Heterosexual Relationships Research Articles

Analysing gender fluidity representation in perfume bottles with heterosexual matrix theory

Perfume bottles represent the gender identity associated with perfume, reflecting the transition in gender construction from binary to fluid in contemporary society. From the perspective of Butler’s heterosexual matrix theory ( Gender Trouble, 1990), this study examines the representation of the binary gender system and gender fluidity in perfume bottles by combining quantitative and qualitative analyses. The findings indicate that, generally, the visual representation of perfume bottles fundamentally follows the binary gender system. The bottles of women’s and men’s fragrances differ significantly in colour and shape, reflecting heterosexual relationships in metaphor/metonymy and text. Unisex fragrances basically adopt a masculine visual style. In addition, a small yet increasing number of perfume bottles represent gender fluidity in two aspects. On the one hand, perfume bottles have emerged as vehicles of female subjectivity, objectification of men and gender diversity. By changing the representation of sex, gender and desire, perfume bottles transcend traditional gender construction. On the other hand, the gender representation of perfume bottles has gradually become more diverse and fluid over time.

Jealousy or Abuse? Dispositional Mindfulness Helps Chinese College Students Understand and Save From Cyber Dating Abuse.

Technology advances lead to a high prevalence of cyber dating abuse among youth. Previous studies had demonstrated its detrimental outcomes and predictors, but neglected the characters in Eastern countries. Therefore, exploring the comprehensive mechanisms of cyber dating abuse in different cultures and mitigating it are necessary. The current study first recruited 242 participants (65.7% women, Mage = 20.79 years, SD = 1.89) through social media to revise a localized Cyber Dating Abuse Questionnaire. Then, we conducted a moderated mediation model with 300 participants (60.0% women, Mage = 20.92 years, SD = 1.86) recruited through snowball sampling to examine the utilities of anxious attachment, jealousy, and dispositional mindfulness on cyber dating abuse perpetration. The two samples were integrated to examine the prevalence of cyber dating abuse, including 542 Chinese college students who were in heterosexual relationships the past year. The results showed that both perpetrators and victims of cyber dating abuse were 48.5% respectively. Women reported more perpetration behaviors (men = 40.9%; women = 53.1%) and less victimization (men = 56.2%; women = 44.0%) than men. Jealousy mediated the association between anxious attachment and cyber dating abuse perpetration. Moreover, dispositional mindfulness, particularly its non-judgment facet, could be a protective factor. These findings underscored the commonalities and expanded theories in understanding cyber dating abuse, facilitating the development of preventive and interventive strategies. Future studies should focus on this phenomenon and provide more comprehensive protection and psychosocial education for youth and adolescents.

Risk Factors for Violence in Adult Heterosexual Noncasual Relationships: An Overview of Reviews

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread social, public health, and human rights problem. Empirical investigation of IPV risk factors can promote evidence-based assessment tools and effective prevention and intervention. This overview is a pioneering synthesis of systematic reviews (SRs) of IPV risk factors. Systematic searches for SRs in English reporting a meta-analysis of IPV risk factors in adult heterosexual, non-casual relationships published between January 2011 and June 2021 were conducted in four bibliographic databases: Medline via EBSCO, CINAHL Plus, Scopus, and APA PsycInfo. This search strategy identified 1,027 unique records. Supplementary manual search methods were completed in July 2023. Overall, 17 SRs utilizing a meta-analytic approach to investigate IPV risk factors published between 2012 and 2022 were included in the overview. Risk factors were organized into five key categories: demographic, individual, family of origin, relationship, and social. Overall, 73 unique risk factors relating to perpetrators and 61 relating to victims were identified in the SRs. Just 50 of the 119 coefficients relating to IPV perpetration were reported, by any SR, as statistically significant and of moderate or strong predictive power; and 39 of these 50 factors related to previous IPV. Only 26 of the 147 coefficients relating to IPV victimization were both statistically significant and of moderate or strong predictive power, the majority of which (15) were in the relationship violence grouping of risk factors. The evidence suggests a randomness to IPV. This body of evidence provides some limited direction for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.

