Cross-sex Relationships Research Articles

On Dankwa's Gift

On Dankwa's Gift

The Inclusion of Other-Sex Peers in Peer Networks and Sense of Peer Integration in Early Adolescence: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study.

The main goal of the analysis presented in this paper is to examine the dynamics of including other-sex peers in the peer networks of early adolescents, aged 11 (at T1) and 13 (at T2), and the relationship between sex heterophily and changes in the sense of peer integration. The analysis was conducted using the Latent Difference Score (LDS) model with data from a representative nationwide longitudinal study in Poland (n = 5748). With reference to the dynamics related to the heterophilic process, the research confirmed that at the beginning of grade 5 of primary school, heterophily is still relatively rare, yet towards the end of early adolescence, there is a gradual shift, more strongly in girls, towards breaking through the strictly same-sex segregation and embarking on heterophilic relationships. Importantly, the LDS model-even when controlling for different measures of peer network-showed significant and positive (among both girls and boys) relations between establishing cross-sex relationships and the sense of peer integration. The results indicate that the appearance of the opposite sex in the peer network between grades 5 and 6 will improve the sense of peer integration. The findings are discussed in relation to results from other studies in the field.

The Stained-Glass Partition: Cross-Sex Collegial Relationships in Christian Academia

This study focused on the glass partition, a term used to describe the challenges that exist in forming and maintaining cross-sex collegial relationships in the workplace. Women may be limited in their ability to benefit from collegial relationships due to the challenges of cross-sex relationships, particularly in a Christian environment. We use the term stained-glass partition to describe the effects of gender separation in a Christian university atmosphere, a research focus that has been largely unexamined to date. In this single-institution study, 21 full-time faculty were interviewed regarding their perceptions of cross-sex relationships at work. Data were analyzed using grounded theory procedures to allow major themes to emerge. Results showed that there is a stained-glass partition operating at the university—sometimes created intentionally and partially based on fear—that has a disproportionately negative impact on women faculty. The partition can be mitigated through routine collegial interactions such as committee work and through viewing one another as sacred siblings rather than a sexual “other.” Students, faculty, and the university as a whole benefit when the partition is reduced, and the Christian faith commitment that is held in common by community members provides a helpful perspective in moving relationships away from power into agape-love and sibling-type relationships. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are presented.

Online Dating Profile Content of Older Adults Seeking Same- and Cross-Sex Relationships

ABSTRACTOnline dating is a common way for older adults to find a romantic partner, yet little is known about the dating motivations and self-presentations of older adults seeking same-sex relationships. These adults may have different approaches to dating than their counterparts seeking cross-sex relationships. Additionally, geographic location may shape online self-presentations and dating preferences due to regional differences in support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) populations. This study used the Meaning Extraction Method (MEM; Chung & Pennebaker, 2008), to examine 3,343 dating profiles of adults aged 60 and over seeking same- or cross-sex relationships residing in geographic environments with low versus high structural support for GLBT individuals. Results revealed that adults emphasized their desire for a relationship in their profiles as well as hobbies/interests, shared experiences, romance, and humor. Older adults seeking same-sex relationships emphasized romance more so than older adults seeking cross-sex relationships. Further, adults seeking same-sex relationships who lived in environments with low structural support for GLBT people were most likely to emphasize a desire for shared experiences. Findings suggest that despite the scripted nature of dating profiles and similarity in thematic content, older adults seeking same-sex relationships in different geographic areas may have distinct motivations when seeking a romantic partner.

Grade 4 children’s engagements in cross-sex relationships: A case from one South African Farm School

This study explores Grade 4 school children’s experiences of cross-sex relationships in a co- educational farm school in uMgungundlovu district in South Africa. The aim is to understand if and how constructions of gender bear on young children’s social relations at the school. Informed by children’s geographies and new sociology of childhood studies, this study uses data from semi-structured interviews and photo-voice imagery based on a qualitative narrative study of three girls and three boys aged between 9 and 12 years. The study found that children’s experiences of cross-sex relationships were deeply entrenched in traditional discourses of masculinities and femininities. These rigidly constructed discourses of gender were found to constrain possibilities and fluidities with which children navigated places and spaces of cross- sex relationships in the school. The hegemonic regulatory power of gender norms was a yardstick, informing children’s organisation and performances of cross-sex relationships even if some children had developed creative ways of subverting dominant gender norms in how they navigated in cross-sex relationships. The study argues for the liberalisation of gender norms, in order to allow children to freely – without being constrained by their genitalia – take subject positions of gender in cross-sex relationships. This would promote sustainable equitable gender relations, as children learn how to engage in cross-sex relationships, beyond the constraining prescripts of dominant masculinities and femininities.

