Sexual suggestiveness is visual, verbal, written or behavioral material or action with sexual undertones implying sexual intent in order to provoke sexual arousal. [1] [2] [3] [4]
There are variations in the perception and display of sexual suggestiveness, including but not limited to gender, culture and generation. Different cultures and different generations have varying views on what is considered to be sexually suggestive. For example, in British culture, it is normal for a woman to wear shorts and bare her legs on a hot, sunny day, but a woman with naked flesh exposed would be considered promiscuous in certain cultures around the world. In evolutionary terms, sexual suggestiveness is a mode from which sexual mates are gained. Therefore, the ability to use sexual suggestiveness effectively is a trait that is part of sexual selection.
Displays of sexual suggestiveness include things such as; women in swimsuit adverts, sexually-themed music or music with a strong beat meant for dancing, sexting, erotic lingerie or "wolf whistling". [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Sexual suggestiveness may also involve nudity, or the exposure of the nipples, genitals, buttocks or other taboo areas of the body. [10] [11] Even a brand name or phrase can be considered to be sexually suggestive if it has strong sexual connotations or undertones. [12]
In some cases, displays of sexual suggestiveness may be misinterpreted which may lead to dangerous or harmful situations.
From an evolutionary point of view, sexual suggestiveness evolved in order to aid in securing a sexual partner or mate. Once the individual has decided on a mate to pursue, sexual suggestiveness helps in attracting the mate - this is a skill which has been sexually selected (sexual selection) for during evolution. Sexually suggestive behaviors include things such as "showing more skin" and flirting. Both of these examples are behaviors which the individual would intentionally display. There is also research to suggest that sexually suggestive behaviors may not always be deliberate. [13] Unbeknownst to the individual, factors such as the menstrual cycle, voice pitch and rate of money spending can all have an effect on sexual success and sexually suggestive behavior. For example, when women were in the work place and ovulating they were more likely to engage in sexually suggestive behaviors e.g. showing more skin; further, women who work as lap dancers earn more money when they are in the ovulating stage. This may be because the female unwittingly behaves in a more sexual way and therefore puts out more sexually suggestive cues. [14] There is not, however, any evidence to show that these women are aware that their actions or earnings are intrinsically linked to their menstrual cycle.[ citation needed ]
The rise of the media, advertising and film industries as well as the growth of the fashion industry are all contributing factors to increase sexually suggestive content in an every-day setting. There are far more displays of sexually suggestive behavior in modern-day life than there ever has been before and not just within advertising. The idea that sex sells is evident in many aspects of daily modern life particularly within social media and film where female sexual ornaments are a focal point. For example, many films include additional sex scenes and sexually suggestive female characters regardless of the film's narrative. [15] [16]
The progression of the Internet and social media means that sexual content is far more available and accessible in the 21st century than ever before. This has a knock on effect on people's sexualization and sexual behavior. Children's sexuality develops at an earlier age if they have been exposed to more sexual content when young. For example, young adolescents engage in more sexual behaviors if they have been exposed to more sexual content in the media or on television. [17] [18] On average, females become pubescent earlier in their development if they have been exposed to sexual content or sexual behavior. [19] [20] Most psychologists agree that this physical display of sexuality is due to evolutionary reasons and that girls develop their sexuality (e.g. behaving sexually suggestively) at an earlier age in order to sexually compete with other women and successfully reproduce. [21] [22]
The increase in sexual content in modern society often results in a more nonchalant approach to sexually suggestive behavior. People, predominantly women, often act in a way that they themselves do not consider to be sexually suggestive but which can be misinterpreted by others. [23] [24] For example, wearing clothes or skirts/shorts that show skin is not something that most Western women would consider to be overtly provocative but it is still regarded as sexually suggestive by others. Misconstruing people's behaviour can have disastrous consequences, contributing to harassment and rape culture. [25] [26]
