Sexual Scenarios Research Articles

Individual erotic code in working with married couple

The concept of the individual erotic code of personality as one of the main determinants of the psychology of sexuality is analyzed in the article. The motives, aim and regulator of the given structure forming are found out. The peculiarities that influence on the changing of individual erotic code during the life are described. Such terms as «sexual archetype», «sexual scenario» and «individual erotic code»are differentiated. The plan of the psychotherapeutically session with the marriage couple while changing the individual erotic code of the couple or one of the spouse is characterized.

In-The-Moment Dissociation, Emotional Numbing, and Sexual Risk: The Influence of Sexual Trauma History, Trauma Symptoms, and Alcohol Intoxication.

Prior research on the effects of sexual trauma has examined dissociation but not emotional numbing during sex and has relied exclusively on retrospective surveys. The present experiment examined associations among distal factors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), adolescent/adult sexual assault (ASA), and trauma symptoms and the proximal factor of acute alcohol intoxication on in-the-moment dissociation, emotional numbing, and sexual risk intentions. Young adult female drinkers (N = 436) at elevated sexual risk were randomized to receive alcohol (target peak breath alcohol concentration = .10%) or no alcohol. They then read an eroticized sexual scenario and reported on their dissociation and emotional numbing experiences, unprotected sex refusal self-efficacy, and unprotected sex intentions. Path analysis revealed that CSA was indirectly associated with increased unprotected sex intentions through increased ASA severity, increased trauma-related symptoms, increased emotional numbing, and decreased unprotected sex refusal self-efficacy. Further, alcohol intoxication was indirectly associated with increased unprotected sex intentions through increased emotional numbing and decreased unprotected sex refusal self-efficacy. Emotional numbing, but not dissociation, was associated with unprotected sex intentions and may be one potential target for interventions aimed at reducing HIV/STI-related risk among women with a history of sexual trauma.

‘Not in front of the parents!’ Young people, sexual literacies and intimate citizenship in the internet age

Clause 13 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children have the right ‘to seek, receive or impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in art or in any other media of the child's voice’. However, there is one area in which this directive is constrained in various countries by domestic regulations curtailing children's access to information. That area is human sexuality. The arguments for and against children's access to sex education are well rehearsed. In this article, the author pursues a different angle, looking instead at the increasing restrictions placed upon young people's ability to imagine and communicate with each other about sexual issues, particularly in online settings. The advent of the internet and a range of social networking sites have not only enabled young people to access previously quarantined information about sexuality, but also to actively engage in forms of ‘intimate citizenship’ online. In this article, the author focuses on young people's online fan communities which use characters from popular culture such as Harry Potter or a range of Japanese manga and animation to imagine and explore sexual issues. ‘Child abuse publications legislation’ in Australia and elsewhere now criminalizes the representation of even imaginary characters who are or may only ‘appear to be’ under the age of 18 in sexual scenarios. Hence these children and young people are in danger of being charged with the offence of manufacturing and disseminating child pornography. Despite research into these fandoms that indicates that they are of positive benefit to young people in developing ‘sexual literacies’, there is increasingly diminishing space for young people under the age of 18 to imagine or communicate about sexuality, even in the context of purely fictional scenarios.

The Limits of Heteronormative Sexual Scripting: College Student Development of Individual Sexual Scripts and Descriptions of Lesbian Sexual Behavior

Simon and Gagnon’s sexual script theory identifies multi-tiered influences which shape individual ideas about sexual relationships. The cultural celebration of heterosexuality as the accepted standard dominates major social institutions, and permeates cultural sexual messages. The reception of these heteronormative messages influences the formation of individualized sexual scripts; however, how individuals apply these individualized scripts to understanding the sexual lives of others is little understood. More specifically, what are the effects of heteronormative sexual scripting for imagining a sexual scenario not marked by a male-female partnership? This study asked a sample of heterosexual, bisexual and non-identified college students at a four-year private institution in the northeastern United States to define lesbian sex. Results suggest the influence of culturally heteronormative sexual messages for orienting one’s initial understanding of what sex is, though participants described various levels of acceptance, rejection and/or revision of these messages as they formed their own scripts. However, when asked to define lesbian sex, participants drew from the more rigid heteronormative cultural script to form their definitions. The association of lesbian sex with vaginal penetration by a phallic substitute, such as a dildo, affirmed the overarching influence of the heterosexual, male-centric sexual standard for shaping the individual sexual imaginary.

Absence of Pleasure during Orgasm: A Functional or an Emotional Problem?