Challenging heteronormativity

Because gay male and lesbian couples have broken from the heteronormative binary of cross-sex relationships, it is necessary to examine the conversational practices used by gay men and lesbians to refer to members of same-sex couples. While gay and lesbian couples use typical reference terms for romantic partners, I contend that this use challenges heteronormative language assumptions because these conversationalists apply the termslover,partner, andboyfriend/girlfriendto reference co-couple members of same-sex couples, not cross-sex couples. They recontextualize terms normatively associated with reference to cross-sex romantic partners. I used conversation analysis to examine the data, which includes transcriptions of video and audio recordings of gay male and lesbian couples interacting in home environments. The findings suggest that reference terms are recontextualized beyond their heteronormative boundaries.

The Impact of Legal Inequality on Relational Power in Planned Lesbian Families

Lesbian families have the potential to create families unmarked by the inequalities of power often found in cross-sex relationships. Yet, based on interviews with 27 women with children in such relationships, we find that living in a state that legally restricts the rights of nonbirth parents to child contact if the couple relationship dissolves severely undermines this possibility. Nonbirth parents engaged in three fear-induced strategies that were at odds with these couples’ desire for equitable partnership: acquiescing to the birth mother’s wishes; making themselves financially, emotionally, and legally indispensable; and using communities to police partners’ behavior and ensure accountability. As a result, the potential for such families to model egalitarian family forms that would help destabilize established gender patterns is diminished. We conclude by pointing to the importance of galvanizing to remove the remaining laws prohibiting second-parent adoption and by discussing strategies for social change.

From Facebook to cell calls: Layers of electronic intimacy in college students’ interpersonal relationships

Communication technologies are widely used to manage interpersonal relationships, but little is known about which media are most useful at different stages of relationship development, and how the pattern of usage may be influenced by contextual factors or users’ gender. Drawing on theories of relationship development, this study examined usage patterns among 34 college students participating in six geographically stratified focus group interviews. Analyses revealed a sequence of media use tied to stages of relationship development − from Facebook in early stages to instant messaging and then cell phones as a relationship progressed. Judgments about the efficacy and appropriateness of using a medium were based on how well its salient features matched prominent goals or addressed major concerns of a relationship at the given stage. International students added two technologies to the sequence to accommodate time differentials and distance from communication partners. Males were less explicit about the sequence, except when referring to cross-sex relationships.

Does valuing androgyny and femininity lead to a female advantage? The relationship between gender-role, transformational leadership and identification

The notion of ‘think manager–think male’ has been demonstrated in many studies. The current study examines whether leaders are perceived as more effective when they have ‘feminine’, ‘masculine’ or ‘androgynous’ characteristics, and how this relates to the leader's and followers' sex. Using carefully matched samples of 930 employees of 76 bank managers, we studied the relationship between managers' gender-role identity (perceived ‘femininity’, ‘masculinity’ and ‘androgyny’) and how this relates to leadership effectiveness in terms of transformational leadership and personal identification with the leader. Our findings show that among both male and female leaders, ‘androgyny’ was more strongly related to transformational leadership and followers' identification than ‘non-androgyny’, and that leaders' ‘femininity’ was more strongly related to leadership effectiveness than ‘masculinity’. Furthermore, the results show that women paid a higher penalty for not being perceived as ‘androgynous’ (mixing ‘femininity’ and ‘masculinity’), in comparison to men with regard to personal identification. When examining same- versus cross-sex relationships, we found that ‘non-androgynous’ male managers were rated higher by their male employees than by their female employees. Our findings suggest that women and men who are interested in being perceived as effective leaders may be well advised to blend ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’ behaviors, and even more so when they are in situations of non-congruency (i.e., women in leadership roles and leading in cross-sex relationships). We discuss the implications of these findings for both theory and practice.