Evolutionary psychology explains that this misinterpretation is the result of sexual selection. Men have adapted through sexual selection to have the maximum number of offspring possible, and therefore exhibit certain behaviors that facilitate maximum reproduction. Men perceive sexually suggestive behavior and other sexual cues, including biological ornaments, as signs of reproductive ability and willingness. [27] The hypothesis of rape as an adaption states that the rape of reproductive-age females was favoured by direct selection in order to increase the chance of reproductive success. [28] [29] Sexually suggestive behavior and biological ornamentation are signs of sexual maturity and thus females who display more of these behaviors, or who have more obvious ornamentation, are more likely to be at a higher risk of harassment, or even rape. [30] This evolutionary explanation also extends to women. At their most fertile stage in their menstrual cycle, during estrus, women are far less likely to engage in rape-risky behaviors such as walking alone late at night, than women who are in the least fertile stage of their menstrual cycle, the luteal phase or women using hormonal contraception. [31] This is because women who are in the luteal phase or women using a hormonal contraceptive are much less likely to become pregnant after sexual intercourse than estrus women are. [32]
These evolutionary explanations serve only to increase the psychological understanding of sexual behaviors. Sexual suggestiveness, rape, and all other sexual behaviors, are evidenced to be products of past evolution. In the case of rape, however, just because some evidence indicates that it may be natural does not make it acceptable. [33] [34] [35]
Flirting can be sexually suggestive, which can intentionally elicit a sexual response from another person. [36] Research has identified different motivations for engaging in flirting behaviors. There is flirting with a sexual motivation, which is done with a view to engaging in human sexual activity and there is also flirting with a fun motivation, in which the interaction itself is the pleasurable part. [36] An instrumental motivation of flirting behavior is flirting performed in order to accomplish an instrumental goal, such as getting someone to buy you a drink. However, flirting can sometimes lead to unintentional responses. If the motivation behind sexually suggestive behavior is misinterpreted or miscommunicated, then a sexual response could be elicited where it is not wanted. If escalated, this can lead to sexual harassment in the workplace or sexual coercion in a relationship. [37] In line with evolutionary explanations of sexually suggestive behavior, research has shown that women are more likely to consider the use of flirting as being for relational purposes, and males are more likely to interpret female flirting as having a sexual motivation. [36] [37]
There are some reported gender differences between how sexual suggestiveness is perceived. Males and females have different thresholds for the perception of sexual suggestiveness or intent. Males are, in general, more sexually occupied than females.[ citation needed ] To support this assumption research shows that males perceive people as more interested in a sexual encounter than females do. [38] It has also been suggested that males find it difficult to differentiate between liking, love and sexual intent, and in this case sexual suggestiveness. Unfortunately, this difficulty in separation between the two from the male's point of view may lead to rape or other sexual assault.[ citation needed ] During the evolution of human sexuality, the fact that females are the choosy gender meant that males who were able to quickly detect a female's willingness were the males who passed along their genes effectively. In light of this, males, therefore, tend to read sexual acceptance signals in friendly actions even when this may not be the females intention. [39] Females are however better at reading platonic signals from the opposite sex and at differentiating between liking, loving and sexual suggestiveness. [40]
There are also gender differences between how sexual suggestiveness is displayed via flirting. Recent research has shown that females are more likely than males to flirt with the intention of developing a new relationship, [41] or with the intention of intensifying an existing relationship. [42] It has also been found that females use flirting as a way of assessing the interest of a potential mate; as the end result is sexual activity, it can be inferred that this is a sexually suggestive act. [43] On the other hand, a variety of different researchers have found that males are significantly more sexually motivated in their displays of sexual suggestiveness (such as flirting) than females. [44] The research done by Clark and Hatfield (1989) [45] supports these assumptions by clearly suggesting that female courtship is motivated by relationship development and that male courtship is motivated by sexual desire. It is these gender differences that can explain the potential miscommunication of social actions.