Sexual, relational, and psychological functioning in male partners of women with reported Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome-a case-control study.

Do sexual, relational, and psychological functioning of male partners of women with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome differ from male partners of women without MRKH syndrome? Male partners of women with MRKH syndrome did not significantly differ in sexual functioning but reported higher relational satisfaction and less anxiety than the control group. To date, only a few studies have reported occasionally about sexual, psychological, and relational functioning of partners of women with MRKH syndrome. The results seem to suggest sexual satisfaction in these men, contrary to the more often reported insecurities in women with MRKH syndrome surrounding sexuality and relationships. In this case-control study, 42 male partners of women with MRKH syndrome and 40 partners of women without the condition were enrolled. All participants were recruited through women with MRKH syndrome and age-matched women without the condition who participated in a previous case-control study on sexual, psychological, and relational functioning. Participants live in a heterosexual relationship for at least in the last 6 months and have a basic understanding of the Dutch language. They were administered a set of online questionnaires to assess sexual, relational, and psychological functioning. Partners of women with MRKH syndrome did not differ significantly in overall sexual functioning and had similar percentages of sexual dysfunction and sexual distress as the control group. Partners of women with MRKH syndrome reported significantly less relational dissatisfaction (P = 0.01; Cohen's d = 0.6) than partners of women without the condition. There was no significant difference in overall psychological functioning or the presence of clinically relevant anxiety and depression, but the men in the MRKH group had a significantly lower anxiety score (P = 0.01; Cohen's d = 0.6). We were not able to reach a sample size needed for enough power to detect small to medium effect sizes. Confounding factors and selection bias cannot be excluded. The study offers new knowledge on a perspective that remains underexposed so far, which makes comparison to previous literature difficult. More research is needed to apply the results in clinical practice. This research was supported by the Dutch Scientific Society of Sexology (Nederlandse Wetenschappelijke Vereniging Voor Seksuologie). There was no involvement in the conduct of the research, and the funding was unrestricted. There are no conflicts of interest to declare. N/A.

Oral Sex May Serve as Low Mate Value Compensation Among Men: Evidence from a Pre-registered Study.

From the evolutionary perspective, maintaining a committed relationship is beneficial for reproductive success but involves risks such as losing a partner or infidelity. People typically prefer partners with similar mate value (MV) to avoid rejection. However, when a mate value discrepancy (MVD) arises, the partner with lower MV might employ mate retention strategies to maintain the relationship. This study investigated whether men with lower MV compared to their female partners used cunnilingus more often and whether this effect was mediated by their motivation to satisfy the partner. Additionally, it tested the moderating role of men's perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD), predicting that men less concerned about disease would show a stronger link between MVD and cunnilingus frequency, given the health risks associated with oral sex. Data from 540 men in committed heterosexual relationships confirmed that a higher MVD-where the man's MV was lower than his partner's-led to more frequent cunnilingus, and this relationship was mediated by a greater motivation to sexually satisfy the partner. However, the moderating role of PVD was not confirmed. We explore the evolutionary perspective that men may perform oral sex on their partners as a mate retention strategy. This behavior potentially serves as a benefit-provisioning mechanism, compensating for discrepancies in mate value.

Exploring the association between gender equality in the family and fertility intentions: an explanation of the findings in low-fertility countries

Previous research has demonstrated a positive association between gender equality in the family and fertility measures. However, this association may vary when different features of gender equality in the family, such as the division of housework and childcare, are analyzed. Furthermore, it has been argued that individuals may have different perceptions regarding housework and childcare, which can further explain how the division of these activities is associated with fertility outcomes. We performed a microlevel investigation of the association between the division of housework and childcare and fertility intentions with the aim of identifying patterns (or their absence) in the association. We hypothesized that a more equitable division of tasks is associated with increased fertility intentions. We used data from the first round of the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) in ten countries: Germany, Belgium, Austria, France, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Bulgaria, and Georgia. Our samples included individuals who were in heterosexual relationships and had one child. We employed binary logistic regression for analysis. Overall, our findings suggested that a more equitable division of housework was associated with an increased likelihood of intending to have a second child. Conversely, a less equitable division of childcare was associated with a decreased likelihood of intending to have a second child. Owing to the discussion of the diverse perceptions that individuals may hold regarding housework and childcare, this study contributes to the literature by proposing a theoretical explanation for the patterns observed in our results. The results align with those of previous studies indicating that childcare is generally viewed as enjoyable and rewarding, whereas housework tends to be negatively evaluated and linked to perceptions of unfairness and inequality. Consequently, a more equitable division of housework may reduce work‒family conflict and potentially be associated with increased fertility intentions. In contrast, if childcare is perceived as fulfilling, engaging in more childcare activities may lead to increased fairness rather than unfairness, leading to the association between less equal division of childcare and increased fertility intentions.

