User:Halleparker/Sexual script theory



Sexual script theory is a theory introduced by sociologists John H. Gagnon and William Simon in their 1973 book Sexual Conduct. Its basic principle states that all social behavior, including sexual behavior, is socially scripted. Furthermore, it is the approved norms about how individuals in a relationship may embrace one another, embody, and react to each other via the process of socialization. The idea is that sexual scripts are guidelines for appropriate sexual behavior and sexual encounters. Sexual behavior and encounters become behavior that is learned as well as instinctive. Each partner in consensual encounters acts as if they are an actor in a play or film following a script, rather than acting on impulse alone. Therefore people in a relationship may draw upon this idea when thinking about their own sexual experiences or when participating in sexual acts themselves. Research on sexual scripts and sexual script theory has concluded that sexual scripts are gendered. '''In most western cultures, the way a society is set up and its rules help shape how people act. For example, marriage laws and vows, as well as laws against certain sexual behaviors or relationships, all play a part in guiding people's behavior. It's customary for the male to indicate, or at least present, a greater initial enthusiasm in sexual relations in a typical male-female romantic relationship. It may raise doubts about his masculinity, sexual prowess, and fertility if he doesn't show off a great deal of passion early in the relationship. On the other hand, the woman can start to question her own sexual appeal. This is due to the misconception that males are usually eager to get sexually excited, thus it could be detrimental to her self-esteem if he shows no sign of interest.''' She should be cautious not to come across as overly eager to engage in sexual activity, even if it is believed that she will be open to a sexual connection.

Paul Wright's 3AM model
Paul Wright's 3AM theoretical framework is another method that has been used in many research regarding sexual scripts and pornography.

Wright has developed a "sexual script acquisition, activation, application model (3AM) of sexual socialization that explains how consumption of sexual media can impact attitudes and behaviors." Through the socially constructed scripts that guide what is behaviorally acceptable or unacceptable in human behavior, sexual media influence occurs through the provision of scripts. According to the 3AM, "sexual media can provide consumers with scripts they were unaware of (acquisition), prime scripts they were already aware of (activation), and encourage the utilization of scripts by portraying particular sexual behaviors or general patterns of sexual behavior as normative, appropriate, and rewarding (application)."

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Social constructionism
The theory is linked to the wider development of social constructionism. '''Social construction determines what acts are deemed appropriate. For example, sexual acts should happen in private.''' This is an important term for sexual scripts because these scripts can be exposed to children at a young age due to exposure to media and social norms. In other words, women are to be subjected to male gaze to be a part of the social construction system and maintain the social norms of a long-living society. '''This term not only determines how women view men, but also how they view themselves. When a man looks at a woman, the woman focuses on herself being looked at. She starts to view herself from another person's point of view, and makes perspective her focal point whenever she sees herself in a mirror.'''

'''The social construction of sexuality can be traced back to the medieval times through art. The presentation of the female body in art changes over time based on the time and the cultural changes. The opinion of society changes what the idea of women should look like. Currently, in society we see art and the media portray females as slim with exaggerated features. Women construct their physical features to attract to the male gaze. This has remained prevalent in our media throughout history.'''

Sexual norms
A sexual norm can be an individual or a social norm, which is a rule that is socially enforced. '''Sexual norm relationships are shaped by the traditional stereotypes surrounding sex and gender when it comes to males and masculinity and females and femininity. For example, many associate male social norms with assertiveness, aggressiveness, sexual adventurism, and emotional restraint. . For females the social norms of femininity is delicate, passive, sexually modest, and emotionally sensitive. Sex and gender stereotypical norms can have negative impacts on a couples, sexual, emotional, psychological aspects of a relationship.<'''ref> Norms affect a wide variety of human behavior as Social norms regarding sexuality are present in most cultures. For example, the norm in most cultures consists of heterosexual acts between married individuals. Sexual norms are constantly changing and normal sexual behavior is a spectrum and cannot be rigidly defined. Deviance from normal sexual behavior is common and can be classified in several ways. If non-restrictive sexual norms are regarded positively they may be called "sexual freedom", "sexual liberation", or "free love". If regarded negatively they may be called "sexual license" or "licentiousness". Restrictive behavior when judged negatively is called "sexual oppression"; if judged positively they are called "chastity", "sexual restraint", or "sexual decency" is considered to be used for targeted sexuality. In the west, sexual normality can be defined as any sexual practice which does not involve sexual perversions. There has been a liberalization in attitudes which has resulted in the legalization of homosexuality in many countries. There is a tendency in Western countries toward serial monogamy as a normal heterosexual lifestyle.

Media
Sexual scripts in media have a great influence on young people and adolescents. According to researcher Rebecca Ortiz, "Greater exposure to sexual media content has been associated with stronger endorsement of recreational attitudes toward sex, increased intentions to have sex, earlier sexual initiation, and even increased likelihood of adolescent pregnancy." Because a majority of young and adolescent people lack sexual experiences, they seek out media outlets to form their expectations and ideas about sexuality and sexual behavior. However, according to Ortiz, "less is known about how, why, and which sexual portrayals affect young viewers. The proliferation of stereotypically-gendered sexual messages in the media is of particular concern because constant exposure may lead to reinforcement of such stereotypes by viewers and could negatively affect their sexual well-being." These stereotypes typically aim to push further the narrative and traditional sexual scripts of "Women being submissive to men" and "men as dominating." According to Ortiz, this is called the Heterosexual Script, "The heterosexual script includes depictions of gender inequality between heterosexual partners, where male characters are often portrayed as sexual initiators and aggressors, while female characters are passive recipients and sexual gatekeepers who prefer love and affection over sex."

Sexual scripts have distinct gender role differences and play a huge role in how people view and express themselves sexually. The female script looking typically for love and affection and waits for the man to make the first move. While the male script is looking for multiple sexual partners and praise for their sexual endeavors. According to Ortiz, this leads to the sexual double standard, "Such gender differences have been called the sexual double standard, such that men and women are subject to different “rules” of sexual behavior." Agreeing with this double standard can negatively impact both men and women. Women may learn to suppress their sexual desires and begin viewing themselves as sexual objects. Men who agree with this double standard are more likely to agree with rape myths and find them justifiable as well in the objectification of women. They are also more likely to believe in "token resistance", which states that women who say "no", really mean "yes".

'''Rape script is also very prevalent in the media. It is defined as the stereotypes or false beliefs about rape, its victims, and rapists. These stereotypes are heavily influenced by religion, law, and the media. Rape scripts are the beliefs of the nature of rape, the roles of genders as well as domination and vulnerability are a large part of these beliefs. Many victims of rape look to the real rape script to determine whether they experienced rape. The real rape script describes the stereotypical story of the woman walking alone late at night when a man comes up behind her and proceeds to act violently and rape her. Many women do not believe they've been raped when comparing their experience to the real rape script due to the lack of violence as well as many other factors. The rape script is used in many ways, in movies, on the news, and on social media. Due to this, many victims end up getting blamed for their actions. As a result of victim blaming, many victims are afraid to come forward because they are afraid no one will believe them.'''