The Social Organization of Sexuality

by Laumann, Edward O.; Michael, Robert T.; Gagnon, John H.; Michaels, Stuart

• ISBN13: 9780226469577
• ISBN10: 0226469573
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-10-17
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

The Social Organization of Sexualityreports the complete results of the nation's most comprehensive representative survey of sexual practices in the general adult population of the United States. This highly detailed portrait of sex in America and its social context and implications has established a new and original scientific orientation to the study of sexual behavior. "The most comprehensive U.S. sex survey ever." --USA Today "The findings from this survey, the first in decades to provide detailed insights about the sexual behavior of a representative sample of Americans, will have a profound impact on how policy makers tackle a number of pressing health problems." --Alison Bass,The Boston Globe "A fat, sophisticated, and sperm-freezingly serious volume. . . . This book is not in the business of giving us a good time. It is in the business of asking three thousand four hundred and thirty-two other people whether they had a good time, and exactly what they did to make it so good." --Anthony Lane,The New Yorker New York Times Book ReviewNotable Book of the Year

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
List of Tables	xi
Acknowledgments	xxi
Prologue	xxvii
Part I	1	(74)
Theoretical Background	3	(32)
A Social Scientific Approach to Sexuality	3	(2)
Scripting Theory: Explaining Sexual Content	5	(3)
Choice Theory: Sexual Decision Making	8	(8)
Network Theory: The Sexual Dyad	16	(8)
Interrelations among the Theories	24	(6)
Master Statuses and Master Relationships as Social Signals	30	(5)
The Study Design	35	(40)
Major Issues in Designing a Study of Sexuality in the Age of AIDS	42	(29)
On Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security	71	(4)
Part II	75	(274)
Sexual Practices and Profiles of Sexual Expression	77	(71)
Sexual Practices	80	(16)
Sexual Techniques with Opposite-Gender Partners	96	(25)
Sexual Relationships and Contextual Action	121	(12)
Profiles of Sexual Expression	133	(12)
Conclusion	145	(3)
Construction of the Religion Variable for Protestant Respondents	146	(2)
The Social Organization of Subjective Sexual Preferences	148	(24)
The Number of Partners	172	(53)
The Number of Partners over Specific Time Intervals	175	(19)
The Cumulative Number of Partners, by Age and Time Period	194	(9)
The Number of Sex Partners before, during, and following First Union	203	(13)
Multivariate Analysis of the Number of Partners	216	(9)
Construction of the Variable PART12 (Number of Partners in the Last Twelve Months)	221	(1)
Construction of the Variable PART18 (Number of Partners since Age Eighteen)	222	(3)
Sexual Networks	225	(44)
Master Statuses and the Partnering Process	228	(5)
Social Networks and the Partnering Process	233	(10)
Homophily among Noncohabitational Partnerships	243	(11)
The Consequences of Specific Partnering Strategies	254	(8)
The Structure of Between-Group Contact	262	(4)
Conclusion	266	(3)
Epidemiological Implications of Sexual Networks	269	(14)
Homosexuality	283	(38)
Prior Research on the Prevalence of Homosexuality	286	(1)
The Myth of 10 Percent and the Kinsey Research	287	(3)
Dimensions of Homosexuality	290	(2)
Measurement and Prevalence of Same-Gender Behavior, Desire, and Identity	292	(6)
The Interrelation of Same-Gender Sexual Behavior, Desire, and Identity	298	(4)
The Relation of Master Statuses and Same-Gender Sexuality	302	(18)
Conclusion	320	(1)
Formative Sexual Experiences	321	(28)
First Vaginal Intercourse and Youthful Heterosexuality	322	(11)
Forced/Coerced Sex in Adulthood	333	(6)
Adult and Adolescent Sexual Contacts with Children	339	(8)
Conclusion	347	(2)
Part III	349	(192)
Sex, Health, and Happiness	351	(25)
Health and Happiness	351	(6)
Sexual Correlates of Happiness and Health	357	(6)
Sexual Satisfaction	363	(5)
Sexual Dysfunction	368	(6)
Conclusion	374	(2)
Sexually Transmitted Infections	376	(66)
Lifetime and Annual Rates of STIs	378	(13)
Risky Partners and Risky Practices	391	(31)
The Sexual Behavior of Those Infected with STIs	422	(5)
Reactions to the Risk of Infection	427	(15)
The Logistic	440	(2)
Sex and Fertility	442	(33)
The Pattern of Fertility	443	(5)
Fertility Control	448	(7)
The Outcome of Conceptions	455	(10)
Age at Birth of the First Child	465	(8)
Conclusion	473	(2)
Sex, Cohabitation, and Marriage	475	(34)
Age of Entry into a First Marriage or Cohabitation	476	(15)
The Choice of a Marriage or a Cohabitational Union	491	(5)
The Stability of Partnerships	496	(12)
Conclusion	508	(1)
Normative Orientations toward Sexuality	509	(32)
Different Normative Orientations	510	(8)
The Distribution of Orientations within Master Status Groups	518	(11)
Normative Orientations and Sexual Behavior	529	(7)
Normative Orientations and Sexual Preferences	536	(1)
Conclusion	537	(4)
Epilogue	541	(8)
Appendix A: Sampling Procedures and Data Quality	549	(22)
Appendix B: Comparisons of the NHSLS with Other Data Sets	571	(35)
Appendix C: Text of the NHSLS Questionnaire	606	(73)
References	679	(28)
Author Index	707	(5)
Subject Index	712