Love; Sexuality; Dating/Courting

Changing Sexual Behavior

A. Society and Sexuality: Sexuality a social construction?

sexual diversity
compulsory heterosexuality: beliefs and practices that define and enforce heterosexual behavior as the only natural and permissible form of sexual expression.
Feminist debates on Sexuality: (see Aulette)

B. The Liberalization of Sex

In the 20th C, three major eras in terms of sexual behavior:

1900-early 1950s
1950s-1970
1970 to present

What contributed to these changes? Increase in women’s labor force participation, advances in birth control, 2nd wave of the women’s movement, legalizing abortion, educational convergence of women and men, delay in marriage and childbirth

C. Scientific Research on Sexuality

Kinsey (1948): based on 18,000 interviews; not a representative sample since they were volunteers (self-selected)
Blumstein and Schwartz (1983)
National Health and Social Life Survey

D. Premarital Sex

Racial differences
Sexual Orientation
What are other determinants of sexual behavior?

1. biological: age; sexual maturation

2. psychological: cognitive and emotional development

3. social: family, peers, religion, and cultural norms; drug involvement: 4. community context or contextual effects: neighborhood environments, women’s labor force participation, population composition, availability of family planning services

II. Differentiated Forms of Intimacy

A. What is Love?

1. Historical Perspective

Love in Ancient Greece and Rome:
Early Christian Idea of Love:
Courtly Love:
The Institutionalization of Love in Marriage

2. How Do People Express Romantic Love?
3. Is Love Oppressive or is it Socially Constructed? (Firestone vs. Hochschild)

B. Gendered Intimacy

His and Her Love?

Hochschild :"emotion work" which involves intense thinking about the relationship as well as analyzing it with others.
Cancian® love is "feminized"

III. Courtship/Dating

A. Historical Changes

B. Why do people date? (Whyte article)

C. Variation in Courtship Practices

Gender
Class

"Principle of least interest":

Race
Sexual Orientation

IV. Mate Selection: Finding and Meeting Partners

A. Marriage market

B. Pool of eligibles

homogamy
the pool of eligibles
Marriage Squeeze
Marriage Gradient

hypergamy:/hypogamy