Objective: We present the case of an adult man complaining of orgasmic anhedonia. The patient who has no health problems or psychic diseases, doesn’t smoke and is immune of biological risk factors. Andrological physical, biochemical and instrumental investigation shows no evidence of organic cause. The man who is forty five, is married, has two children and is able to copulate twice a week, with his attractive wife. We have two objectives: 1 to uncover the cause of the patient’s sexual complaint and 2 to give him the possibility to profit of his erectile capacity and fully enjoy sexuality. Design and Method: After a complete sexual anamnesis, we invite the patient to describe in detail his sexual activity and behavior, his attitude and feeling towards sex and sexuality. We investigate his autoerotic and sexual fantasies and focus our attention on the continuity-discontinuity of his sexual reality and imaginary. Results: The clinical investigation, conducted with empathy and respectful of the patient’s difficulties, let gradually emerge a controversial sexual scenario. Our first objective is reached. The patient has now the possibility to solve his symptom, negotiating with its reasons or to continue to live with it. Conclusions: Lack of sexual pleasure or male orgasmic anhedonia can be expression of an unmanageable or dystonic erotization and not of a functional inability. Sexologist can help patients to clarify by themselves the nature of their symptoms and to decide about the suitability of their resolution.

Adolescent Susceptibility to Peer Influence in Sexual Situations

PurposeOne consistent predictor of adolescents' engagement in sexual risk behavior is their belief that peers are engaging in similar behavior; however, not all youth are equally susceptible to these peer influence effects. Understanding individual differences in susceptibility to peer influence is critical to identifying adolescents at risk for negative health outcomes. The purpose of this project was to identify predictors of susceptibility to peer influence using a novel performance-based measure of sexual risk taking. MethodsParticipants were 300 early adolescents (Mage = 12.6 years; 53% female; 44% Caucasian) who completed (1) a pretest assessment of demographics, sexual attitudes, and hypothetical scenarios measuring the likelihood of engaging in sexual risk behavior and (2) a subsequent experimental procedure that simulated an Internet chat room in which youth believed that they were communicating with peers regarding these same hypothetical scenarios. In reality, these “peers” were computer-programmed e-confederates. Changes in responses to the sexual scenarios in the private pretest versus during the public chat room provided a performance-based measure of peer influence susceptibility. ResultsIn total, 78% of youth provided more risky responses in the chat room than those in pretest. The most robust predictor of this change was gender, with boys significantly more susceptible to peer influence than girls. Significant interactions also were noted, with greater susceptibility among boys with later pubertal development and African-American boys. ConclusionsResults confirm that not all youth are equally susceptible to peer influence. Consistent with sexual script theory, boys evidence greater susceptibility to social pressure regarding sexual behavior than girls.

Strategies and Techniques to Directly Address Sexual Desire Problems

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder and conflicts about intercourse frequency are the 2 major sexual concerns that bring couples to therapy. Rather than relying on traditional sensate focus exercises, this conceptual/clinical article presents strategies and techniques to directly address sexual desire problems. There were 3 sets of psychosexual skill exercises described with guidelines for implementation: (1) Employ core exercises to promote sexual comfort, attraction, trust, and each partner creating a preferred sexual scenario; (2) Build bridges to sexual desire; and (3) Develop a couple sexual style that promotes strong, resilient desire.

Evolution of song complexity in Bengalese finches could mirror the emergence of human language

Bengalese finches (BFs) are a domesticated strain of wild white-rumped munias imported from China to Japan 250 years ago. Bengalese songs are composed of multiple chunks of song notes, and each chunk is a combination of 2–5 song notes. Furthermore, chunks are arranged in a finite-state probabilistic automaton. We studied how and why BFs sing such complex songs. We found the following: (1) ancestral strains sing simpler songs; (2) there is high learning specificity in white-rumped munias but not in BFs; (3) BFs have larger song control nuclei and higher glutamate receptor gene expression levels than white-rumped munias; (4) both BFs and white-rumped munia females prefer complex songs as measured by the nest string assay, and males with complex songs are physically fitter than males with simpler songs. These results indicated the sexual selection scenario of song complexity in Bengalese finches. We further examined factors related to domestication. We examined songs of white-rumped munias in subpopulations of Taiwan. Where there is a sympatric species with white-rumped munias, songs were simpler. This led to a hypothesis that in the wild, songs needed to be simple to secure species identification, but under domestication this constraint was unnecessary. Based on these results, we extended our research into the socio-emotional domain. All indexes suggested that white-rumped munias have higher levels of stress and social shyness, which should be adaptive in natural environments, but could limit opportunities for learning complex songs. Evolution of song complexity involves factors related to the strength of sexual selection and relaxation of species identification as well as socio-emotional factors because of domestication. The results of the present study on BFs should be useful in discussing the possible biological origins of human speech relating to proximate and ultimate factors.