“Maybe We Can't Actually Have it All?” Egg Freezing, Solo Motherhood by Donor Conception and Intimate Desires and Normativity in a Late Modern Nordic Welfare State

ABSTRACT In this article I discuss the accounts of middle-class women in their 30s living in Norway, who face choices between egg freezing or solo motherhood by donor conception. I show that the women sought Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) as a way of actively managing their intimate and reproductive biography, at a time when their window of fertility was perceived to be closing, and they struggled to establish and maintain a satisfactory heterosexual relationship which could also serve as basis for a nuclear family (“the family package”). Both the ARTs in question, although potentially producing quite different outcomes, could be and were employed to avoid suboptimal relationships solely or mainly for the sake of reproduction. I argue that the women’s engagement with ARTs reveals an inherent tension between late modern heterosexual coupling and the nuclear family as the ideal reproductive formation. “The family package” that the women desired appears to be more a compilation of two different–and somewhat conflicting–functions: individual self-realisation through romance, and reproduction through heterosexual coupledom. Moreover, I suggest that interest in and use of these ARTs both make visible, and contribute to, an emergent symbolic and social dismantling of the nuclear family as a reproductive norm.

Panoptic Love: Foucault's Surveillance State in and around An Ideal Husband

abstract: Oscar Wilde's society comedy An Ideal Husband (1895) depends on social reputation to regulate characters' actions. Applying the carceral (prison) model of the Panopticon to this play reveals the impact of Michel Foucault's surveillance state on the characters, demonstrating that intimate, heterosexual relationships are measured against an ideal, and disciplined and punished through the threat of social ostracism. Here, a successful marriage is based on good behavior, flawless reputation, and strong socioeconomic status, defining the institution as itself a Panopticon within the broader Panopticon of society. Played out on stage before an audience, the Panopticon of high society—within that of the theater—is further regulated and disciplined by the audience. The audience of An Ideal Husband thus experiences, and participates in, surveillance of and by heteronormative high society, just as Wilde experiences its regulation of homosexuality.

"There Is No Peace", "We Are Just Persevering": Triggers, Manifestations, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence Against Men in Kenya.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) within heterosexual relationships affects both men and women, yet an in-depth description of IPV against men in developing countries is still limited. This study explored community perceptions of male IPV victimization in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. We conducted 12 focus group discussions (FGDs) with 118 ever-married participants (59 men and 59 women), divided into 6 FGDs for each gender. We performed thematic analysis using NVivo software. This article presents three main themes that emerged during data analysis: (a) triggers, (b) manifestations, and (c) consequences/effects of IPV against men. Both male and female participants perceived male IPV victimization as a significant concern in the community. The poor living conditions, coupled with alcohol use, seemed to be major underlying factors, often forming the basis of spousal conflict. Emotional abuse, including denial of basic needs, acts of humiliation, and coercive control, were the most frequently cited forms of violence. The consequences of what was considered IPV against men affected victims and their families including the violent female spouses, children, and the society at large. These effects upset the health, economic, and social spheres of life with some retriggering male IPV, thus creating a vicious cycle of abuse. Notably and of concern, IPV against women was highlighted as a consequence of male victimization. Although we set out to explore community perceptions, study participants openly shared their experiences of male IPV perpetration and victimization. These findings underscore the importance of recognizing men as potential victims of IPV and contextualizing IPV prevention strategies targeting the urban poor with the goal of designing and implementing policies and interventions that address IPV holistically.

