Monogamous Sex Research Articles

Revisiting the charmed circle: A reflexive examination of unanswered questions in the infidelity literature

AbstractInfidelity is a common experience in romantic relationships, and as such, relationships researchers have amassed a large infidelity literature. In the current manuscript, we provide a brief overview of the infidelity literature, specifically focusing on how infidelity is defined, infidelity attitudes, predictors of infidelity, and infidelity outcomes. Next, we introduce readers to the “Charmed Circle,” a theoretical perspective that conceptualizes monogamous sex as part of society's view of “good, normal, and natural” sex, otherwise known as mononormativity. As scholars, we are equally socialized in a system that endorses and reinforces mononormativity. In this article, we call on scholars to engage in reflexivity and consider how mononormativity has shaped the infidelity literature and their approach to research. We highlight pressing questions within the infidelity literature and argue that by questioning our own biases, assumptions, and methodologies, we will be able to further advance our understanding of infidelity.

Superimposing Sex-Politics in Melvin Van Peebles’s Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song

Literature centering on Melvin Van Peebles's influential, and controversial, independent film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) has focused on the hermeneutics of reception, the timeliness and appropriateness of a talkback by an oppressed race, and the role of the sexual numbers within a film advertised as more of a politically charged product than of a pornographic one. None of the scholarship research incorporates the three crucial parts of the film, showcased visibly in the title itself, into the issues of reception, of critical race strategism, and of sexual politics—what is missing is precisely a productive mode of reading into being and meaning the sweet back, the bad ass, and the background songs. This essay attempts to insert the back side of sex, including the back itself and the ass, both of which I will subsume under the term "back," into the matrix of sex and politics. I argue that back sex directs the audience toward an inescapable engagement between sexual politics and racial politics, that sex serves—is made to serve—within not just the consciousness formation of the individual but also the consciousness formation of the individual within the community. Back sex therefore is revolutionary and constantly in crisis because it changes instead of repeating itself: unlike penile sex characterized by frontal/confrontational penetration, the back gestures a communitarian plurality of sex that escapes classic understanding of monogamous sex within the neoliberal family structure, and the ass emphasizes constant movement, sidewise, back and forth, that oscillates between a vulnerable position that requires backing and a determined democratic demand to be allowed to move counter-progressively. I emphasize the need to read the back as an instance of sex-politics into a more immediate consciousness of the audience, who in turn will benefit not from a total abandonment of penile sexual politics but rather from a novel engagement with the politically charged sexuality of a new zone named the back.

Illness, Social Disadvantage, and Sexual Risk Behavior in Adolescence and the Transition to Adulthood.

This study investigated the influence of illness on sexual risk behavior in adolescence and the transition to adulthood, both directly and through moderation of the impact of social disadvantage. We hypothesized positive effects for social disadvantages and illness on sexual risk behavior, consistent with the development of faster life history strategies among young people facing greater life adversity. Using the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we developed a mixed-effects multinomial logistic regression model predicting sexual risk behavior in three comparisons: risky nonmonogamous sex versus safer nonmonogamous sex, versus monogamous sex, and versus being sexually inactive, by social characteristics, illness, interactions thereof, and control covariates. Multiple imputation was used to address a modest amount of missing data. Subjects reporting higher levels of illness had lower odds of having safer nonmonogamous sex (OR = 0.84, p < .001), monogamous sex (OR = 0.82, p < .001), and being sexually inactive (OR = 0.74, p < .001) versus risky nonmonogamous sex, relative to subjects in better health. Illness significantly moderated the sex (OR = 0.88, p < .01), race/ethnicity (e.g., OR = 1.21, p < .001), and childhood SES (OR = 0.94; p < .01) effects for the sexually inactive versus risky nonmonogamous sex comparison. Substantive findings were generally robust across waves and in sensitivity analyses. These findings offer general support for the predictions of life history theory. Illness and various social disadvantages are associated with increased sexual risk behavior in adolescence and the transition to adulthood. Further, analyses indicate that the buffering effects of several protective social statuses against sexual risk-taking are substantially eroded by illness.