Social anxiety and resistance techniques in risky sexual scenarios: A possible mechanism of increased risk of victimization

Victims of sexual assault are never to blame, but increasing a woman's ability to effectively defend against unwanted sexual advances may help reduce risk of sexual victimization. This two-part study sought to examine social interaction anxiety as a risk factor of sexual victimization. A total of 1095 undergraduate females completed an online survey to assess social anxiety and other variables, of whom a subsample (n=136) completed the subsequent in-lab study in which predicted use of resistance techniques in a risky sexual situation was assessed. Controlling for past victimization, social interaction anxiety did not predict use of assertive or polite resistance techniques but did predict passive responding at the lowest two levels of sexual coercion in a series of three escalating sexual advances (i.e., breast fondling, genital fondling, and rape threat) in a story depicting a risky sexual situation. Overall, findings suggest that social anxiety may increase college women's risk of sexual victimization by increasing passivity during risky sexual situations, which has implications for risk reduction programs and for psychotherapy with women who present with high social anxiety.

Evolution of song complexity in Bengalese finches: Sexual selection and domestication as two factors

Bengalese finches (BFs) are domesticated strains of wild white-rumped munias (WRMs) imported from China to Japan 250 years ago. BF songs are composed of multiple chunks and each chunk is a combination of 2–4 song notes. Chunks are then arranged in a finite-state probabilistic automaton. We studied how and why BFs sing such complex songs. We found the following facts. (1) The ancestral strain sing simpler songs. (2) There is high learning specificity in WRMs but not in BFs. (3) BFs have larger song control nuclei and higher level of glutamate receptor gene expressions than WRMs. (4) Both BF and WRM females prefer complex songs as measured by the nest string assay and males with complex songs are physically fitted than the males with simpler songs. These results promoted sexual selection scenario of song complexity in BFs. We further examined factors related with domestication. We examined songs of WRMs in subpopulations of Taiwan. Where there is a sympatric species to WRMs, songs were simpler. This leads to a hypothesis that in the wild songs needed to be simple to secure species identification, but under domestication this constrains was set free. [Work supported by JSPS Kakenhi #23118003.]

Attribution Patterns in Men Who Ejaculate Before They Desire: An Internet Survey

Men with erectile problems tend to attribute negative sexual experiences to themselves, in contrast with sexually functional individuals who tend to attribute negative experiences to external factors such as the circumstance or relationship. In this study, we investigated attribution patterns in men with premature ejaculation (PE) symptoms—a group not yet investigated in this regard—to determine whether they follow patterns similar to men with erectile problems. Using an Internet-based approach, we compared attribution responses of 289 men with PE symptoms with 433 sexually functional men on a series of five sexual scenarios (two presenting a positive experience and three presenting a negative experience). Men with PE symptoms were more likely to take blame for any negative sexual experience, including ones unrelated to ejaculating quickly, whereas functional men were more likely to attribute blame to the partner, circumstance, or relationship. Men with PE symptoms also took less credit for positive sexual experiences than functional counterparts, attributing them to the partner or circumstance. These results point out similarities across men with a variety of sexual problems, but also raise questions regarding differences between men with erectile problems and men with problems of ejaculating before desired. Several therapeutic strategies are offered.

Are They Guilty Because of Their Gender?

This paper explores whether sexual acts of varying degrees of misconduct/violence are judged differently depending on the gender of the actor and the subject. It presents pooled data from four countries regarding the actors and subjects involved in a range of sexual activities. In addition, the paper investigates whether the gender of the observer (study participant) influenced the assessment. Our sample consisted of 3416 students from the United States, Israel, Finland, and Estonia. The research instrument contained 8 sexual scenarios where the gender labels of the actors and subjects were manipulated. In several highly revealing cases, it was found that female actors were assessed more benignly compared to male ones. Men were never assessed more benignly. Our research finding is in line with public records showing that women are less frequently perceived and reported as sexual perpetrators. As a consequence, men may find it more difficult to complain of sexual misconduct against them, and sexual misconduct by women against men may have remained uncounted and disregarded in many cases.

Influences of acute alcohol consumption, sexual precedence, and relationship motivation on women's relationship and sex appraisals and unprotected sex intentions.