Befriending the “Other”: Patterns of Social Ties between the Religious and Non-Religious

Aside from the literature on inter-racial and cross-sex relationships, few studies have examined the determinants of relationships that cross social boundaries. The authors contribute to this literature by considering the social boundary between the religious and the non-religious. Surveys of U.S. adults provide evidence of popular aversion toward the non-religious, but this analysis of the Baylor Religion Survey (2005) shows that the majority of religious Americans report a friendship with someone who is not religious at all. The authors find that such boundary-crossing relationships are largely structured by homophily, opportunities for intergroup contact, and religious barriers to intergroup contact. These findings reveal that some religiously themed conflicts that are common among cultural elites may not be particularly salient in the realm of daily social life.

Gender, topic, and time in observed demand–withdraw interaction in cross- and same-sex couples.

The demand-withdraw interaction pattern has been extensively studied and consistently linked to relationship quality in cross-sex relationships, but it has received little study using observational data in same-sex relationships. Demand-withdraw behavior, which occurs when 1 partner makes a complaint or request for a change and the other partner avoids the request or withdraws from the discussion (Christensen, 1988), was observationally coded in the problem-solving interactions of 75 (20 unmarried lesbian, 15 unmarried gay male, 20 unmarried straight cohabiting, and 20 married straight) couples. Results revealed that same- and cross-sex couples engage in demanding and withdrawing behaviors in highly similar ways. For all couples, partners demanded at a higher level during their own issue than during their partner's issue, and withdrew at a higher level during their partner's issue than during their own issue. Women demanded at higher levels than men, and men withdrew at higher levels than women. All partners were more likely to be in a demanding role during their own topic than during their partner's topic. Polarization was greater in woman-selected than in man-selected topics. Demanding increased over the course of the interaction, whereas no time effect was found for withdrawing. Higher levels of each partner's demanding were associated with lower levels of their own withdrawing and higher levels of their partner's withdrawing. Finally, higher levels of total demand-withdraw behaviors were associated with lower levels of relationship satisfaction for all couple types. Implications of results for refinement of models of demand-withdraw behavior are discussed.

Relational quality and media use in interpersonal relationships

This study examines the relationship between relational quality and media use in relationships. In addition, the impacts of other potentially important variables such as the sex and relationship type of the participants and their partners are explored. College student participants focused on interaction experiences with an acquaintance, friend, romantic partner or family member. The results indicated that participant sex and partner sex did not affect reported media use, whereas relationship type had significant effects on the extent to which face-to-face and telephone communication were used. Relationships with acquaintances had the lowest relational quality and romantic relationships, while closer, were less satisfying than either family or friendship relationships. Same-sex relationships were perceived as more satisfying than cross-sex relationships. Finally, media use did not predict relational closeness or satisfaction.

Expectancy Violation Theory and Sexual Resistance in Close, Cross-Sex Relationships

Although previous research has suggested a link between sexual resistance and the violation of the resisted partner's expectations, communication scholars have yet to utilize expectancy violation theory in a sexual resistance context. As such, the current study examines the resisted individual's perception of sexual resistance message directness and relational context in terms of three aspects of expectancy violations: violation valence, violation importance, and violation expectedness (Afifi & Metts, 1998). Findings indicate that participants view hypothetical sexual resistance from a long-term dating partner as a more negative and more unexpected expectancy violation compared with hypothetical rejection from a cross-sex friend. Further, when a participant is hypothetically rejected by way of direct communication of sexual resistance from his or her close relational partner, such a violation was perceived as more relationally important than indirect sexual resistance. These findings broaden the scope of expectancy violation theory to include sexual resistance in close relationships, replicate and validate the study of three separate expectancy violation aspects, and highlight sexual resistance as a potentially important relational event in close relationships.

