Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Western Sexual Mores and Fundamental Beliefs about Romantic Love:
Beyond the unfair effect of gender-based differential sexual socialization on sexually liberated women in dating relationships, another component of American social psychology often undermines romantic happiness. Specifically, the many messages about romance and marriage that help shape the American view of love suggest that: (1) sexual desire between couples who love each other is exclusive; (2) sexual desire for others indicates a failure of a relationship (or lack of character or sincerity of one's partner); and (3) sexual jealousy is an indication of romantic love (Branden 2002).
Sexual jealousy is practically universal in romantic love within Western society (Buss 2000), but the fact of the matter is, at least in human beings, it is a learned reaction that is virtually unknown in several known aboriginal societies (Barash & Lipton 2001).
Despite the fact that psychologists consider sexual fidelity a matter of conscious choice (Branden, 2002) rather than a natural outcome of love, anecdotal evidence suggests that most Americans have been socialized to believe that "true love" automatically extinguishes sexual desire for others. As a result, American couples often react with hurt and anger at any honest acknowledgment of that reality by their partner instead of crediting each other with resisting perfectly natural sexual temptation.
Even worse, popular culture (i.e. romance movies and television) regularly reinforce the erroneous notion (Branden, 2002) that experiencing sexual jealousy necessarily indicates genuine love. In reality, sexual jealousy does occur within meaningful relationships, but it also exists between individuals whose only relationship is purely superficial. Time and again, estranged former lovers who were both miserable throughout their...
Gender-based differential sexual socialization virtually guarantees a predatory approach to dating on the part of males, at the expense of fundamental fairness as well as female well-being.
Similarly, by perpetuating the belief that sexual desire for others is inconsistent with healthy love and that sexual jealousy is an indication of genuine love, these examples of social psychology represent culturally-learned assumptions that are contrary to biological reality (Barash & Lipton 2001) that result in a tremendous amount of unnecessary suffering within marriage and in other sexually intimate relationships.
References
Ackerman, D. (1994) a Natural History of Love. New York: Vintage.
Baker, R., Elliston, F. (2002) Philosophy & Sex. Buffalo: Prometheus
Barash, D.P., Lipton, J.E. (2001) the Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People. New York: Henry Holt.
Branden, N. (2002) the Psychology of Romantic Love.
The New York Times; Saudi Arabia's Promised Reforms (Jan 4/08), Retrieved January 15, 2008 from nytimes.com website, at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/opinion/04fri2.html
Social Psychology: Examining the Principles of Persuasion Influencing Group Behavior Introduction & Outline of the Research Evaluation Concepts of Social Psychology Attitudes and Persuasion Social Identity Theory Social Influences Cultural and Gender Influences Social Psychology: Examining the Principles of Persuasion Influencing Group Behavior Introduction & Outline of the Essay Social psychology deals with different aspects of social life and social behavior. People not only have feelings and opinions about nearly everything they come into contact with, but the argument has
I have had friends that I've known since I was in grade school. Our initial interaction occurred because of our attraction toward one another. We had so many things in common, such as the same favorite television shows and the same favorite sports. Our proximity to one another also aided in the development of this attraction toward one another. We all lived on the same block and therefore had
Social psychology view: What ensures that women are treated fairly in office settings in the United States? One of the most prudent applications of social psychology within contemporary settings are those that relate to gender. Gender issues can become exacerbated when they are viewed within particular social constructs, such as the work environment. Due to the fact that the majority of the world was initially a patriarchal society (particularly in the
Typically, male and female infants are presented with very different types of toys and encouraged to pursue very different activities throughout childhood. Female infants are dressed in pink and encouraged to participate in certain types of games and interactions, such as those that emphasize cooperative activities. Meanwhile, male infants are dressed in blue, presented with toys that reflect societal roles consistent with cultural concepts of masculinity and encouraged to pursue
In a sociological aspect, men are perceived as the provider and women as part of the domestic world. Through the decades, however, we see the evolution of men and women's function in the society. There is a bridge closing the gap between women and men's role in different fields. Women are seen sharing seats in the government, excelling in corporate world and succeeding in different areas. Aside from freedom of choice,
Ancient Rome openly accepted male-to-female transsexuals, allowing them to assume female identities without negative social repercussions, obviously long before the science existed for them to have gender-reassignment surgery (Reitz, 1998). Modern Indian society has Hijiras, transsexuals that, while not always treated with respect, are accorded their own gender identity and not relegated to male or female (Reitz, 1998). The Dine/Navajos recognized three sexes: male, female, and Nadles. The Nadles