Variations of Sexual Behavior
PSY 344
Variations in Sexual Behavior
I read an article about a study that was conducted by researchers Elisabeth Morgan Thompson and Elizabeth M. Morgan at the University of California, Santa Cruz that covered the topic of variations of sexual behavior. They conducted a study of the sexual behaviors of 349 women that had sexual identities that included exclusively straight, mostly straight, bisexual, and lesbian. The study concluded that “mostly straight” women were significantly different from the “exclusively straight and bisexual/lesbian” women.
The two researchers, Thompson and Morgan, argued that “mostly straight” needs to be recognized publicly as a subtype if one were to conduct a study of young women and their sexual identities. Mostly straight women were also distinct from exclusively straight women but were similar to bisexual women and lesbians on several quantitative measures of identity. (Thompson&Morgan, 2008) Narratives about sexual identity development for mostly straight women revealed the complexities of sexual identity exploration, uncertainty, and commitment within this population. (Thompson&Morgan, 2008)
Social norms would be to say that a woman is either “exclusively straight” or “bisexual/lesbian.” There is no in between in the social environment. To say a woman is “bisexual” would be to deduce that she has boyfriends and girlfriends. In the study, data was collected that challenged this way of thinking. After I read the study, I was able to conclude women that had some sort confusion or problem with committing to the same sex partnership were distinctly not “bisexual/lesbian.” They would never have a girlfriend officially. They would just have random chances to share a sexual moment with the same sex. At the end of the day, these women would still say they were straight and go home to a boyfriend or alone rather than bring a girl back home. These women would be offended if they were called “bisexual” in a “norm” society
Variations in Sexual Behavior
I read an article about a study that was conducted by researchers Elisabeth Morgan Thompson and Elizabeth M. Morgan at the University of California, Santa Cruz that covered the topic of variations of sexual behavior. They conducted a study of the sexual behaviors of 349 women that had sexual identities that included exclusively straight, mostly straight, bisexual, and lesbian. The study concluded that “mostly straight” women were significantly different from the “exclusively straight and bisexual/lesbian” women.
The two researchers, Thompson and Morgan, argued that “mostly straight” needs to be recognized publicly as a subtype if one were to conduct a study of young women and their sexual identities. Mostly straight women were also distinct from exclusively straight women but were similar to bisexual women and lesbians on several quantitative measures of identity. (Thompson&Morgan, 2008) Narratives about sexual identity development for mostly straight women revealed the complexities of sexual identity exploration, uncertainty, and commitment within this population. (Thompson&Morgan, 2008)
Social norms would be to say that a woman is either “exclusively straight” or “bisexual/lesbian.” There is no in between in the social environment. To say a woman is “bisexual” would be to deduce that she has boyfriends and girlfriends. In the study, data was collected that challenged this way of thinking. After I read the study, I was able to conclude women that had some sort confusion or problem with committing to the same sex partnership were distinctly not “bisexual/lesbian.” They would never have a girlfriend officially. They would just have random chances to share a sexual moment with the same sex. At the end of the day, these women would still say they were straight and go home to a boyfriend or alone rather than bring a girl back home. These women would be offended if they were called “bisexual” in a “norm” society