Expectancy Violation Theory and Sexual Resistance in Close, Cross-Sex Relationships

Expectancy Violation Theory and Sexual Resistance in Close, Cross-Sex Relationships

Expectancy Violation Theory and Sexual Resistance in Close, Cross-Sex Relationships

Expectancy Violation Theory and Sexual Resistance in Close, Cross-Sex Relationships

An Investigation of the Moderating Effects of Gender on the Relationships between Mentorship Initiation and Protégé Perceptions of Mentoring Functions

Recent research has suggested that the more the mentor is involved in relationship initiation the greater the benefits that the protégé may receive. No research, however, has examined the impact of protégé gender on the relationship between initiation and mentoring received. The results of this study indicate that male protégés perceived more mentoring than female protégés in protégé-initiated mentorships. Female protégés, however, reported receiving more mentoring than male protégés if the relationship was mentor-initiated or where both mentor and protégé initiated the relationship. Protégés in informal mentorships reported receiving more mentoring than those in formal organizational programs. The findings of this study also indicate that protégés may benefit more from same-sex relationships than cross-sex relationships with respect to role modeling.

Gender, Gender Role Identity, and Type of Relationship as Predictors of Relationship Behavior and Beliefs in College Students

The authors explored the relationship of gender, gender role identity, and type of relationship—same‐sex friendship, cross‐sex friendship, or romantic relationship—to relationship behaviors and beliefs among 429 college students. They discuss implications for individual and group counseling, consultation, and primary prevention on college campuses.

Types of touch in cross-sex relationships between coworkers: perceptions of relational and emotional messages, inappropriateness, and sexual harassment

This study examined observers' perceptions of nine different types of touch (including a "no touch" control condition) used in cross-sex relationships between coworkers. Results showed that face touch sends particularly strong relational and emotional messages. A soft touch in the cheek area of the face was seen as signaling more affection, attraction, flirtation, and love than the other types of touch. Face touch was also rated as the most inappropriate and sexually harassing of the nine types of touch examined. Arm around the waist was also rated as showing relatively high levels of attraction and flirtation, as well as inappropriateness and harassment. No touch and handshaking conveyed the most formality. Observers rated women as more affectionate, trusting, happy, and composed than men across the touch conditions. Men, however, were judged to be more attracted to their cross-sex partners than were women. These and other findings are discussed to shed light on the multiple interpretations of touch within the context of relationships between cross-sex coworkers.

Older widows' attitudes towards men and remarriage

Sixty-four older women who had been widowed for several years were interviewed about their attitudes towards men and remarriage. Qualitative and quantitative data are presented. A majority said they are interested in or attracted to men, but a large majority said they are opposed to remarriage or consider it impossible. Number of prior marriages, length and quality of prior marriage, driving, working, persisting grief, other social relationships, prior caregiving, finances, age, and health were investigated as possible determinants of these attitudes. The findings draw attention to factors that vary historically by cohort, in addition to those that are age- and health-related, and support the life-span approach to human development. The attitudes of older widows towards men, courtship, sexuality, and cross-sex relationships are relatively unexplored topics in social gerontology; this investigation contributes significantly to our understanding of older women.

Patterns of Friendship for Women and Men in Same and Cross-Sex Relationships

Ninety-five women and 95 men undergraduates rated each of their closest friends, and rated themselves with each of those friends on a Relationship Grid evaluating both `structural' dimensions (i.e., age, sex, duration of friendship and frequency of contact) and `affective' dimensions (i.e. self-disclosure, appreciation, assistance, empathic understanding, deepening others' self-awareness, shared activity, authenticity, trust, control, responsibility, connectedness, empowerment of others and satisfaction). Results indicated similarity in the rankings of the importance of those dimensions in the friendships of men and women, and that same-sex friendships were more common and of longer duration than cross-sex friendships. Two broad patterns of differences emerged on the `affective' dimensions: (1) relationships with men friends were less reciprocal than relationships with women friends; and (2) men's same-sex relationships were characterized by less giving and receiving. This study suggests similarities and differences in the nature, meaning and perceived function of friendship for women and men, and illustrates the importance of studying people's conceptions of themselves and their friendships in the context of their specific real-life relationships.