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Human Sexuality and Its Problems (Third Edition)

“I Kiss Them Because I Love Them”: The Emergence of Heterosexual Men Kissing in British Institutes of Education

Abstract  

In this article, we combined data from 145 interviews and three ethnographic investigations of heterosexual male students
in the U.K. from multiple educational settings. Our results indicate that 89% have, at some point, kissed another male on
the lips which they reported as being non-sexual: a means of expressing platonic affection among heterosexual friends. Moreover,
37% also reported engaging in sustained same-sex kissing, something they construed as non-sexual and non-homosexual. Although
the students in our study understood that this type of kissing remains somewhat culturally symbolized as a taboo sexual behavior,
they nonetheless reconstructed it, making it compatible with heteromasculinity by recoding it as homosocial. We hypothesize
that both these types of kissing behaviors are increasingly permissible due to rapidly decreasing levels of cultural homophobia.
Furthermore, we argue that there has been a loosening of the restricted physical and emotional boundaries of traditional heteromasculinity
in these educational settings, something which may also gradually assist in the erosion of prevailing heterosexual hegemony.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • DOI 10.1007/s10508-010-9678-0
  • Authors
    • Eric Anderson, Department of Education, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
    • Adi Adams, Department of Education, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
    • Ian Rivers, School of Sport and Education, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK

The Association Between Sexual Motives and Sexual Satisfaction: Gender Differences and Categorical Comparisons

Abstract  

Past research suggests that sexual satisfaction may be partially dependent on sexual motives (the reasons people have sex).
The primary goal of this study was to determine which of a wide range of empirically derived sexual motives were related to
sexual satisfaction, and whether gender differences existed in these relationships. Examining data from 544 undergraduate
participants (93 men, 451 women), we found that certain types of motives predicted levels of sexual satisfaction for both
genders. However, a greater number of motive categories were related to satisfaction for women than for men, and sexual motives
were a more consistent predictor of satisfaction in general for women than for men. We also found that empirical categories
of motives predicted more variance in satisfaction ratings than did previously used theoretical categories. These findings
suggest that a wide range of sexual motives are related to sexual satisfaction, that these connections may be moderated by
gender, and that empirically-constructed categories of motives may be the most effective tool for studying this link.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • DOI 10.1007/s10508-010-9674-4
  • Authors
    • Kyle R. Stephenson, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton, Austin, TX 78751, USA
    • Tierney K. Ahrold, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton, Austin, TX 78751, USA
    • Cindy M. Meston, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 108 E. Dean Keeton, Austin, TX 78751, USA

Intimate Partner Violence: Victims’ Opinions About Going to Trial

Abstract  

Criminal justice officials assume that intimate partner violence victims oppose filing charges against their abusers. In a
study of 94 respondents, reluctance actually occurred with the prospect of going to trial. While 70% supported filing charges,
only 37% wanted a trial. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses help explain the reasons women gave for their opinions
about trials. The strongest quantitative predictor was that as the level of the victim’s injury sustained from the crime increased,
their support for a trial increased. Gondolf and Fisher’s (1988) survivor theory predicted factors that influenced victims’
support or opposition to a trial in the quantitative section. The nested ecological model explained approximately half of
the open-ended responses to those opposing trials while the goals of sentencing model articulated most victims’ support for
trials.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • DOI 10.1007/s10896-010-9334-4
  • Authors
    • Sara C. Hare, Department of Sociology, Indiana University Southeast, 4201 Grant Line Road, New Albany, IN 47150, USA

Exploring the Impact of Child Sex Offender Suicide

Abstract  

This paper explores the issues and widespread impact surrounding child sex offenders (CSO) who commit suicide after learning
they are under criminal investigation. This phenomenon, which has received scant attention in the literature, affects family,
friends, and victims of offenders who may experience a range of conflicting emotions including anger, guilt, confusion, betrayal,
and loss. Involved law enforcement may, likewise, experience a range of complex reactions. Law enforcement personnel are neither
trained nor required to assess offenders’ suicidality. However, awareness of how CSOs are impacted by an investigation may
mitigate the risk of suicide and enhance operational strategies, including officer safety.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • DOI 10.1007/s10896-010-9335-3
  • Authors
    • Tia A. Hoffer, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, Behavioral Analysis Unit – III, Crimes Against Children, FBI Academy, NCAVC, Quantico, VA 22135, USA
    • Joy Lynn E. Shelton, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, Behavioral Analysis Unit – III, Crimes Against Children, FBI Academy, NCAVC, Quantico, VA 22135, USA
    • Stephen Behnke, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA
    • Philip Erdberg, University of California – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA USA