Sexual practices and risk behaviors of Israeli adult heterosexual men

ABSTRACTThe knowledge of sexual practices of heterosexual males (HM) in Israel is limited despite the increase inthe incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STI). This study assessed sexual practices among Israeli HM and the associations between demographic characteristics and sexual risk behaviors. The Cross-sectional study included a representative sample of 913 Jewish HM aged 18–44, which completed a questionnaire including their demographics, sexual practices, and risky sexual behavior. Of all participants, 66.8% had monogamous sex with their steady partner. These participants were more likely to be older, religious, involved ina limited repertoire of sexual practices, and less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior. Of the participants, 9.6% were in steady relationships but had concomitant sexual casual partner/s. They were more likely to be secular, paid for sex, and had more lifetime sexual partners. Of all the participants, 23.6% were singles and had sex with casual partner/s. They were more likely to be younger and engage in risky sexual behavior. Of all participants, 10.3% were involved in risky sexual behavior. These men were more likely to be singles, pay for sex and have more lifetime sexual partners. We conclude that preventive interventions aimed to prevent STI-infections should target HM who are in singles and those in steady relationships and have concomitant sex partners.

Travel-related sexually transmitted infections.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are among the most common notifiable health problems worldwide, with particularly high rates in developing countries. Men and women with multiple sexual partners at home or a previous history of STIs are more likely to have casual sexual exposure (CSE) while travelling. Over the last several decades 5% to even 50% of short-term travellers engaged in CSE during foreign trips. It is estimated that only 50% of travellers use condoms during casual sex abroad. Sexual contact with commercial sex workers is an exceptionally high-risk behaviour. The common risk factor is also young age. Adolescents and young adults constitute 25% of the sexually active population, but represent almost 50% of all new acquired STIs. Many STIs are asymptomatic and therefore can be difficult to identify and control. The clinical manifestation of STIs can be grouped into a number of syndromes, such as genital ulcer or erosion, urethral or vaginal discharge, pelvic inflammatory disease. STIs are divided into curable infections caused by bacteria (gonorrhoea, chlamydiasis, syphilis, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, granuloma inguinale) or protozoa (trichomoniasis) and incurable viral infections (genital herpes, genital warts, HIV). STIs are not only a cause of acute morbidity, but may result in complications including male and female infertility, ectopic pregnancy, cervical cancer, premature mortality or miscarriage. Monogamous sex with a stable, uninfected partner or sexual abstinence remains the only way to avoid the risk of becoming infected with STIs.

Taming Passion for the Public Good: Policing Sex in the Early Republic Mark E.Kann. New York: New York University Press, 2013.

Taming Passion for the Public Good: Policing Sex in the Early Republic Mark E. Kann. New York: New York University Press, 2013.During the first decades of the nineteenth century, large numbers of unmarried young women and men left their family households to pursue new opportunities for sexual experimentation in urban centers with their vice-driven cultures of gambling, drinking, and prostitution. Civic leaders feared that this licentiousness would undermine moral decency, social order, and political stability in the newly independent United States. In response, these public officials sought to curb the excesses of liberty and extend patriarchal authority beyond the household in order to police the moral lives of Americans. As many scholars have identified the American Revolution as a deathblow to patriarchy, such an attempt at restoring it would seem futile. In Taming Passion for the Public Good, however, Mark E. Kann effectively demonstrates that officials successfully portrayed themselves as caring paternalists whose authority was necessary to achieve and secure the perpetuation of (17).But how could patriarchal authority and emerging liberalism coexist? Would not Americans refuse to consent to this impediment on their expression of individual liberties? Kann argues that remarkably few people questioned policing's legitimacy (51) because authorities were able to align their policing power with the idea of clean sex (monogamous sex between a married man and woman) and middle-class values, to convince citizens that the policing was done with their consent, and to use discretion in the enforcement of patriarchal authority. Paternalism not patriarchy, persuasion not coercion. Additionally, even while preaching the language of individual liberty, upper- and middle-class Americans did not trust the average citizen to wield liberty responsibly (163). The excessive passions of young men and fallen women threatened to undermine liberalism and spark social and political disorder. The only solution was to protect liberties with patriarchal authority.After extending his previous work on policing men and women in penitentiaries, Punishment, Prisons, and Patriarchy (2005), Kann turns to the example of prostitution as one of the most visible manifestations of illicit sexuality in the early nineteenth century. Although public officials possessed the authority to police prostitution, they only used this authority sparingly. Patriarchal authority may have been extensive, but it was also fraught with contradictions and limitations. …

Does distress intolerance moderate the link between ADHD symptoms and number of sexual partners?

Previous research demonstrates that ADHD symptoms are related to increased risky sexual behavior. Distress intolerance (DIT) has also been linked to risk behavior and may also be related to increased risky sexual behavior. Thus, we evaluated the degree to which DIT moderated the link between ADHD symptoms and number of casual and monogamous sexual partners. Participants were undergraduate psychology students (N=660; 30% male; M=20.23, SD=1.40; 47% European American) who completed an online assessment. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that several DIT constructs, specifically tolerance, appraisal, and regulation, moderated the link between ADHD symptoms and casual sex partners. Only regulation moderated the association between ADHD symptoms and monogamous sex partners. Results suggest that difficulty managing distress moderates the link between ADHD symptoms and number of sexual partners. These results have important implications for prevention and intervention program development.