Should Men Pay Bills? -- Financial Disparities in Heterosexual Relationships

Abstract: This study investigates the enduring norm and rising debatable question of whether men should bear the financial burden in heterosexual relationships Should men pay bills? analyzing the gender dynamics through the lens of financial disparities. Drawing on a survey of 231 participants across diverse demographics, primarily from China, this study explores how societal norms and economic inequities influence heterosexual relationships and contribute to traditional gender norms. By dissecting factors such as the gender wage gap, the pink tax, and the division of labor in non-reproductive tasks, this paper highlights the economic and cultural forces impacting traditional gender roles. The survey reveals that men are generally perceived and often function as the primary earners, influenced by stereotypical gendered norms and expectations, resulting in women encountering economic disadvantages due to lower earnings and greater financial commitment to personal care. This study also examines societal pressures that dictate spending patterns, especially among women, on aesthetics, which contribute significantly to their financial and emotional strain. The findings suggest a critical need to reassess the traditional financial roles in relationships and push toward more equitable financial practices. The findings prompt a reconsideration of gendered financial responsibilities and advocate for a shift towards more equitable practices.

The Impact of Communication on Sexual Response: A Summary of Findings

This paper examines how sexual communication impacts both sexual desire and sexual satisfaction. The purpose is to assist clinicians in understanding how these components of human sexuality interrelate so that they may use these findings to inform their clinical practice and improve outcomes for clients. Key dimensions of effective sexual communication are explored, and how those dimensions interact with experiences of sexual desire and sexual satisfaction. Consideration is given to the additional factors of relationship satisfaction and non-sexual communication and how these may mediate the relationship between sexual communication, desire, and satisfaction. The need for further research in this area outside of heterosexual and monogamous relationships is emphasized. Implications for practice highlight the importance of clinicians being able to screen for sexual communication skills in their clients, and upskill accordingly, particularly when issues of sexual desire and satisfaction are present, to enhance clinical outcomes.

Are we softly constructing more inclusive males? An examination of men’s interpersonal emotion work for children and partners

This article investigates gendered differences in emotion work in contemporary Australian society by examining family-oriented emotion work. We examine the ways parents in heterosexual relationships perform emotion work for their children and their partners through qualitative, semi-structured interviews, focusing on changing experiences and shifting structuration processes around gendered norms and emotional inequality. We found some evidence of continuing gender essentialism and hegemonic-masculine behaviours. Female respondents were more likely to perform regular emotion work and adopt empathic attitudes towards their children, as well as manage their own emotions concerning their partners. Many respondents believed that these gender differences were ‘innate and natural’. However, more progressive inclusive-masculine behaviours were evident in men managing their own emotions, seeking more emotional engagement, and performing more caring than authoritative emotion work for their children. It was also evident in men and women both performing numerous forms of care and interpersonal emotion work for each other (that is, their partners). This study points to the emergence of more fluid structuration and ‘softer’ forms of gender social constructionism, in place of the ‘harder’ constructionism and gender essentialism predominant in prior studies.

Same-Sex Adultery as a Ground for Divorce

Discrimination against individuals with different orientations occurs when courts adopt a perspective that implies that those who do not identify as heterosexual are abnormal. Since marriage is a heterosexual legal relationship for the Turkish courts, the heteronormative dynamics rule the divorce. Protecting or supporting same-sex relationships has never been the goal of Turkish courts. Nonetheless, the court rulings constitute a form of rights violation, given that discrimination is expressly forbidden regarding Turkish legislation and causes compensation demands. Adultery is only one of the reflections of same-sex unions in the Turkish judication. Turkish courts are aware that decisions regarding adultery do not inevitably permit same-sex unions. Notwithstanding Türkiye is a secular state, the religious rules that a significant percentage of the population embraces cannot be disregarded when it comes to the administration of the judicial system. Nonetheless, the courts believe that they are acknowledging the possibility of same-sex relationships if they permit same-sex adultery. On the other hand, because of the fear of compensation, courts are beginning to adopt supposedly equal positions even in cases where they are sincerely unable to approve of same-sex unions, and some change their understandings case to case to avoid the accusation of discrimination, causing legal dualities.

