How sexual power can be disempowering

The commonly held belief that men should dominate sexually can disempower both women and men

2012-10-01

(Press-News.org) Gender roles and norms play a key role in sexual behavior between men and women. It is often assumed that men should dominate women sexually. This assumption may lead to loss of both power and the ability to control sexual behavior among women and men, as well as lead to increased sexual risk-taking, such as not using a female condom. The new study, by Dr. Lisa Rosenthal from Yale University in the US, and her colleagues, is published online in Springer's journal Sex Roles.

Social dominance orientation is a measure of people's level of support for social power inequalities and hierarchy. The belief is linked to greater hostile sexism, more negative attitudes towards women's rights, a greater tolerance of sexual harassment and a greater preference for traditional gender roles. Rosenthal and team examined whether the extent to which both women and men endorse social dominance orientation explains gender dominance and dynamics in heterosexual relationships.

A total of 357 undergraduate women and 126 undergraduate men from a Northeastern US university took part in the study. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on a computer, next to which there was a bowl of female condoms. The researchers assessed the students' social dominance orientation, the extent to which they believed that men should dominate sexually, how confident they felt in sexual situations, as well as the number of female condoms they took away with them.

Overall, women were less likely than men to endorse the view that men should dominate sexually. The more men and women believed that social power inequalities and hierarchy were valid, the more likely they were to endorse the belief that men should dominate sexually, and the less likely they were to feel confident in sexual situations and consider using female condoms.

The authors conclude: "These findings suggest that beliefs about power may play a key role in both women's and men's attitudes to sexual behavior, and potentially their decisions to protect themselves during sexual activity. Results highlight that social dominance orientation and dynamics in heterosexual relationships do not only hurt women, but also men because they potentially decrease their sexual self-efficacy and interest in female condoms as well."

### Reference Rosenthal L et al (2012). Social dominance orientation relates to believing men should dominate sexually, sexual efficacy, and taking free female condoms among undergraduate women and men. Sex Roles; DOI 10.1007/s11199-012-0207-6

The full-text article is available to journalists on request.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study questions association between common heartburn drugs and risk of pneumonia

2012-10-01

Previous studies that have associated the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) – which include popular anti-heartburn medications like Prilosec and Nexium – with an increased incidence of pneumonia may not have found a true cause-and-effect relationship. A study that has been released online by the Journal of General Internal Medicine outlines a strategy for determining when the results of such observational studies may have been distorted by unmeasured factors and then finds that may be the case with the association between PPIs and pneumonia risk. "Our study is the ...

PET predicts early response to treatment for head and neck cancer patients

2012-10-01

Reston, Va. (October 1, 2012) – Determining the optimal treatment course and predicting outcomes may get easier in the future for patients with head and neck sqaumous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) with the use of an investigational imaging agent. Research published in the October issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with 3'-deoxy-3'F-18-fluorothymidine (18-F-FLT) during treatment and early follow-up has the potential to predict therapeutic responses and identify patients needing close follow-up to detect persistent or ...

Radiology is front and center in health care reform

2012-10-01

AUGUSTA, Ga. – While it's leveling off, a decade of increased use of sophisticated, expensive, imaging studies has put radiologists and their specialty front and center in health care reform, says the chair of an academic radiology department. That seemingly dubious distinction gives radiologists the chance to take a leadership role in reducing costs, optimizing utilization and improving patient care, said Dr. James V. Rawson, Chair of the Medical College of Georgia Department of Radiology at Georgia Health Sciences University. Rawson and Dr. Ruth Carlos, Professor ...

Tobacco contains highly toxic compounds not regulated by law

2012-10-01

Researchers from the University of Alicante (Spain) have analysed ten brands of cigarettes and found that the concentrations of certain harmful and carcinogenic substances vary significantly from one brand to another. Until now legislation has not covered these compounds and only establishes limits for nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide. Scientists have also developed catalysts to reduce the harmful products in tobacco. In accordance with current legislation, cigarette packets indicate the nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide concentrations in order to confirm that these ...

Camels give President Obama's Alzheimer's plan a lift

2012-10-01

Bethesda, MD—President Obama's national plan to fight Alzheimer's disease just got a lift thanks to a team of international researchers whose recent discovery may lead to enhanced imaging of and improved drug delivery to the brain. A research report appearing in The FASEB Journal, describes an entirely new class of antibody discovered in camelids (camels, dromedaries, llamas, and alpacas) that is able to cross the blood-brain barrier, diffuse into brain tissue, and reach specific targets. Having such antibodies, which are naturally available, may be part of a "game changer" ...

Therapeutic time window important factor for cord blood cell transplantation after stoke

2012-10-01

Putnam Valley, NY. (Oct. 1, 2012) – A research team from Germany has found that optimal benefit and functional improvement for ischemic stroke results when human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (hUCB MNCs) are transplanted into rat stroke models within 72 hours of the stroke. Their study is published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (21:6), now freely available on-line at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/. "Ischemic stroke is one of the most frequent causes of death and the most common reason for permanent disabilities in adults in ...

MRI images transplanted islet cells with help of positively charged nanoparticles

2012-10-01

Tampa, Fla. (Oct. 1, 2012) – In a study to investigate the detection by MRI of six kinds of positively-charged magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles designed to help monitor transplanted islet cells, a team of Japanese researchers found that the charged nanoparticles they developed transduced into cells and could be visualized by MRI while three kinds of commercially available nanoparticles used for controls could not. The study is published in a recent special issue of Cell Medicine [3(1)], now freely available on-line at: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/cm. "Our ...

Low birth weight may increase risk for cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and diabetes

2012-10-01

Bethesda, MD— Being underweight at birth may have consequences above and beyond the known short-term effects says a research report published in the October 2012 issue of The FASEB Journal. The report shows that rats with a low birth weight have an increased long-term risk for developing cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. What's more, older females are at higher risk of developing high blood pressure before and during pregnancy, which in turn, may restrict growth in the womb, putting offspring at risk for being born at a low birth weight. "Ensuring ...

Biological markers increase clinical trial success rate of new breast cancer drugs

2012-10-01

Using biological markers--genetic characteristics that are associated with some patients with breast cancer--can increase the success rate of clinical trials for breast cancer drugs by almost 50 per cent, says new research from the University of Toronto Mississauga. "It's been increasingly difficult for pharmaceutical companies to bring new drugs to market," says Jayson Parker, a faculty member in the Department of Biology and medical biotechnology analyst at the University of Toronto. "On average, about 80 per cent of drugs fail at some point in the clinical trial process." There ...

Genetically engineered immune system fights melanoma

2012-10-01

MAYWOOD, Il. - Loyola University Medical Center has launched the first clinical trial in the Midwest of an experimental melanoma treatment that genetically engineers a patient's immune system to fight the deadly cancer. A batch of the immune system's killer T cells will be removed from the patient and genetically modified in a Loyola lab. Two genes will be inserted into the T cells so that they will recognize tumor cells as abnormal. The patient will undergo high-dose chemotherapy to kill most of his or her remaining T cells. This will make room for the genetically modified ...

How sexual power can be disempowering

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: