Sexual Double Standards in White and Asian Americans: Ethnicity, Gender, and Acculturation

Abstract

This study compares attitudes of sexual double standards (beliefs that grant more sexual freedom to men than to women) in White and Asian Americans. 506 heterosexual participants living in the U.S. (334 Whites and 172 Asians aged 18–45) answered questions assessing their attitudes towards men and women displaying various liberal sexual behaviors. Asian participants also indicated their levels of American acculturation and Asian cultural affiliation. The study found significant evidence of sexual double standards in both Whites and Asians, with certain ethnically different patterns. Whites and Asians did not differ significantly in their levels of sexual double standards when it concerned casual sexual and multiple sexual partners at the same time. However, Asians expressed stronger support for double standards than Whites when evaluating people for taking the initiative in sex and for having a large accumulated number of sexual partners. In both ethnic groups, men demonstrated stronger double standards than did women. Both Whites and Asians, regardless of gender, reported more conservative sexual attitudes for choosing marriage partners than in judging people in general. In the case of Asians, American acculturation and Asian cultural affiliation had limited and gender-specific effects on endorsement of sexual double standards. This study not only addresses an important gap in the sexual double standards literature but also brings new insights to the general discussion of ethnic differences in sexual attitudes.