Genetic variations as predictors of dispositional and dyadic empathy—a couple study

Biological drivers of empathy have been explored in an interdisciplinary manner for decades. Research that merges the psychological and genetic perspectives of empathy has recently gained interest, and more complex designs and analyses are needed. Empathy is a multidimensional construct that might be regarded both dispositionally (as a personality trait) and contextually (experienced and/or expressed in a particular relationship/situation). This study analyzed genetic variations associated with genes encoding oxytocin, arginine vasopressin, and receptors that regulate their secretion as predictors of the empathic dimensions of emotional (empathic concern and personal distress) and cognitive (perspective taking) dyadic factors of partners in heterosexual intimate relationships. Machine learning methods to capture both linear and nonlinear relationships between SNPs, RS1 and RS2 repeat polymorphisms and dimensions of empathy in couples were employed. A total of 442 individuals (221 couples) participated in this study. Empathy was measured by the Polish version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index for Couples. The MassARRAY® 4 instrument, which combines mass spectrometry with endpoint PCR, was used for genotyping all 14 genetic variations. Microsatellite fragment analysis was performed by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The results confirmed the significance of certain genetic alterations linked to oxytocin, vasopressin, serotonin and estrogen for dispositional and dyadic empathy (mainly rs1884051, rs6311, RS1, rs4686302, and rs1042778) in couples. The effects were stronger for the prediction of emotional and dyadic empathy than for perspective taking. Separate analyses for women and men indicated different predictive effects of genes for empathy (for example, effects of rs53576 were indicated only in women), which are also experienced and expressed in couples. Different dimensions of empathy should be included when the genetic predictors of empathy are examined.

Safety and efficacy evaluation of intracavernosal injection of platelets rich plasma in treatment of vasculogenic erectile dysfunction

ABSTRACT Objectives The study’s objective is to compare platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to placebo in terms of effectiveness and safety for patients with vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED). Methods This randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial was done on 50 male patients with organic vasculogenic ED and sexually active in a stable heterosexual relationship for a period of over three months. The patients were randomized into two main groups: Group (A) (n = 25) underwent PRP treatment. Group (B) (n = 25) control underwent placebo treatment. Results The two groups under study differed in a statistically significant way regarding the achievement of minimal clinically important differences (MCID) at 3 months and 24 months. Statistically significant variations existed between the mild subgroup and placebo regarding achieving MCID after 3 months and 24 months. The level of satisfaction was statistically significantly higher in the PRP group. A statistically significant variation was present between the mild subgroup and placebo at 3 months and 24 months in terms of changes from baseline in the erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-EF) questionnaire score in each subgroup. Conclusions PRP is an effective alternative modality of treatment in cases of ED, and they offer an intermediate stage between pharmaceutical therapy and surgical interventions at least in mild and mild to moderate cases where unsatisfactory results or unpleasant side effects compel the patients to abandon all hope on medical treatment.

Ken's best friend: masculinities in Barbie

Greta Gerwig's Barbie (2023) has predominantly been labelled either as anti-man propaganda or as a paragon for women's empowerment. I suggest that such positions miss a crucial point: Barbie is not anti-man; it is pro-man and is not necessarily a revolutionary film for women, at least not as much as it is for men. This is because Barbie espouses non-hegemonic masculinity through cultural critiques that are rare to see in popular media, especially with the immense commercial success that the film has had . I postulate that Barbie can be utilised as a blueprint for men through its representation of queered masculinity and intimate heterosexual male homosocial relationships. The film portrays heterosexual deviance that can be used as an alternative thinking of how masculinity can be performed sans patriarchy and hegemony. This subversive representation is paramount, and the ramifications of such an analysis can hopefully result in future media representations of non-hegemonic masculinity and can also lend to the effort in normalising the existence of men's emotions and mental health struggles, and in underlining discussions of what it means to be man enough; or better yet, what it means to be Kenough.

