Consumption Society, Sex Roles and Sexual Behavior

Abstract

Sexual norms and behavior are analyzed within a sociological context. A relationship between the need for capital accumulation and a puritan moral is postulated. Sex roles and sexual behavior in the consumption society are analyzed and it is stressed that the emphasis on need-satisfaction is also applied to sexuality. A permissive attitude towards sex, made possible by easy access to contraceptives, is considered typical of the consumption society. Permissiveness has an effect on double moral standards as a study of Swedish metropolitan youth indicates: The more permissiveness the less double moral standards. As a special factor indicative of traditional female sex role expectations, romantic love attitudes are singled out. These attitudes are negatively correlated to such factors as age of first intercourse and sexual activity, measured through number of coital partners. The effects of such romantic love attitudes on the functioning of the small nuclear family is discussed. If high emphasis is placed on sexuality as a goal in itself but moral pressure is exerted to engage in sexual behavior under conditions of love only, divorce and extra-marital relations are bound to increase. Finally, results of an interviewer bias study are discussed. Female subjects tend to overrate their sexual activity when interviewed by male as compared to female interviewers. Thus one conclusion is that in a permissive society traditional female sex roles are more controlled by the expectations of women than of men.