Buttoned up Brits? Not so much

British flagLast week the British National Centre for Social Research released the results of its 24th annual British Social Attitudes Survey (BSA). The survey suggests that Brits are becoming more and more liberal in their attitudes about sexuality.

The most striking finding, according to British media reports, is that 70 percent of those surveyed think there’s nothing wrong with premarital sex. That’s up from just 48 percent in 1984, when the survey began. The survey also indicates that the proportion of people who subscribe to traditional gender roles has dropped almost by half over the last two decades. In 1989, 32 percent of respondents agreed that a man’s job was to earn money, while a woman’s job was to stay at home. In the latest survey, only 17 percent agreed with that opinion.

However, the latest BSA suggests that behaviors haven’t changed as much as attitudes have. For example, 77 percent of the people in couples still report that the woman usually does the laundry. That figure hasn’t changed much since 1994, according to the BSA press release (PDF).

How do these findings compare to your impression of attitudes and behavior in the United States? And where would you go to find comparable data for the U.S.?

Transgender debate in local City Hall

According to the Gainesville Sun, last night’s debate over a proposed city ordinance against gender-identity discrimination attracted a large crowd to City Hall. The ordinance would add transgered individuals as a category of people protected from discrimination.

The Sun reports that the ordinance drew both support and protest from the overflow crowd, but that most people spoke out against the proposal:

Those in favor of the ordinance lauded it as a step toward increased human rights for transgender individuals, who some said are marginalized in society. . . . Those opposed reiterated oft-cited concerns of having a man in a woman’s restroom, as well as the burden it would place on business owners to provide accommodations in the case of changing facilities.

According to the Sun, opponents of the ordinance argued that the anti-discrimination measure would constitute special treatment for a small class of people. Others, including several local pastors, objected to the ordinance on religious grounds.

Yet among the supporters were at least two UF students who spoke in favor of the proposal, according to the Sun. One commissioner also noted that several other cities and counties in the state have policies that protect transgendered individuals from discrimination.

At the moment, there’s still no word on how the City Commission voted. What’s your opinion about whether gender identity should be included in anti-discrimination policies?

Update, 4:30 p.m.: In a 4-3 vote, the Gainesville City Commission passed the ordinance to protect transgendered people from discrimination.

Science of sexuality on the newsstands

Time: Science of RomanceTomorrow’s issue of Time magazine features a series of articles on the “science of romance,” including features on why we love, why we flirt, whether online matchmaking works, and whether gay relationships are different than straight ones.

I haven’t had a chance to read all the articles yet, but on first glance, it’s striking how many of the articles take an evolutionary perspective—or at least a watered-down version of one. Indeed, the Time cover story has already attracted criticism from a blogging anthropologist, Daniel Lende, who writes about the simplistic assumptions of pop evolutionary theory.

I’ll have more to say once I’ve read the articles. In the meantime, leave a comment to let us know what you think, if you’ve read the articles.

Hand job humor and gender

Two weeks ago the Voices of American Sexuality blog drew attention to a YouTube video that makes light of a hand job. As they say, “hand jobs are funny.” But notice how this particular joke plays on our expectations about gender.

The set up for the joke is funny in part because it contradicts gender stereotypes. The man is fretful and talkative; the woman is gruff and insensitive. The punch line finally releases the tension (so to speak) by appealing to traditional stereotypes. No matter what else is on a man’s mind, it suggests, he’s always ready to be . . . distracted.

Think about it: would this joke have been funny at all if the woman couldn’t sleep and the man offered a helping hand?

“Switching Sexes: The Aftermath”

Thanks to Stephanie, who left a comment on another post about Switching Sexes: The Aftermath, a documentary that aired last night on the Discovery Health channel. From the Discovery Health website, here’s the synopsis:

For people who find that their mind’s identity and physical sex are mismatched, sexual reassignment surgery is a viable solution. Follow two transsexual men as they struggle through the heartache and sacrifice of becoming female.

The show airs again on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. If you tune in, let us know your reactions by leaving a comment here.

Your TAs chime in

The first blog entry from one of your TAs is online. Lauren Cheek writes about a new study on the exchange of grooming for sex among macaque monkeys, and she relates it to last week’s film about sex and evolution.

Have a question or reaction? Leave a comment to let us know.

