The comprehension of sexual behavior is vital given the fact that it has a role to play in a variety of outcomes such as relationship outcomes, mental health assault, and abuse prevention and sexually transmitted diseases. The changing attitudes, values, and habits of the American population have played a substantial role in the mindset regarding sexual behavior — the current. American pop-culture is saturated with a lot of imagery on sexual activities, representation of just how there have been tremendous changes in sexual behavior over the years.
History
Sexual behavior changes are linked to the “sexual revolution ,” Baby Boomers generation and post-World War II events in the 1960s and 1970s and how much further preceding generations such as the Generation X (1965-1981), and the Millennials (1982-1989) extended the trends. Before the 1950s, views on various facets of sexual behavior were more morally restricted. Nonetheless, after the “Sexual Revolution” of the 1960s, views on casual-sex, premarital sex, and same-sex relationships have tremendously shifted.
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According to Twenge, Sherman, and Wells (2015), there was a terrific shift in sexual behavior attitudes between the 1970s and the 2010s. A considerable number of Americans begun embracing same-sex relationships, premarital sex, and adolescent sex. Many Americans did not embrace extramarital sex during the same period. In regards to premarital sex, 29% of Americans (35% men and 23% women) acknowledged that engaging in premarital sex “was not wrong” (Twenge et al., 2015). The figures rose in the 1980s to about 42% and continued to rise through the 1990s, and by 2010, 55% of Americans believed it was not wrong (59% men and 52% women) (Twenge et al., 2015).
Additionally, the figures on having sex before attaining 18 years old have been steadily increasing. In women born between 1933-1942 and 1943-1952, only a third engaged in sex before 18 years old. However, the figures increased by more than 47% in women born between 1953-1962 and rose to 58% in the following birth cohorts. A substantial number of these women attained teenage years after the 1960s sexual revolution (Barkan, 2012). This was also similar in men with figures increasing from 42.5% in 1933-1942 birth cohorts to 61.3% in 1963-1974 birth cohorts (Barkan, 2012).
There has been a steady increase in teenage sex and pregnancy after the 1960s sexual revolution. More than 41% of teenagers aged 15-19 have engaged in sexual activities across both sexes (Barkan, 2012). As a result of this, teenage pregnancies in the USA have continued to rise with more than 3 million unplanned pregnancies occurring on an annual basis (Barkan, 2012). The shocking factor is that more than 40% of the pregnancies are aborted while another 10% are lost in miscarriages (Barkan, 2012). This has brought about a steady increase in the healthcare expenditure used in managing infants, and unplanned pregnancies cost the USA more than $11 billion annually (Barkan, 2012). Transmission of sexually transmitted diseases has also been on the increase in the USA. The USA’s sexually transmitted disease rate is very high as compared to other Western nations with more than 65 million people suffering from an incurable STD ( Barkan , 2012).
Another common sexual behavior in the USA and worldwide is prostitution. It is regarded as being one of the oldest trades in human history dating back to the Old Testament. Through the 19 th century, prostitution was rampant in the USA and was mainly used as a source of income by poor women. Legal brothels were opened in the USA as early as the 1900s (Barkan, 2012). Currently, some states still have laws that support prostitution such as Nevada. However, determining the number of prostitutes in the USA is not an easy task as the trade is termed as being illegal hence the government does not carry out statistical studies.
Addressing Sexual Behavior
Sex is part of human nature, and its avoidance is not possible. However, how people express and experience themselves sexually is based on various societal and cultural values, beliefs, habits, and norms. As society moves from one generation to the other, it adopts new norms that determine their behavior. This has been the case in regards to sexual behavior that has changed since the 1960s. The current generation has varied views related to sexual behavior, and this has brought about an increased rate of premarital sex, teenage sex, and pregnancies, transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, prostitution and abortion.
The only means that sexual behavior problems can be solved is by having a compressive sex education infused in school curriculums ranging from high school when children become sexually active until the university and college levels. Sex education is the remedy to the ever-increasing poor sexual behaviors in pour current society. Education on sex will help in changing some of the beliefs and values of the young generation. However, the sexual education should comprise of not only the educational institutions but should involve other stakeholders such as parents, community-based organizations and religious institutions. The comprehensive sex education should ensure that schools inform these other stakeholders of their roles in remodeling their children’s sexual behavior. The children will have the ability to gain a broad awareness of sex-related matters that will help them in making informed decisions related to their sexual behavior.
Additionally, sexual education should not just teach young people about abstinence. It should inform them about the importance of using birth control and condoms. This results from the fact that there has been no evidence that suggests abstinence-only education helps in changing sexual behavior. It is evident that some young people will still engage in sexual activities, however, once they are aware of the need to use protection or birth control, they can help reduce the prevalence of STDs and teenage pregnancies. It is high time that educators faced the reality adolescents know more about sex than many adults. A considerable number of the adolescents are sexually active and cannot be controlled , and instead of allowing them to engage in unsafe abortions, transmission, and acquiring sexually transmitted diseases, it is best to teach them about having safe sex.
Concepts
Sexual behavior is not only determined by culture, age, gender, and generation but also an individual’s social status. Social stratification encompasses the various processes upon which scarce values are distributed within a society. Different social statuses gained via educational attainment play a substantial role in what type of sexual education and contraceptives awareness one receives. There has been a direct relationship between lower-class individuals and higher rates of STDs. During the 1930s and 1950s, there was a higher rate of syphilis infection amongst the lower class (Boslaugh, 2016) .
