population was queer in the 1940s

• 5.5% vs 2% women vs men reporting a bisexual identity

• 9% of US adults identity as LGBTQ; bisexual is the largest group (2025)

Demisexuality

Attraction occurs only when a person forms a strong emotional connection with another person

Pansexuality

Erotically and emotionally attracted to people regardless of their gender

Queer

Orientation in which individual does not identify with any specific sexual orientation; an umbrella term used for those who are not heterosexual and/or gender-binary

Skoliosexuality

Attraction toward non-binary-identified individuals

Sexual Desire

A wish or urge to engage in sexual activities

Love

Strong feelings of affection and attachment

The Kinsey Scale

• Developed by biologist and sexologist Alfred Kinsley in the 1940s

• First widely used scale for measuring sexual orientation

• Designed to illustrate how people fall on a continuous scale of sexual orientation ranging from same sex/gender attraction to other sex/gender attraction

Criticisms of the Kinsey Scale

• Assumes sex/gender binary

• Assumes that all people experience both sexual and romantic attraction (and that the two always align)

Sexual Fluidity

Situation-dependent flexibility in women’s sexual responsiveness

• Women more likely that men to show fluidity

Queer Theory and Psychology

• Have an “uneasy relationship”

• Psychology categorizes

• Queer theory questions who counts (how scientists define and construct categories)

• Many people do not fit neatly into a sexual orientation category

Lesbians vs Gay Men

• Lesbians place more emphasis on the emotional intimacy of their relationship than gay men do

• Men with a male partner have sex considerably more frequently than women with a female partner do

• Women tend to identify as bisexual and display more sexual fluidity than men do

• Worldwide, people generally hold more negative attitudes toward gay men

• Lesbians are somewhat less likely than gay men to engage in casual sex

Early Stage Theories (sexuality)

• Cass (1979): A linear process of stages

  • Confusion and question

  • Acceptance and pride

  • Synthesis: identity endpoint

• Criticisms:

  • Andocentric

  • Linear

  • Context-blind

Cass Model Criticisms

• Andocentric: developed with gay men, then overgeneralized to lesbian women

• Linear: assume step-by-step order and a developmental endpoint

• Context-blind: not everyone has the freedom and safety to explore their identity

Phase Models (sexuality)

Milestone Models (sexuality)

Identify the timing, sequence, and tone of different milestones that many sexual minority individuals experience

• ex: awareness of same-sex attraction → first same-sex contact → first disclosure of identity to others

• Coming out: development process, not a single event

Coming Out

A developmental process with multiple milestones, not a single event

• the sequence varies by person and context

Girls vs Boys

• Many milestones happen for sexual minority girls at an older age in comparison to boys

• Girls:

  • more likely to experience first same-sex attraction as emotional and in context of dating

  • also more lily to label and disclose identity before first same-sex sexual contact

• Boys:

  • more likely to experience their first same-sex attraction as sexual and have first same-sex contact with a friend or stranger

  • also more likely to label and disclose identity after first same-sex sexual contact

Coming Out to Family

• 73% of LGB adults had talked with a parent (usually mother first)

• Not out to parents, or unsupportive reaction → more depression

• Positive reactions from parents or siblings → higher self-esteem, fewer depressive symptoms

• More negative reactions to trans and nonbinary youth

• Sexual minority girls more likely than boys to get a positive reaction

• When rejected, many find support from friends or a chosen family

Gender-based Violence

Forms of violence in which women are the predominant victims and men are the predominant perpetrators; transgender people are also overrepresented among victims

• Rape

• Intimate partner violence

• Sexual harassment

• Child sexual abuse

• Human trafficking

• Female genital mutilation

• Child marriage

Underreported

Underreported

Instances of gender-based violence are often ____: victims are often blamed, and reporting can feel costlier than staying silent

Objectification

One potential consequence of ____ is sexual violence

• Objectification → Dehumanization → Sexual violence

Rape Defintion (FBI)

“Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

• Includes incapacity (drugs, alcohol, age)

• Any gender

• No physical force required

Sexual Assault Definition

Any nonconsensual sexual act, including fondling and attempted rape

• Rape is a form of sexual assault, but not all sexual assault is rape

Rape is Hard to Measure

• Underreported

  • only about 1 in 5 rapes reported

  • acquaintance even less likely

• Unacknowledged

  • about 60% of victims don’t label nonconsensual sex as “rape”

• Question wording

  • behaviorally specific questions capture more cases than “have you been sexually assaulted”

Rape Prevalence

• 120,437 rapes reported to police (FBI, 2023)

• 481,020 rapes or sexual assaults (DOJ, 2022)

• 2.9 million women raped in the past year, CDC survey with careful questions (2022)

3

1 in __ women globally will experience physical and/or sexual violence by a partner or non-partner

Rape is Gendered

• 26.8% women’s lifetime chance of rape or attempted rape

  • 3.8% for men

• 94% of those who perpetrate rape are men

Racialized

Gender-based violence is ____

• Highest for American Indian or Alaska Native and Multiracial

Girl Victims

Between 1/3 and 2/3 of sexual assault victims around the world are 15 years old or younger

Women With Disabilities

Women with severe physical impairments and cognitive and emotional disabilities are at high risk for sexual exploitation and assault

• Perceived by perpetrators to be especially vulnerable

• college women with disabilities 2x as likely to be sexually assaulted

Women in the Military

Sexual assault rates of both women and men tend to be relatively high

• More likely to be assaulted than a fellow soldier is to be killed by enemy fire

• Cultural spillover theory:

• Military service values characteristics associated with traditional masculinity

• Lack of accountability

Cultural Spillover Theory

States that widespread cultural support for violence leads to increased acceptability of violence in aspects of life

• may explain high rates of sexual assault in the military

Queer and Trans People

Face disproportionate risk of sexual assault/rape

• 53% of straight women

• 60% of lesbian women

• 79% of bisexual women

• Raped, sexually assaulted, or coerced into sex

Transgender people 2x at risk of intimate partner violence relative to cisgender people

LGBTQ People

Face higher rates of poverty, stigma, and marginalization, placing them at greater risk for sexual assault

• also face higher rates of hate-motivated violence, which can often take the form of sexual assault

College Students

• About 1 in 4 undergrad women report sexual assault since starting college

  • up from 1 in 5 in 2007

• Role of social setting

  • men control parties

  • heavy substance use

• Gender minority students are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault

PTSD

A disorder that develops in some people after experiencing a terrifying event, such as rape or sexual assault

Aftermath of SA

• No “correct” or “authentic” way to respond to rape

• PTSD

• Intrusion: flashbacks

• Avoidance of reminders

• Reactivity: easily startles

• Mood: negative changes

Long Term Effects Variables

Make an individual especially prone to long-term negative effects

• Prior history of abuse

• Assault severity

• Close ties with perpetrator

• Negative coping strategies

• Negative reactions from other people

• More self-blame