Guided by the cognitive mediation model of sexual decision making (Norris, Masters, & Zawacki, 2004. Cognitive mediation of women's sexual decision making: The influence of alcohol, contextual factors, and background variables. Annual Review of Sex Research, 15, 258-296), we examined female social drinkers' (N = 162) in-the-moment risky sexual decision making by testing how individual differences (relationship motivation) and situational factors (alcohol consumption and sexual precedence conditions) influenced cognitive appraisals and sexual outcomes in a hypothetical sexual scenario. In a path model, acute intoxication, sexual precedence, and relationship motivation interactively predicted primary relationship appraisals and independently predicted primary sex appraisals. Primary appraisals predicted secondary appraisals related to relationship and unprotected sex, which predicted unprotected sex intentions. Sexual precedence directly increased unprotected sex intentions. Findings support the cognitive mediation model and suggest that sexual risk reduction interventions should address alcohol, relationship, sexual, and cognitive factors.

Mock jury attitudes towards credibility, age, and guilt in a fictional child sexual assault scenario

Low conviction rates of child sexual assault (CSA) remain a persistent social problem in Australia. One reason for this may be the impact of attitudes regarding the victims when the evidence is weak. This article examines the effects of victim age on perceptions of credibility and verdict in a CSA case. Eleven electronic focus groups deliberated a fictional CSA case, in which the age of the child was systemically varied between 6 and 15 years. Deliberation transcripts were analysed with NVivo (Version 9, QSR International Pty Ltd., Burlington, MA, USA), from which thematic clusters were derived. Results showed that as the child's age increased, credibility and guilty verdicts decreased. In addition, testimony alone had little impact in influencing the verdict. These findings suggest that in lieu of corroborating evidence, increasing supporting information, such as expert testimony, and providing structured deliberation for the jury may reduce the influence of victim blame, particularly when the child victim is older.

Sexualities, organizations and organization sexualities: Future scenarios and the impact of socio-technologies (a transnational perspective from the global ‘north’)

The article opens by briefly reviewing studies of sexuality in and around organizations from the 1970s. These studies showed considerable theoretical, empirical and conceptual development, as in the concept of organization sexuality. Building on this, the article’s first task is to analyse alternative future scenarios for organization sexualities, by way of changing intersections of gender, sexuality and organizational forms. Possible gendered future scenarios are outlined based on, first, gender equality/inequality and, second, gender similarity/difference between women, men and further genders: hyper-patriarchy scenario—men and women becoming more divergent; with greater inequality; late capitalist gender scenario—genders becoming more convergent, with greater inequality; bi-polar scenario—men and women becoming more divergent, with greater equality; postgender scenario—genders becoming more convergent, with greater equality. Somewhat similar scenarios for organization sexualities are elaborated in terms of gender/sexual equality and inequality and sexual/gender similarity and difference: heteropatriarchies scenario—greater sexual/gender difference and greater sexual or sexual/gender inequality; late capitalist sexual scenario—greater sexual/gender similarity and greater sexual or gender/sexual inequality; sexual differentiation scenario—greater sexual/gender difference and greater sexual or sexual/gender equality; sexual blurring scenario—greater sexual/gender similarity and greater sexual or sexual/gender equality. The article’s second task is to addresses the impact of globalizations and transnationalizations, specifically information and communication technologies and other socio-technologies, for future scenarios of organization sexualities. The characteristic affordances of ICTs—technological control, virtual reproducibility, conditional communality, unfinished undecidability—are mapped onto the four scenarios above and the implications outlined.

Perceptions of male victim blame in a child sexual abuse case: effects of gender, age and need for closure

According to the gender stereotypes attributed to men, and research on adult male victims, boys subjected to sexual abuse are expected to be better able to defend themselves than girls, and are thought to be more likely to adopt a proactive attitude in the victim–perpetrator relationship. They are consequently regarded as more blameworthy than female victims. In the present study, 384 French respondents read through a sexual abuse scenario in which the child victim's gender, perpetrator's gender and victim's age (7 vs. 12 years old) were manipulated. As expected, male respondents blamed the victim more than female respondents did, especially when the victim was a boy. Furthermore, male respondents blamed the perpetrator less than female respondents did, especially when the perpetrator was a woman and the victim a boy. However, these effects were observed for victims of both 7 and 12 years old while it was expected only for the 12-year-old victims. Finally, as expected, respondents who expressed a high need for closure perceived the victim as less credible and more guilty than respondents who expressed a low need for closure, particularly when the victim was 12 years old. This cognitive characteristic thus appears to moderate the expression of stereotypical representations.

