Sexual script theory
[3] It's customary for the male to indicate, or at least present, a greater initial enthusiasm in sexual relations in a typical male-female romantic relationship.
[3] It may raise doubts about his masculinity, sexual prowess, and fertility if he doesn't show off a great deal of passion early in the relationship.
[3] This is due to the misconception that males are usually eager to get sexually excited, thus it could be detrimental to her self-esteem if he shows no sign of interest.
[1] “The major cultural scenarios that shape the most common interpersonal scripts tend to be almost exclusively drawn from the requirements of adolescence and early adulthood.
There are virtually none tied to the issues of subsequent segments of life.” [1] Simon and Gagnon also note the extreme ends of the lifecycle might be that of the presexual (childhood) and the postsexual (old age), at least in terms of predominant, shared scripts.
[1] They go on to explain, “Not that sexually significant events do not occur during these periods, but they are not or only rarely anticipated in prevailing cultural scenarios dealing with the very young and the very old.
[1] According to author Micheal Wiederman, "sexual script theory is a logical extension of symbolic interactionism, a term coined by sociologist Herbert Blumer in the 1930s based on the work of his mentor, sociologist George Herbert Mead who stated, “Symbolic interactionism focuses on how meaning is created, modified, and put into action by individuals in the process of social interaction.
[1] Before Simon and Gagon's theory, the dominant perspectives of sexual behavior had already been determined, by instincts or drives, inherently tied to human biology.
[1] Sigmund Freud had established his psychoanalytic theory towards life and procreation called Libido, which may find natural and healthy expression or may be distorted into psychopathology.
[1] Alfred Kinsey cataloged the sexual behaviors of respondents and plotted them against such variables as age, sex, and social class.
[1] In addition, Simon and Gagnon considered sexual scripts as explicitly interwoven with gender scripts, and feminist movements at the time were calling into question assumptions about male and female, and the extent to which these assumptions were inevitable versus products of culture and socialization.
[1] Paul Wright's 3AM theoretical framework is another method that has been used in research pertaining to sexual scripts and pornography.
[8] Sexual norm relationships are shaped by the traditional stereotypes surrounding sex and gender when it comes to males and masculinity and females and femininity.
[8] For example, many associate male social norms with assertiveness, aggressiveness, sexual adventurism, and emotional restraint.
[8] Sex and gender stereotypical norms can have negative impacts on a couples, sexual, emotional, psychological aspects of a relationship.
[10] Gender schema theory also plays a part in the sexual script because studies show that males and females interact in different ways, even from a young age.
[11] In 1991, Martha Boston and Gary Levy found that through their research observations, children, primarily boys, were better with being able to sequence own-sex rather than other-sex scripts.
[11] "As well as acquiring knowledge about the sex-role stereotypes of their culture, young children also develop sex-typed attitudes, preferences, and behaviors that pervade many aspects of their lives.
[3] She is taught to wipe carefully after urination to avoid contracting an infection by transferring bacteria from her rectum to her vagina.
[3] Boys readily discover that their genitals feel good when handled and are not necessarily any "dirtier" than other parts of their body that they can see.
[3] Girls readily learn that their genitals are difficult, if not impossible, for them to see and that there are "dirty" aspects, which require appropriate precautionary measures.
[3] Young adult men who have not realized that their female peers hold a different set of sexual scripts are often perplexed.
[3] Kennair et al. (2023) found no signs of a sexual double standard in short-term or long-term mating contexts, nor in choosing a friend, except that women's self-stimulation was more acceptable than men's.
[19] These terms indicate whether a person in a homosexual sexual encounter or relationship is the more "masculine" or "man" or the more "feminine" or "woman".
[20] According to researcher Rebecca Ortiz, "Greater exposure to sexual media content has been associated with stronger endorsement of recreational attitudes toward sex, increased intentions to have sex, earlier sexual initiation and even increased likelihood of adolescent pregnancy.
[21] There is a clear indication that people with excessive use of mainstream media who support these gendered sexual scripts are more linked to "greater psychological distress, diminished sexual agency, and more dysfunctional beliefs about relationships", this is especially true in young adults and adolescents, who have been linked to struggle individually and within their relationships.
[24] "...two recent national longitudinal studies of adults aged 45 years on average found that present pornography consumption predicted subsequent permissive sexual attitudes and casual sex behavior.
[24] Even more relevant is an experimental study that found that showing males pornography led to more support for “the view that parties should be free to form and discontinue intimate relationships without regulations by any government”.
[25] Research also suggests that sexual behavior found in pornographic content forms "how people are expected to perform and react when engaging in sex.
Still, she argues that physical representations in pornographic content are vastly overlooked and a major factor in establishing sexual scripts.