Additionally, women and men with less educational attainment and occupational prestige engage in premarital sexual intercourse at a younger age as compared to those with higher educational levels and occupational prestige . In most cases , education has served as an indicator of an individual’s social status. The young children whose parents take them to good schools and can join college and university received some form of sex education. This is not the case for some of the low-income families whose children dropped out of high school or did not get a chance to join university or college. As a result of this, people from a lower social, economic status tend to engage in risky sexual behavior for either as a psychosocial coping mechanism or for economic purposes (Harling et al., 2013).
The existence of traditional female gender roles plays a role in determining the sexual behavior differences between males and females. According to the theory of ambivalent sexism, two forms of sexist ideologies lead to sexism produced by the tension between women interdependence and the male social domination when it comes to maintaining intimate relationships (Ramiro-Sanchez et al., 2018). Also , hostile sexism is based on the weakness or inferiority of females . As a result of the various forms of sexism, there has been an emergence of gender inequality that shapes the heterosexual relationships structure and limits the females’ ability to acquire power within the society. The existence of sexist attitudes has played a huge role in determining sexual behavior, especially in women. In most cases, men are allowed to have a higher number of sexual partners and engage in casual sex, unlike women. Moreover, the males engage in hostile sexism in relationships and can refuse to use protection with the aim of exerting their power and control.
Ethnicity has a profound effect on sexual behavior. In the USA, one out of every three persons is a member of an ethnic minority group (Meston & Ahrold, 2010). The Hispanic and Asians have different sexual behavior as compared to an other group of Americans. According to research, as conservative sexual behavior is more observed amongst the Asians as compared to any other ethnic group (Meston & Ahrold, 2010). A study and a Canadian University found out that Asian students are less likely to engage in various sexual activities such as masturbation, oral sex, and intercourse unlike the non-Asians (Meson & Ahrold, 2010). Their sexual encounter is also at a much later age. In the case of Hispanic, their sexual behavior is similar to the other Americans. From this, it is an indication that ethnicity plays a vital role in determining an individual’s sexual behavior.
According to a study conducted in Spain on the impact of gender differences on sexual behavior, it found out that males and females have variations on their sexual behavior and practices (Romero-Estudillo et al., 2014). The study found out that young men become more sexually active much earlier than young women become and have a higher number of casual sexual partners. In the case of women, their intentions for getting into relationships is to have stable and committed relations that are founded on trust and love. The men value physical attractiveness while women value social position and affection. Additionally, the males are more restrictive when it comes to using contraceptives such as condoms unlike the women (Romero-Estudillo et al., 2014).
Sociological Theory
According to a substantial number of sociological theories, they are based on one fundamental assumption; all human behavior is socially learned . Sexual behavior is therefore learned , and it is asserted that the various conducts with sexual engagement are a product of social forces rather than biological ones. According to symbolic interactionism, it is based on the assumption that objects acquire meaning and through communication, they acquire meaning (Carter & Fuller, 2015). In this case, an individual will have the ability to acquire other people’s roles and end up see the self as others see it. Through this, an individual would want to be seen as another, and they will act a manner that makes themselves as a part of others.
Therefore, in relations to sexual behavior, symbolic interactionists argue that people will construct their sexual realities and use it as their sexual practices and beliefs. The major institutions that have an impact on sexual behavior include family, economy, religion and the law. In the case of the law, it defines certain sexual practices as being illegal and others s being legal. People will, therefore, want to associate with what is deemed as being; legal sexual behavior and keep off illicit sexual behavior . In the case of the family, it is the most influential social institution, and it emphasizes fidelity norms, childbearing, and support. This is what has seen a reduced number of extramarital sexual engagements in people. The various economic institutions promote employment and income generation institutions, and this can determine sexual behavior such as prostitution. According to the symbolic interactionism theory, the different social structures influence the self, and the self uses these structures in constructing a reality that determines their sexual behaviors.
References
Boslaugh, S. (2016). The Sage encyclopedia of pharmacology and society . Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Barkan, S. E. (2012). A Primer on Social Problems .
Carter, M. J., & Fuller, C. (2015). Symbolic interactionism. Sociopedia. isa , 1 , 1-17.
Harling, G., Subramanian, S. V., Bärnighausen, T., & Kawachi, I. (2013). Socioeconomic disparities in sexually transmitted infections among young adults in the United States: examining the interaction between income and race/ethnicity. Sexually transmitted diseases , 40 (7), 575.
Meston, C. M., & Ahrold, T. (2010). Ethnic, gender, and acculturation influences on sexual behaviors. Archives of Sexual Behavior , 39 (1), 179-189.
Ramiro-Sánchez, T., Ramiro, M. T., Bermúdez, M. P., & Buela-Casal, G. (2018). Sexism and sexual risk behavior in adolescents: Gender differences. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology .
Romero-Estudillo, E., González-Jiménez, E., Mesa-Franco, M. C., & García-García, I. (2014). Gender-based differences in the high-risk sexual behaviors of young people aged 15-29 in Melilla (Spain): a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health , 14 (1), 745.
Twenge, J. M., Sherman, R. A., & Wells, B. E. (2015). Changes in American adults’ sexual behavior and attitudes, 1972–2012. Archives of sexual behavior , 44 (8), 2273-2285.