Women's Unprotected Sex Intentions: Roles of Sexual Victimization, Intoxication, and Partner Perception

Sexually victimized women may make sexual decisions differently than nonvictimized women. This study used an eroticized scenario and laboratory alcohol administration to investigate the roles of victimization history, intoxication, and relationship context in women's perceptions of a male partner and their subsequent intentions for unprotected sex. A community sample of 436 women completed childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and adolescent/adult sexual assault (ASA) measures. After random assignment to an alcohol or control condition, participants read and projected themselves into a sexual scenario that depicted the male partner as having high or low potential for a lasting relationship. Participants rated their perceptions of his intoxication, sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk level, and anticipated reactions to insistence on condom use. They then indicated their likelihood of allowing the partner to decide how far to go sexually (abdication) and of engaging in unprotected sex. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses revealed that intoxication predicted greater unprotected sex likelihood indirectly via abdication. CSA and ASA predicted partner perceptions, which in turn predicted unprotected sex likelihood. These findings indicate that, compared to their nonvictimized counterparts, sexually victimized women may respond differently in sexual encounters partly as a function of their perceptions of partners' STI risk and anticipated reactions to condom insistence.

Simulated jury decision making in online focus groups

PurposeA significant issue in jury research has been the use of individual jurors to analyse jury decision‐making. This paper aimed to examine the applicability of computer‐mediated communication to a mock jury deliberation study.Design/methodology/approachGroups of three to five Australian residents anonymously attended a secure chat room and participated in a semi‐structured discussion about a simulated child sexual assault scenario. Deliberation transcripts were analysed thematically using NVivo. A hermeneutic framework was used to analyse the deliberation transcripts.FindingsFive interrelated themes were revealed, each reflecting the tools online juries used to communicate, create meaning, and arrive at a verdict. Electronic jury deliberation promoted an understanding of how people make sense of child sexual assault cases in Australia today.Originality/valueThis study advanced the understanding of online decision making in a child sexual assault scenario. It demonstrated that knowledge of how juries deliberate and create meaning could improve our understanding of how verdicts are achieved. Electronic mock juries are a valuable adjunct to traditional jury deliberation studies because they are cost effective, time efficient, and offer wider recruitment opportunities.

Effect of information about sexual assault presentation specificities on female students’ attitude towards sexual assault

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of the characteristics of a rapist and a victim on the sexual assault assessment of female students. 200 respondents participated in the research. 43.5% of them were 1st year, 52.0% – 2nd year, 3.5% – 3rd year, and 1st–4th year female students of the Vytautas Magnus University. Their average age was 19.89 years (SD 1.009). The respondents have been presented with a research instrument composed of demographic questions, sexual assault scenarios of A. Wilkinson (8 versions), and questions related to the sexual assault scenarios. Each scenario was followed by five scales: Behavioral Blame (BB), Character Blame (CB), Punishment (P), Victim Reporting (VR), and Reporting (R). Each scale consisted of three questions, and responses were obtained on a 7-point Likert scale. All scenarios contain an identical sexual assault situation. However, three characteristics are manipulated with: 1) the victim is acquainted/unacquainted with the rapist, 2) the victim is sober / under the influence, 3) the sexual assault is defined by the term of rape / unwanted sex. The results of the research show that victims of sexual assault are assessed unequally. It has been found that sexual assault victims are blamed for their behavior as being more provocative for the sexual assault when they know the rapist (β = –0.412; p = 0.0001) and the term “unwanted sex” is used (β = 0.173; p < 0.009) in comparison with the situation when the rapist is a stranger and the assault is defined as “a rape”. Similarly, sexual assault victims are blamed for their character as being more responsible for the sexual assault when they know the rapist (β = -0.156; p = 0.024), and the term “unwanted sex” is used (β = 0.246; p = 0.001) in comparison with the situation when the rapist is a stranger and the assault is defined as “a rape”. However, the fact that the victim has consumed / not consumed alcohol does not have a significant effect on her blame (p > 0.05). Also, it has been found that the rapist is more responsible and deserving a stricter punishment, when the term “rape” is used, in comparison with the term “unwanted sex” (β = –0.363; p < 0.0001), and this issue has a more significant effect than the victim’s relation with the rapist (β = 0.285; p < 0.0001) or the victim’s condition (consumed / not consumed alcohol) (p < 0.05). Lastly, respondents think that the victim tends to report sexual assault more often when the term “rape” is used (β = –0.330; p < 0.0001) and the rapist is unacquainted with the victim (β = 0.203; p = 0.002). Also, respondents hypothetically think that they personally would report about a sexual assault more often when they would be sober (β = 0.150; p = 0.033), they would not know the rapist (β = 0.157; p = 0.023), and the term “rape” would use (β = –0.232; p = 0.001). Additionally, respondents' demographic characteristics (the year of study and the study field) were not significant predictors of their attitudes towards sexual assault (p < 0.05).

