While many females find it unfair that guys who have a lot of sex are "studs" and girls are "sluts," many experts actually allege that this sex double standard has some real psychological roots.
Psychology Prof. Stacey Sinclair, who teaches a class on the psychology of gender, said this double standard is rooted in our sexual socialization practices.
"When parents discuss female genitalia with their daughters, 'down there' is what it is commonly called, without reference to the clitoris at all," she said. "However, sons are given a specific name for their sexual organs by their parents."
Around Grounds, men and women seem to share similar thoughts on the sexual double standard. Fourth-year College student Robert Martinson said he believes a disparity still exists.
"I think it exists everywhere," he said. "I don't think it's a good thing, but it's the truth."
A 1999 study conducted by Milhausen & Herold surveyed 165 unmarried female college students and concluded that women are more likely to enforce the double standard than men.
Sinclair added that boys normally hear about masturbation long before trying it while girls normally stumble upon the possibility. She added that sex education also plays a role in the existence of the double standard.
"When girls have the sex talk, areas of interest normally revolve around menstruation and sex regulation, whereas boys are told more directly about sex and relationships," she said.
Although men are more likely to admit to having more sexual thoughts, fantasies and partners than women, many psychologists allege that women may under-report since it is seen as inappropriate for women to be sexually promiscuous by society's standards. Statistics show that men report more sexual desire even though women have equal or greater sexual capacity, Sinclair said.
According to Sinclair, it is arguable that women have a greater sexual capacity for two specific reasons. First, women have a clitoris, which is the only human organ exclusively dedicated to sexual pleasure. Secondly, women have no refractory period, meaning they can have multiple orgasms and can have sex all day without having to recoup.
Third-year College student Alexandra Packouz agreed there is a sexual double standard.
"When men sleep with several women, they are seen as popular and as a 'cool guy' who can get a lot of girls," Packouz said. "But when the situation is reversed and women sleep with a lot of guys, somehow they become the victims of ridicule and negativity."
Packouz said even if men are known to have slept with many women, somehow society never seems look down upon them as much.
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