Introduction
Sexual behavior has many components, these components influenced by several socio-cultural influences. Gender roles and identity, stereotypes, sexual behavior, and commercial sex are greatly influenced by the expectations that society and culture dictate to people. In the United States, men have naturally been granted more power throughout history, in terms of making more money in the same jobs as women, serving as the main breadwinner, and committing more acts of domestic violence. In spite of the advances that have occurred for women in areas of sexual harassment, gender roles, and homosexuality, which have challenged traditional gender roles, traditional sexual roles are still very much alive in American culture.
Literature Review and Application
While the attitude of monogamy is still respected in the United States, many men and women choosing to get married, monogamy is not the only accepted lifestyle. In the United States, open marriage is also acceptable, as well as casually dating and having multiple sexual partners. However, The United States has also recognized how a more relaxed attitude about sex has increased the country’s responsibility to fund disease prevention programs and also get back to basics. For the past seventeen years in the United States, more than $1.5 billion dollars has been spent on abstinence-only sexual education programs (Herbenick, et al., 2012).
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While some tradition gender roles still exist, especially in more southern states that seem to have more conservative values, gender roles have also changed. In contemporary United States society, more women are in the workforce, now able to financially provide for themselves and not depend on a husband, opening up a woman’s options beyond monogamy.
In the workplace, the United States is not as tolerant of inappropriate sexual behaviors in males, sexual harassment frowned upon. The highly televised case of Justice Clarence Thomas’s sexual harassment of employee Anita Hill in the 1990s propelled the enactment of United States federal legislation prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace.
In spite of all of these advances in equal rights for women, many traditional gender roles still exist, something that can be detected by observing men and women in sports bars. During football games, more guys buy drinks for attractive looking women versus these women buying drinks for men. When the time comes to pay the food bill, about 95% of people paying the bill are men, which shows that the traditional viewpoint that the men pay on dates still exists.
Watching males and females in social situations also shows interesting observations, especially in the area of manners and courtesy. Men were also pulling out chairs for women and giving up their chairs for women, something that I did not see women doing for men. Same-sex couples do not fit into this role in the tradition way. Yet, lesbian couples in the sports bars showed an interesting dynamic, especially in couples where one woman looked more masculine and the other women was more feminine. In these couples, it was more typical to see the more masculine looking women paying for drinks and the food bill, suggesting that that are some traditional gender roles in place here.
In terms of homosexuality, the United States is more accepting. Since the Supreme Court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 law that defined marriage as only between a man and a woman, in 2013, several states have legalized same-sex marriage, including Minnesota, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island, Washington, and Maine (17 States with Legal Gay Marriage and 33 States with Same-Sex Marriage Bans, 2014).
Many organizations in the United States support gay rights. One only has to perform a quick online search to find LGBT agencies, such as the Family Equality Council and the Human Rights Campaign, and the National Gay and Lesbian Force. The United States’ president Barack Obama has made several televised public statement expressing his support for gay couples to marry and have children. However, reversing the patterns of heterosexism, which is defined as discrimination against gay and lesbian people with the overall feeling that being heterosexual is right and being gay is wrong, is accomplished from the top. President Obama has also helped initiate several LGBT conferences and events at the White House, awarding medals to assassinated gay rights advocate and Harvey Milk and gay tennis star Billie Jean King.
While the United States has some right wing political groups, such as The National Organization for Marriage, that worked hard to deny gay individuals the rights to marry and raise children, the majority of individuals accept gay marriage. Ahrold and Meston (2007) suggested that one’s attitudes and behaviors concerning homosexuality is sometimes influenced by one’s level of religiosity, people with a more conservative viewpoint, not as open to homosexuality as they are to heterosexual behavior.
The media has portrayed sex as one of the most important things in a relationship. In movies, you always see people with the perfect bodies having spectacular sex with each other, a chiseled six pack abdomen and a physically fit body portrayed as the way to secure a great sex life. The images portrayed in television, movies, books, magazines, and on the internet make it seem as if women have to be a size 4 and skin and bones to be physically and sexually attractive. Many celebrities also have plastic surgery. The latest cover of the magazine “Women’s Health” features Britney Spears in perfect physical shape in a bikini, her face suggesting some plastic surgery that seems to be the trend among many women in today’s society. Instead of women being able to age naturally and be who they are, women are bombarded by constant pressure to be sexy and have a flawless form. The Spears photo states a strong message: Women need to be in perfect physical shape to be considered sexually attractive and desirable (Hutchinson, 2014).
Fortunately, there are other images in movies that portray sexually active women in a strong role, a reverse of typical gender roles. The movie “Love and Other Drugs” featuring Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal shows the lead character Maggie just wanting a sexual relationship from Jamie, behavior that is typical reserved for and accepted in a man, not a woman (Zwick, 2010). This a far cry from the 1990 film “Pretty Woman.” Only when Julie Robert’s sexy character Vivian broke away from prostitution, a job that is frowned upon by society, was she able to be worthy of Richard Gere’s character Edward. While it was okay for Edward to get his sexual needs fulfilled by a prostitute, something that was accepted by Edward’s friends, it was not okay for Vivian to continue to be a prostitute if she wanted to have a serious relationship with Edward. The fact that Vivian had to be rescued by Edward showed that the traditional gender role of man takes care of woman was still in operation (Marshall, 1990).
Conclusion/Summary
As you can see, the advances that have been made for women, in terms of sexual harassment, women joining the workforce, and women being able to have casual sex have also counteracted by events and examples that have reinforced traditional gender roles. Through observations in sports bars, traditional gender roles were present through men paying the bill, buying drinks for women, and pulling out women’s chairs. Portrayal of women in the media reinforces gender roles. These women, such as Britney Spears and Julia Roberts, who have perfect bodies and get plastic surgery are portrayed as sexier, reinforcing how society and culture still impact several aspects of sexual behavior. In spite of the advances that have occurred for women in areas of sexual harassment, gender roles, and homosexuality, which have challenged conservative gender roles, traditional sexual roles are still very much alive in American culture.
- 17 states with legal gay marriage and 33 states with same-sex marriage bans. (2014, April 17). Retrieved from Pro Con.org: http://gaymarriage.procon.org
- Ahrold, T., & Meston, C. (2007). Ethinc differences in sexual attitudes of U.S colleg students: gender, acculuturation, and religiosity factors. Archives of Sexaul Behavior.
- Herbenick, D., Reece, M., Schick, V., Sanders, S., Dodge, B., & Fortenberry, D. (2012). Sexual behavior in the United States: resultd from aa national proabability sample of men and women ages 14-94. J Sex Med, 255-265.
- Hutchinson, B. (2014, December 16). Britney Spears unveils rocking body and workout routine in Women’s Health magazine. Retrieved from NYDailyNews.com website: http://www.nydailynews.com
- Marshall, G. (Director). (1990). Pretty Woman [Motion Picture].
- Zwick, E. (Director). (2010). Love and other drugs [Motion Picture].
