Sexuality and platonic intimacy Flashcards
How do adolescent boys in Bulgaria, Italy, Latvia, Slovenia, and England use sexual objectification and harassment to assert their masculinity?
- use sexual objectification of girls, discussions about sex, and sexual harassment as tools to reinforce their masculinity.
- Included sexual harassment of girls
- Boys often regulated their behaviour and appearance and that of others to not appear gay
How do the themes of sexual objectification and masculinity change as boys transition into young adulthood?
become less common as boys age into young adulthood and differ by cultural context
What cultural differences exist in how young men in Hong Kong view sexuality?
- young men show interest in women but avoid overly aggressive or “toxic” masculinity
- image of “toxic men” who are lustful yet cannot satisfy desires with real women
How do young men in more gender-egalitarian societies navigate sex and masculinity?
Finland, Iceland by:
○ flirt with girls while being careful to pay attention to social cues and not come off as too aggressive
○ Not make advances in certain environments, instead make them in contexts where people go to socialise
○ Pairing sexual success with romantic involvement
○ Not bragging about sexual experiences
○ Emphasising consent
What competing expectations do young men in Iceland face regarding sex and relationships?
Relationships should be egalitarian, but:
→ Men should ask out women, pay first for dates and initiate sex
→ Sex is fairly normative involving penile vagina penetration and women giving men oral sex
How do Australian young men discuss sex with peers?
- discuss sex with women to bolster their masculinity
- Details were expected to not be too explicit or about sex within romantic relationship
- Most men criticized sharing sexts without consent
- Sharing explicit images became more unacceptable as they aged from adolescence to young adulthood
How do American young men vs. women use explicit images in social interactions?
- men show explicit images of women to their friends as a trophy to bolster their status
- Most men disapproved of showing explicit photos of romantic partners
- young women do so for commiseration (when it was received unsolicited)
–>In both cases showing photos may increase solidarity in friend groups
What role does talking about sex play in bolstering masculinity among adolescent men?
Before sexual activity, adolescent men talk about sex and women’s bodies to assert and perform their masculinity, often influenced by unrealistic portrayals in pornography and peer conversations.
What happens to men’s focus once they first become sexually active?
After becoming sexually active, men often focus on sexual performance and the physical attractiveness of partners as a way to reinforce their masculinity.
How does the focus of men shift once they gain sexual experience?
- Once sexually experienced, men often shift focus to being “good” sexual partners
- focus on performance can reduce sexual pleasure and fail to consider individual partner needs
How do men’s views on sex and relationships change as they age and gain experience?
- in middle aged they shifted focus on mutual enjoyment and emotional intimacy
- particularly within long-term relationships and after becoming fathers.
What factors affect older men’s sex lives?
- increasingly concerned with maintaining sex life:
- Variety of changes threaten sex lives + perceived masculinity
Less sex with women partners as both aged
Separation from woman partners
Age related bodily changes
Erectile dysfunction
What is a “romantic friendship” in the 19th-century context and why were they common? Rotundo
- A deeply emotional, affectionate, and intimate friendship between men that was socially accepted and not considered sexual.
- seen as a natural and encouraged form of bonding, not linked to sexuality or suspicion
- Gender separation in social life led men to form strong emotional bonds with other men as a primary source of support
How did industrialization affect male friendships? Rotundo
It promoted a new ideal of masculinity based on emotional restraint, making affectionate male friendships less acceptable.
What role did the emergence of psychiatry and sexology play in male friendships? Rotundo
- It introduced the concept of homosexuality, which created a stigma around close male friendships.
- Men were expected to be more emotionally reserved and form their primary intimate relationships within marriage.
What is “performance anxiety” in the context of male sexuality and how does pornography contribute to it? Montemurro
- fear of failing to meet sexual expectations, often linked to concerns about masculinity and partner satisfaction.
- porn creates unrealistic standards for male performance, portraying men as always ready, dominant, and capable of providing pleasure effortlessly.
How do men use women as “agents of affirmation” in sex? Montemurro
- Men look for verbal and physical reactions from women (moans, orgasms, compliments) to validate their masculinity.
- reinforces the idea that women are both objects of conquest and judges of men’s masculinity.
What impact does early sexual experience have on men’s confidence? Montemurro
Negative experiences, like embarrassment or criticism, can lead to long-term self-doubt and anxiety about sexual performance.
Why do men compare themselves to other men sexually? Montemurro
Cultural scripts encourage men to compete with past and potential future lovers, reinforcing the idea that better sexual performance equals greater masculinity.
How do some men unlearn these sexual scripts? Montemurro
- actively study how to improve their performance, reading books
- learn through experience that pleasure should be mutual, shifting away from a performance-based mindset.
What is the proficient man ideal? Montemurro
Men must be:
- Always ready for sex and able to maintain an erection at any moment.
- Skilled enough to provide orgasms to women.
- Better than other men, leading to competition and comparison with past lovers.
What is the “medicalization of male sexuality”? Montemurro
- Turning social or cultural issues into medical problems
- Cultural ideals of masculinity and sexuality influence what is defined as “dysfunction.”
- Erectile Dysfunction redefined as a biological issue in the 1990s, shifting focus to physiology with Viagra’s introduction in 1998.
What do ED drugs reinforce in society? Montemurro
- perpetuate narrow, phallocentric norms of masculinity and sexuality, emphasizing penetrative sex as the gold standard.
- promote unattainable, hyper-masculine ideals of sexual performance, creating insecurities about “normal” male sexuality
How does the medicalization of ED impact aging men? Montemurro
frames natural aging as pathological, pressuring men to conform to youthful sexual ideals and use drugs like testosterone or Viagra.