Since the 1990s, there has been a dramatic increase in the understanding of human sexuality from an evolutionary perspective. [46] Evolutionary theory proposes that humans all behave in the same way, in order to maximise survival and reproductive success. [14] However, as with much of human behavior, there are substantial differences in the sexual suggestiveness of people from different cultures. What may be a culturally appropriate display of 'sexiness' in one culture may be considered inappropriate in another, and vice versa. [14] For example, in many Westernized cultures women displaying their bare legs in public is considered to be a relatively unassuming display of suggestiveness, while in many African societies, for example, the same behavior would be considered immodest. It can be argued that religion is a significant factor in the cultural differences of sexual suggestiveness, especially with regards to what displays of suggestiveness are considered appropriate. [47] In particular, some Christian and Muslim communities are more strict on what levels of suggestiveness are appropriate for unmarried young women.
A considerable amount of research has concluded that sexually suggestive content is pervasive in the media. The most common type of sexually suggestive content in adolescent programming is in the form of a sexual innuendo. Sexual innuendoes give a suggestive alternative meaning to an otherwise neutral phrase. For example, the use of the phrase "bend over backwards" when describing a colleague, in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother , is used by the main character Barney to imply something in both a figurative sense (i.e. that she is willing to work hard) and a suggestive sense (alluding to her flexibility in sexual positions). Content analyses of sexual behavior in the media found that sexual content on television has risen from 45% in 1975 to 81% now. [48] 83% of all programs on television contain sexual content. [49] [50] 80% of programs contain sexually suggestive references, and 49% of shows contain sexual behavior which include flirting. [48] Sexual innuendoes occur as much as twice per program in popular American sitcoms, whilst flirting occurred at least once per programme. [49] The use of sexual innuendoes in the media is also done through newspapers, magazines and music, and accounts for roughly 12% of the entire sexual content shown in the media overall. [49] Analysis of sexually suggestive behavior in sports media showed that there was considerable gender differences in how sports stars are portrayed visually. [51] For example, women are photographed nude more frequently than men, and were photographed in a hetero-sexy manner which was done to attract the male gaze, such as with sports equipment covering their genitalia due to its suggestive nature. [51] Overall, women are portrayed in a manner that alludes to their status as a sex symbol.
Sexual content in the form of innuendo, suggestive imagery and double entendre is used as a tool in advertising. [52] Suggestive advertising is used to draw in attention, [53] by monopolizing attentional resources, and as a means of distinguishing their products from similar products which are usually advertised in the same medium (such as in the same magazine). [53] Furthermore, advertisers use sexually suggestive material to imply an association between their product and benefits which are in some way related to sex (such as mate attraction). [54] There was a significant increase in the amount of advertisements from 1983 to 2003 which used sexually suggestive images of models, [53] suggesting that advertisers are finding it beneficial. While the physical properties of the model are the most sexually suggestive, a number of non-verbal communicative features have also been identified as being provocative, such as the models pose (plumped lips, cocked head to show the neck) as well as verbal communicative features such as suggestive comments. [54]
A number of studies have looked at the effects of sexual content in the media on preadolescent and adolescent sexual development. It has been put forth that watching a high level of television, in which there is a lot of sexually suggestive behavior, can lead to the initiation of sexual intercourse at a younger age than those who watch the least amount of sexually suggestive programming. [50] In addition to this, adolescents who had been exposed to a high level of sexual content, would engage in a level of sexual activity expected by those up to three years older who watched less sexual content. [50] It has been suggested that according to social learning theory, television is a method by which children can acquire behaviors, through observational learning, [55] and that this is a potential method through which children are becoming increasingly sexualized. [56] Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy in the U.S are more common among adolescents who begin sexual activity earlier, demonstrating that earlier sexualization, for which sexually suggestive content in the media has been implicated, has far reaching effects. [50]
Sexually suggestive content can also affect adolescents' views and attitudes towards sex, and their sexual socialization as whole. Research conducted with the cultivation theory in mind, has found that there is an association between people with a high regular exposure to sexually oriented genres (such as soap operas and hip-hop music) and more liberal attitudes towards sexual behavior like the acceptance of pre-marital sex, as well as non-relational sex and sexual harassment. [57] Furthermore, as sexual competence is portrayed as a positive attribute on television, particularly for males, regular exposure to sexual content can cause adolescents to form unrealistic expectations, and view their own sexual experiences (or lack thereof) as negative. [58] Moreover, the vast majority of this sexual content alludes to the positive nature of sex only, suggesting that sexually suggestive behavior in the media is serving to perpetuate a view that there are little negative consequences of engaging in sexual activity. Research has shown that the effects of sexually suggestive references in the media are also moderated by the developmental stage of the viewer. For example, 12 year olds have more difficulty correctly interpreting innuendos than 14 year olds. [59] Furthermore, pre-pubescent adolescents often view sexual references on television with disgust and embarrassment, whereas pubescent adolescents viewed it with interest. [60]
Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest. Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context where they appear. The attraction may be to a person's aesthetics, movements, voice, among other things. The attraction may be enhanced by a person's body odor, sex pheromones, adornments, clothing, perfume or hair style. It can be influenced by individual genetic, psychological, or cultural factors, or to other, more amorphous qualities. Sexual attraction is also a response to another person that depends on a combination of the person possessing the traits and on the criteria of the person who is attracted.
In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and sexual scripts, paralingual features, non-verbal communication, and short-term behavioural strategies.
A sexual fantasy or erotic fantasy is an autoerotic mental image or pattern of thought that stirs a person's sexuality and can create or enhance sexual arousal. A sexual fantasy can be created by the person's imagination or memory, and may be triggered autonomously or by external stimulation such as erotic literature or pornography, a physical object, or sexual attraction to another person. Anything that may give rise to sexual arousal may also produce a sexual fantasy, and sexual arousal may in turn give rise to fantasies.
Sociosexuality, sometimes called sociosexual orientation, is the individual difference in the willingness to engage in sexual activity outside of a committed relationship. Individuals who are more restricted sociosexually are less willing to engage in casual sex; they prefer greater love, commitment and emotional closeness before having sex with romantic partners. Individuals who are more unrestricted sociosexually are more willing to have casual sex and are more comfortable engaging in sex without love, commitment or closeness.
Sociobiological theories of rape explore how evolutionary adaptation influences the psychology of rapists. Such theories are highly controversial, as traditional theories typically do not consider rape a behavioral adaptation. Some object to such theories on ethical, religious, political, or scientific grounds. Others argue correct knowledge of rape causes is necessary for effective preventive measures.
Sex differences in psychology are differences in the mental functions and behaviors of the sexes and are due to a complex interplay of biological, developmental, and cultural factors. Differences have been found in a variety of fields such as mental health, cognitive abilities, personality, emotion, sexuality, friendship, and tendency towards aggression. Such variation may be innate, learned, or both. Modern research attempts to distinguish between these causes and to analyze any ethical concerns raised. Since behavior is a result of interactions between nature and nurture, researchers are interested in investigating how biology and environment interact to produce such differences, although this is often not possible.
Parental investment, in evolutionary biology and evolutionary psychology, is any parental expenditure that benefits offspring. Parental investment may be performed by both males and females, females alone or males alone. Care can be provided at any stage of the offspring's life, from pre-natal to post-natal.
A psychological adaptation is a functional, cognitive or behavioral trait that benefits an organism in its environment. Psychological adaptations fall under the scope of evolved psychological mechanisms (EPMs), however, EPMs refer to a less restricted set. Psychological adaptations include only the functional traits that increase the fitness of an organism, while EPMs refer to any psychological mechanism that developed through the processes of evolution. These additional EPMs are the by-product traits of a species’ evolutionary development, as well as the vestigial traits that no longer benefit the species’ fitness. It can be difficult to tell whether a trait is vestigial or not, so some literature is more lenient and refers to vestigial traits as adaptations, even though they may no longer have adaptive functionality. For example, xenophobic attitudes and behaviors, some have claimed, appear to have certain EPM influences relating to disease aversion, however, in many environments these behaviors will have a detrimental effect on a person's fitness. The principles of psychological adaptation rely on Darwin's theory of evolution and are important to the fields of evolutionary psychology, biology, and cognitive science.
Sexual jealousy is a special form of jealousy in sexual relationships, based on suspected or imminent sexual infidelity. The concept is studied in the field of evolutionary psychology.
Human male sexuality encompasses a wide variety of feelings and behaviors. Men's feelings of attraction may be caused by various physical and social traits of their potential partner. Men's sexual behavior can be affected by many factors, including evolved predispositions, individual personality, upbringing, and culture. While most men are heterosexual, there are minorities of homosexual men and varying degrees of bisexual men.
Rape is a traumatic experience that affects the victim (survivor) in a physical, psychological, and sociological way. Even though the effects and aftermath of rape differ among victims, individuals tend to suffer from similar issues found within these three categories. Long-term reactions may involve the development of coping mechanisms that will either benefit the victim, such as social support, or inhibit their recovery. Seeking support and professional resources may assist the victim in numerous ways.
Adolescent sexuality is a stage of human development in which adolescents experience and explore sexual feelings. Interest in sexuality intensifies during the onset of puberty, and sexuality is often a vital aspect of teenagers' lives. Sexual interest may be expressed in a number of ways, such as flirting, kissing, masturbation, or having sex with a partner. Sexual interest among adolescents, as among adults, can vary greatly, and is influenced by cultural norms and mores, sex education, as well as comprehensive sexuality education provided, sexual orientation, and social controls such as age-of-consent laws.
Sexual script theory states that all social behavior, including sexual behavior, is socially scripted. The theory was 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 abouthow 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.
A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual Coercion is a 2000 book by biologist Randy Thornhill and anthropologist Craig T. Palmer, in which the authors argue that evolutionary psychology can account for rape among human beings, maintain that rape is either a behavioral adaptation or a byproduct of adaptive traits such as sexual desire and aggressiveness, and make proposals for preventing rape. They also criticize the assumption that there is a connection between what is naturally selected and what is morally right or wrong, which they refer to as the "naturalistic fallacy", and the idea, popularized by the feminist author Susan Brownmiller in Against Our Will (1975), that rape is an expression of male domination and is not sexually motivated.
Examples of misogyny exist in many published forms, within multiple cultures and well-observed works. Technological advances in the modern era have contributed proficient means to media and marketing to the resultant mass media in the 21st century. The merging of misogyny and mass media has made numerous examples where studies have concluded correlations between misogynous messages, both obvious and subliminal. Corresponding physical appearance of violence and hateful conduct may be seen relative to exposure.
Randy Thornhill is an American entomologist and evolutionary biologist. He is a professor of biology at the University of New Mexico, and was president of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society from 2011 to 2013. He is known for his evolutionary explanation of rape as well as his work on insect mating systems and the parasite-stress theory.
The Evolution of Human Sexuality is a 1979 book about human sexuality by the anthropologist Donald Symons, in which the author discusses topics such as human sexual anatomy, ovulation, orgasm, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, and rape, attempting to show how evolutionary concepts can be applied to humans. Symons argues that the female orgasm is not an adaptive trait and that women have the capacity for it only because orgasm is adaptive for men, and that differences between the sexual behavior of male and female homosexuals help to show underlying differences between male and female sexuality. In his view, homosexual men tend to be sexually promiscuous because of the tendency of men in general to desire sex with a large number of partners, a tendency that in heterosexual men is usually restrained by women's typical lack of interest in promiscuous sex. Symons also argues that rape can be explained in evolutionary terms and feminist claims that it is not sexually motivated are incorrect.
The media and American adolescent sexuality relates to the effect the media has on the sexuality of American adolescents and the portrayal thereof.
Erotic plasticity is the degree to which one's sex drive can be changed by cultural or social factors. Someone has "high erotic plasticity" when their sex drives can be affected by situational, social and cultural influences, whereas someone with "low erotic plasticity" has a sex drive that is relatively rigid and unsusceptible to change. Since social psychologist Roy Baumeister coined the term in 2000, only two studies directly assessing erotic plasticity have been completed as of 2010.
In evolutionary psychology and behavioral ecology, human mating strategies are a set of behaviors used by individuals to select, attract, and retain mates. Mating strategies overlap with reproductive strategies, which encompass a broader set of behaviors involving the timing of reproduction and the trade-off between quantity and quality of offspring.
Notes
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)