Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Good Old Double Standard



Is well and alive, at least according to a survey of boys and young men about sex:

Despite discussion of hookups, friends "with benefits" and other sexual openness, the survey found a double standard for guys and girls: 53% of guys said having lots of hookups makes them popular, but 71% said it makes girls less popular.

"Girl can't do what a guy does and be thought of the same way," Cooks says.

Popular to whom? Other guys? Or girls? It's unclear from the quote but I suspect they mean popular to other guys. The distinction does matter.

Still, if these findings are true they suggest that young men and teenage boys see casual sex as something adversarial, a competition in which the guy tries to score and the gal is supposed to resist. If he scores he has won and she has lost. Then he moves on to the next hunting expedition.