Pretty's Got Me All Bent Out of Shape: Jordan Harrison's Act a Lady and the Ritual of Queerness

Pretty's Got Me All Bent Out of Shape:Jordan Harrison's Act a Lady and the Ritual of Queerness Matt DiCintio (bio) In Robert Anderson's Tea and Sympathy (1953), Laura Reynolds delivers what passes as a revelation to young Tom Lee before she locks the door, unbuttons her blouse, and requests that years from now, he speak of the ensuing encounter kindly: "Manliness is not all swagger and swearing and mountain climbing. Manliness is also tenderness, gentleness, considerat ion. You men think you can decide on who is a man, when only a woman can really know."1 A half century after the lights dimmed with Tom's hand at Laura's breast, Jordan Harrison's Act a Lady, which premiered at the Humana Festival in 2006, exemplifies what has become possible for young men in queer theatre. Harrison is using the American stage to dismantle hegemonic assumptions about gender roles and sexual relevancy, as opposed to Anderson and his contemporaries, who perpetuated what Eve Sedgwick has called a "crisis of homo/heterosexual definition."2 Act a Lady is a response to John M. Clum's "challenge for post-Boys in the Band and post-Stonewall gay dramatists to find forms more suited to the creation of a positive gay self."3 Clum has observed that "in traditional, realistic drama, there is no meaningful place for gay experiences or explorations and expressions of what has been inadequately called the 'gay sensibility.'"4 Still, as Victor Turner writes in From Ritual to Theatre, "Theatre in complex, urbanized societies on the scale of 'civilizations' has become a specialized domain, where it has become legitimate to experiment with modes of presentation, many of which radically (and indeed, consciously) depart from Aristotle's model."5 With that specialization, we can see how Harrison is kinder to his gay boy than Anderson [End Page 59] was to his straight boy. Turner continues: "Through the performance itself, what is normally sealed up, inaccessible to everyday observation and reasoning, in the depth of sociocultural life, is drawn forth—[Wilhelm] Dilthey uses the term Ausdruck, 'an expression,' from ausdrucken, literally, 'to press or squeeze out.'"6 To paraphrase the hypermasculine, moonshine-swilling bad boy True in Act a Lady, pretty's got Harrison's characters all bent out of shape. They do not need to return to the status quo ante of Tom's hand and Laura's breast.7 In demonstrating how queerness in Act a Lady manifests as ritualistic, I recall the distinction Victor Turner has made between the "tribal-liminal" and the "industrial-l iminoid,"8 particularly his assessment that the liminal in tribal societies cannot be subversive, but the liminoid in postagrarian industrial societies can be.9 Still, concluding his 1977 essay "Variations on a Theme of Liminality," Turner notes, "It remains true that in complex societies today's liminoid is yesterday's liminal."10 In "Reclaiming the Discourse of Camp," Moe Meyer argues that "what 'queer' signals is an ontological challenge that displaces bourgeois notions of the Self as unique, abiding, and continuous while substituting instead a concept of the Self as performative, improvisational, discontinuous, and processually constituted by repetitive and stylized acts."11 I suggest that Meyer's "ontological challenge" constitutes the queer ritual in Act a Lady and ultimately answers John Clum's call for a suitable form. Such a ritual may be "today's liminoid," but because the self-actualization of the young gay man, Casper, requires him to undergo the "ontological challenge," the play indeed constitutes a "social drama." In "The Queer Root of Theater," Laurence Senelick writes that "queer theater has an advantage in that its most essential component, sexual un-orthodoxy, still packs a considerable punch, for all the commercialization of the gay image . . . the enactment of sexual scenarios and gender metamorphosis still aims for the viscera."12 In Act a Lady, that aim is also to legitimize. According to Eli Rozik, "Although secular rituals do not share the intention to reach the sacred, they may equally well fulfill these secondary functions [of promoting a sense of community and social cohesion, and bestowing legitimation of social and political order]."13 With my investigation of Harrison...