Women with intellectual disabilities talk about their perceptions of sex

Sexuality is learned through sexual socialisation that women with intellectual disabilities (IDs) understand and express. Rules of sexual engagement for these women can include barriers for their socialisation, intimate partner selection, and sexual expression. These rules can become more limiting when coupled with rules of femininity that encourage sexual restraint for women. This ethnography explored how women with IDs perceived their sexuality and how sexuality functioned in their lives. Sources of data included 48 multiple and in-depth interviews and observations with 14 women. This article specifically describes how the women constructed 'sex' and how they described experiencing sex as two of their multiple expressions of sexuality in this study. Most of the women had very limited and exclusively heterosexual sexual experiences, and the majority of women reported practicing abstinence. Criteria they identified for sex included having protected sex, marital and monogamous sex for the purpose of procreation or parenting, and having feelings for a sexual partner. Most held negative perceptions of sex they attributed to fear of the first act, fear of experiencing negative consequences, physiological concerns about the act, and perceived or actual lack of pleasure. Although the women displayed some sense of self-determinism in their sexual behaviour, negative perceptions of sex resulted in self-imposed abstinence predicated by fear of intercourse, intimacy, or outcome. Central to their sexuality education then is increasing self-efficacy perceptions and performance of safer sex practices to prevent negative sexual consequence. Sexuality education from a positive perspective that enhances their sexual self-determinism and encourages sexual health is recommended.

Impacting on Intimacy: Negotiating the Marriage Equality Debate

Impacting on Intimacy: Negotiating the Marriage Equality Debate

Common vs. Uncommon Sexual Acts: Evidence for the Sexual Double Standard

The lack of consistent evidence for the sexual double standard may be related to the rather benign nature of the heterosexual behaviors often studied (e.g., casual sex, premarital sex). College students from the southwestern U.S. evaluated targets who engaged in mixed-gender threesomes (where three people engage in simultaneous sexual acts; Study 1: N = 120) and targets in a monogamous sexual relationship (Study 2: N = 105). Evidence for the sexual double standard was found via effects of targets’ gender among those who engaged in threesomes. Targets who had monogamous sex were evaluated more favorably than the targets who engaged in threesomes. We suggest that the sexual double standard may still exist for uncommon sexual behaviors.

Lack of evidence for the heterosexual transmission of hepatitis C.

The importance of sexual transmission in the epidemiology of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is still controversial. To assess the risk of heterosexual HCV transmission, we examined eighty patients with chronic HCV-associated liver disease and their spouses in a cross-sectional clinical and serological cohort study. Serum samples from index patients and their spouses were assayed for HCV antibodies and HCV RNA. In the couples positive for both, further HCV genotyping was done. A questionnaire addressing points such as additional risk factors for HCV infection, sexual behaviour or duration of partnership was completed by all couples. HCV antibodies were detected in four (5%) spouses, of whom three (4%) were also positive for HCV-RNA. HCV genotyping revealed concordance (genotype 1) in two couples, indicating a risk of interspousal HCV transmission of 2.5%. Spouses of patients with HCV viraemia and chronic liver disease have a low risk for acquiring HCV. Even long-term spouses seem not to be at increased risk. We therefore suggest that the risk of HCV transmission between monogamous sex partners does not depend on the duration of sexual exposure.

Sexually transmitted diseases and the use of condoms in a cohort of homosexual men followed since 1983 in Finland.

High rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were recorded among 235 homosexually active men at the start of a prospective follow-up study in June 1983 in Finland. The vast majority (88.5%) reported at least one STD, the most common of them being pubic lice (64.7%) followed by gonorrhoea (42.9%) and non-gonococcal urethritis (26.4%). Those 31 (13.2%) who were seropositive for HIV at the end of the study, had experienced more episodes of STDs than the seronegative individuals (p = 0.0027). Nine HIV seroconversions were noted during the follow-up of 5-40 months, all in individuals who had practised "unsafe" sex. The study participants were repeatedly given detailed advice for avoiding HIV infection, and a tendency towards "safer" sexual practises resulting in a decrease in incidence of most STDs, was noted during the course of the study. However, further spread of HIV is to be expected because 57% of the men still reported practising and sex at the end of the follow-up, and 42% of them without condoms.