Women’s Sexual Initiation: The Impact of Gender Roles and Relationship Type

Sexual script theory is the theoretical foundation for understanding how sexual interactions are navigated, including sexual initiation. Sexual initiation occurs when an individual conveys interest in sexual activity when sexual behaviors are not yet in progress. Past research has demonstrated that women initiate sex less frequently than men in other-sex relationships, perhaps due to traditional sexual scripts. The current research literature lacks data on sexual initiation among women in same-sex relationships. This study investigated the impact of perceived gender roles on women’s sexual initiation, the role of partner sex on women’s initiation behaviors, if perceived gender roles account for initiation behaviors over and above the impact of sexual desire, and the associated wellness benefits of sexual initiation. Women’s sexual initiation behaviors in their current relationship were investigated in two ways, through retrospective reports (N = 351; 242 with male partners and 109 with female partners) and a two-week daily diary (N = 60; 29 with male partners and 31 with female partners). Results indicated that nonsexual and sexual gender role beliefs had no impact on sexual initiation for women across relationship types. Women reported fairly balanced sexual initiation with their partners, with women in same-sex relationships reporting higher rates of initiation. Women in other-sex relationships used a higher proportion of direct initiation strategies than women in same-sex relationships. Comparisons between the subsample that participated in both portions of the study indicated reporting consistency across methodology. The results are discussed in terms of furthering understanding of how women’s sexual initiation looks across relationship types and the impact on current sexual scripts. WOMEN’S SEXUAL INITIATION 3 Women’s Sexual Initiation: The Impact of Gender Roles and Relationship Type Traditional gender roles provide powerful messages for how individuals understand and behave within their world. The traditional roles within dominant North American culture dictate the normative way in which each gender should experience emotion, choose a career, and engage in interpersonal relationships (Greene & Faulkner, 2005; Rubin, Peplau, & Dunkel-Schetter, 1980). Additionally, the traditional gender roles inform sexual scripts which, in turn, provide specific guidelines of how individuals should engage in sexual relationships. A critical aspect of the sexual relationship is whether an individual chooses to initiate desired sexual activity. Sexual initiation is defined as conveying, verbally or nonverbally, an interest in or desire for sexual activity, when sexual behaviors are not currently in progress (Simms & Byers, 2013). Currently, the traditional gendered scripts around initiating sexual activity are limiting because they restrict women’s sexual options and agency, including the ability to initiate wanted activity. Research has demonstrated that initiating sexual activity is associated with a number of positive benefits, including sexual and relationship satisfaction (Lawrance, Byers, & Cohen, 2011; Montesi, Fauber, & Gordon, 2010). Gender Roles & Sexual Scripts Traditional gender roles proscribe behaviors and personal qualities that men and women should possess to typify the socially-defined masculine or feminine ideal. Gender roles assert proscriptions across varying levels of interaction from individual, relational, and societal context (Ashmore, Del Boca, & Bilder, 1995). Traditional gender roles describe appropriately-gendered men as assertive, careeroriented, serving as head of the household, and lacking emotional capacity. In contrast, WOMEN’S SEXUAL INITIATION 4 women are stereotypically viewed as the opposite of men—passive, focused on domestic duties and caregiving, and emotional (Greene & Faulkner, 2005; Rubin et al., 1980). The traditional gender roles promote the idea that it is more acceptable for men, as opposed to women, to behave with assertion and confidence. Because traditional gender roles dictate how men and women should function, these assertions impact romantic and sexual relationships (Greene & Faulkner, 2005). Traditional gender roles inform sexual scripts, which further detail how interactions are navigated. Sexual scripts are “mutually shared conventions that guide actors to enact a sexual situation interdependently” (Dworkin, Beckford, & Ehrhardt, 2007, pg. 269). Simon and Gagnon (1984, 1987) first put forth the sexual script theory and discussed the cultural scenarios in which these scripts are embedded. Sexual script theory asserts that societal norms of behavior describe “the who, what, where, when, why, and how of sexual interactions” (Dworkin et al., 2007, p. 270). Therefore, sexual script theory posits that sexual interactions between heterosexual partners are guided by culture’s imbedded gender role beliefs and impact how sex is