»My Wallet, My Choice« – Mimicry of Marginality In an Online Community of Male Separatists

Backlash and hostility towards feminism are on the rise, as demonstrated by the growth of the ›manosphere‹: a loose network of men’s social media communities who argue that men are the real victims of sexism and feminists conceal these facts (Ging 2019). One manosphere group, »Men Going Their Own Way« (MGTOW), argue that heterosexual relationships are oppressive to men and consequently should be avoided. In this paper, I take a discourse-historical approach to critical discourse studies (Reisigl/Wodak 2016) to examine how MGTOW construct themselves as marginalised or oppressed. I identify four salient discursive strategies: appropriation of feminist discourse; role reversal; statistics; and self-presentation as unpopular.

Legislating Virginity: The Law and Ethics of Hymenoplasty and Virginity Testing

According to Merriam Webster, the definition of a ‘virgin’ is someone who has never participated in sexual intercourse. This definition revolves around heterosexual relationships and the assumption that the intercourse will involve a person with a penis and another with a vagina. However, what one considers sexual intercourse can vary from person to person (for example, whether oral sex is included) and the definition incurs greater difficulty when linked to anatomy, specifically the hymen. The hymen is a thin membrane of skin near the opening of the vagina, which consists of leftover fragments of tissue formed during foetal development, found only in female mammals. The presence of the hymen still holds significant importance in most religions as it is believed to determine a woman’s ‘purity’ and ability to marry, an essential factor for their position within their community, due to the commodification of female virginity. Consequently, women often face violence when they are accused of not being a virgin, or are found to have a hymen which is not intact. Due to the gender binary being imposed by the concept of virginity, this essay assumes that most people with hymens identify as women, whilst still acknowledging that trans*, non-binary and intersex people can also share this anatomical feature. This essay will discuss the cultural practices that encourage virginity testing and hymenoplasty, followed by an analysis of potential harm-reduction solutions with reference to the historical and religious background which places virginity as a gendered concept. Whether the measures put in place by the Health and Care Act 2022 are sufficient in preventing the violence against women which stems from practices surrounding virginity will be discussed in the context of the practical realities of virginity testing. This idea will be explored within the framework of the UK’s legal system with reference to other European jurisdictions for context.

Conflict and Intimacy in Emerging Adults' Romantic Relationships and Depressive Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Identity and Couple Satisfaction.

Romantic relationships in emerging adulthood may be associated with depression, but the role of possible mediators of this relationship remains to be explored. The present study tested a serial mediation model where intimacy and conflict in romantic relationships were predictors of depressive symptoms through the mediation of couple satisfaction and identity satisfaction. The study was conducted on a sample of 268 Italian emerging adults, 60% female (Mage = 19, ds = 1.4), all involved in a heterosexual romantic relationship. The results showed that the association between intimacy and depressive symptoms was direct and sequentially mediated through couple satisfaction and identity satisfaction. A single mediation pathway through identity satisfaction alone also emerged. The association between conflict and depressive symptoms was direct and sequentially mediated through couple satisfaction and identity satisfaction. These findings suggest the importance of helping emerging adults develop appropriate skills in managing conflict and intimacy in romantic relationships as useful resources for identity satisfaction and depression prevention.

Men's general intelligence and heterosexual romantic relationship outcomes

Research has established that higher general intelligence is associated with a range of favorable life outcomes, including academic and workplace achievement, and socioeconomic status. Recent work also has explored the potential role of specific cognitive abilities in navigating romantic relationship problems, and mitigating undesirable relationship outcomes such as infidelity and partner-directed violence. Less research has investigated the associations between general intelligence and outcomes for romantic relationships. The present research analyzed data secured from a sample of heterosexual, partnered men (N = 202) to investigate associations between men's intelligence and several variables related to romantic relationship phenomena and functioning, including partner-directed insults, desire for power in intimate relationships, and erectile dysfunction. Results revealed that men's general intelligence, and in particular, their performance on letter number series items, was negatively associated with a range of aversive, partner-directed behaviors including insults, sexual coercion, and cost-inflicting mate retention tactics, as well as several individual difference variables including men's sociosexual orientation, erectile dysfunction, and psychopathy. Conversely, men's general intelligence was positively associated with their self-reported relationship investment.