The oldest profession: older then we thought

Last week’s film about sex and evolution raised questions about the similarities and differences between money, ape, and human sexuality. The issue has been in the news of late, too. According to news reports, a recent study suggests that male macaques pay for sex with grooming:

Selling sex is said to be humankind’s oldest profession but it may have deep evolutionary roots, according to a study into our primate cousins which found that male macaques pay for intercourse by using grooming as a currency.

Michael Gumert of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore made the discovery in a 20-month investigation into 50 long-tailed macaques in Kalimantan Tengah, Indonesia, New Scientist reports on Saturday.

On average, females had sex 1.5 times per hour.

But this rate jumped to 3.5 times per hour immediately after the female had been groomed by a male — and her partner of choice was likely to be the hunky monkey that did the grooming.

The report also suggests that the cost of obtaining sex varied with supply and demand. If females were abundant, males could woo a potential mate with just eight minutes of grooming. But if no other females were in the area, the male would have to spend twice as long grooming.

This example highlights one of the points of last week’s film—the importance of competition for mates in the evolutionary process. For more, see excerpts of the film on sexual selection in peacocks, polyandry in jacanas, and sex and social organization among chimps and bonobos.

Student sex work is on the rise

In France, more and more young women are selling their bodies to pay for their education, according to two new books featured today in The Guardian, a British newspaper.

One of the books is a memoir written by a 19-year-old student who turned to prostitution because her other part-time job didn’t cover the cost of living. The second book is a study of student prostitution based on interviews with young female “escorts” and their clients. The study suggests that the Internet has helped to expand the market for student sex-workers who cater to older, wealthier men.

It is difficult to know just how many French students engage in sex work, and estimates range widely. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, a French student union claims that up to 40,000 university students work as prostitutes, but police officials put the figure at 15,000 to 20,000 students. Whatever the exact number, the new books have apparently sparked public debate over the adequacy of financial aid for French university students.

As The Chronicle point out, this story isn’t the first we’ve heard about students working in sex-related jobs. In 2006, a study at Kingston University in London reported a 50 percent increase in the number of students who worked in the sex industry over a six year period. And more than 10 years ago, the book Ivy League Stripper made a splash with its account of a Brown University student who financed her education by working as a stripper.

Do these stories resonate with your experience? How common do you think sex work is among university students today?

Why research methods matter

This week we’ve been talking about the development of sexuality research and the importance of scientific research methods for avoiding the errors of everyday reasoning. We also discussed how subtle differences in methods could produce drastically different results. On Tuesday, the Well blog at the New York Times gave a good example of the second point.

Tara Parker-Hope writes about the discrepancy between recent studies on whether men who had prostate cancer surgery were able to have sex again:

For men having prostate cancer surgery, one of the biggest fears is that they will be left impotent. Unfortunately, the research that might help address that question is likely only to confuse.

A notable study in 2005 showed that a year after surgery, 97 percent of patients were able to achieve an erection adequate for intercourse. But last month, researchers from George Washington University and New York University reviewed interim data from their own study showing that fewer than half of the men who had surgery felt their sex lives had returned to normal within a year.

So which of the studies is right? Surprisingly, they both are.

Parker-Hope explains that the different conclusions are primarily a result of methodological differences between studies, including who participated, how often they had sex before surgery, and how researchers defined potency. For example, did researchers ask whether a man was ever able to have sex following surgery? Or did they ask whether men could have sex regularly—without Viagra?

These details about methods don’t often make the headlines when research about sexuality gets reported in the media. That’s why it’s important to think critically about the assumptions and evidence that scientists, journalists, or others use to support their conclusions.

Political context of sexuality research

Because of computer woes in class today, I wasn’t able to show you the political attack ad from Paul Nelson’s 2006 bid to unseat U.S. Representative Ron Kind from the Third Congressional District in Wisconsin. Thanks to YouTube, here it is:

Ads like this one were run in several other congressional races in 2006. For more on what’s misleading about such ads, go to factcheck.org. These ads are a testament to the political forces that oppose contemporary sexuality research in the United States, a topic addressed in Chapter 2 of your textbook.

And while you’re at YouTube, check out one person’s view of what Thomas Jefferson’s re-election campaign would have looked like if sexuality were a political issue in 1804.

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