navigated. The research on sexual scripts describes three interrelated levels at which sexual scripts manifest—cultural, interpersonal, and intrapsychic (Gagnon, 1990; Laumann & Gagnon, 1995; Simon & Gagnon, 1984, 1987). The levels of scripts describe sexual behaviors across a macro and micro level. The cultural level is shared between all individuals within a given culture. These scripts result from a variety of institutional and social sources that represent longstanding beliefs about what is valued within sexual encounters. The interpersonal level of sexual scripts describes how an individual translates and modifies the general cultural scenarios within a specific interpersonal context. Interpersonal WOMEN’S SEXUAL INITIATION 5 interactions require the individual to negotiate their own needs and wants, with the needs and wants of their partner. Finally, the intrapsychic elements of sexual scripts are characterized by unique aspects of each person, such as fantasies and desires (Dworkin et al., 2007; Gagnon, 1990; Laumann & Gagnon, 1995; Simon & Gagnon, 1984, 1987). All three levels of sexual scripting are involved in sexual conduct; however, each level may not be equally relevant across situations (Sakaluk, Todd, Milhausen, & Lachowsky, 2014). Sexual Scripts & Initiation The traditional cultural sexual script as it relates to sexual initiation denotes that men are the initiators of sexual activity, whereas women are the restrictors of sexual activity (Simon & Gagnon, 1986). Men are expected to always want or desire sex and, often, their sex drive is characterized as unrestrained. Women are expected to be passive and have limited sexual experience and less sexual drive than men (LaPlante, McCormick, & Brannigan, 1980; Wiederman, 2005). The woman’s role is either to meet or limit her partner’s sexual needs, often being seen as gatekeepers to keep men’s sex drive in check. As a function of being gatekeepers of sexual activity, women are often believed to engage in token resistance, the belief that women initially refuse sex when they actually intend to engage in sex as a way of seeming less sexually willing or eager because sexual eagerness might be viewed as unacceptable for the woman (Muehlenhard & Rodgers, 1998). Script adherence can shift over time as the cultural zeitgeist changes. Within Western culture, there is some evidence that sexual scripts may be changing for heterosexual women and men. Current widely-held cultural scripts for men hold more WOMEN’S SEXUAL INITIATION 6 traditionally “female” values, such as a desire for an emotional connection, than scripts in the past; while current widely-held cultural scripts for women hold more traditionally “male” values, such as desired sexual autonomy, than in the past (Ortiz-Torres, Williams, & Ehrhardt, 2003; Segal, 1995). The growing evidence of an emergence of more egalitarian scripts has also included greater instances of women initiating sex (Markle, 2008; Menard & Cabrera, 2011; Vannier & O’Sullivan, 2010). Overall, pleasure-seeking and sexual assertiveness have become more common in women (Kamen, 2003; OrtizTorres et al., 2003; O'Sullivan & Byers, 1992; Segal, 1995). Although there is evidence of greater flexibility within sexual initiation behaviors, traditional scripts and roles continue to dominate heterosexual relations (Crawford & Popp, 2003; Hynie, Lydon, Cote, & Wiener, 1998; Masters, Casey, Wells & Morrison, 2013; Ortiz-Torres et al., 2003; Sakaluk et al., 2014; Seal & Ehrhardt, 2003; Simms & Byers, 2013). It is important to continue to conduct research aimed at understanding individual’s scripts around sexual initiation to better understand the current impact of traditional sexual scripts. Additionally, the majority of sexual script data have been collected on White samples. Continued research on sexual scripts and sexual initiation will improve the understanding of similarities and differences within and between cultural groups. Traditional Sexual Scripts are Problematic Gender roles and sexual scripts have a purpose within culture; they provide guidelines and a general description of interactions. Sexual scripts can assist in alleviating anxiety around heterosexual behaviors, because individuals have a similar, mutual understanding of how an interaction should occur (Wiederman, 2005). Despite WOMEN’S SEXUAL INITIATION 7 the adaptive functions of gender roles and sexual scripts, they can also be problematic and harmful at times. The traditional sexual scripts, which dictate men as sexually assertive and women as sexually passive, promote a sexual double standard. The sexual double standard reinforces different expectations and consequences for the sexual behavior of men and women, with a cultural proscription that it is more acceptable for men to have assertive, active sex lives than it is for women (Greene & Faulkner, 2005; Rubin et al., 1980). If women go against the traditional scripts, they are often subjected to greater scrutiny than men engaging in similar behavior. Women ofte