Results

Please note: Graphs with data results will be posted shortly
Thirty-seven people responded to our survey. Twenty-seven (73%) females and ten (27%) males. The age of respondents ranges from 19-88 years old. We looked for possible associations between age, class (income), gender and region and attitudes about sexual conduct. Comparing their own views with those of their parents, most respondents indicated that their attitudes were more tolerant of sexual activity. This suggests a consistent rate of change in popular sexual morality over the last century, therefore, our analysis pays special attention to age.

We were unable to identify any relationship between class and understanding of promiscuity because many respondents refused to divulge their income, and many others are college students, a group generally without income, though not necessarily poor or working class. Similarly, no clear relationship between the region in which individuals grew up and their attitudes about sexual conduct could be identified by our study, though we suspect this may be a result of our sampling methods.

In terms of how respondents define promiscuity, we identified the following common themes during our preliminary reading: A. Cheating; B. Sex with multiple partners (either at once or sequentially); C. Sexual activity without emotional attachment or outside the context of a committed relationship; D. Excessive flirting or overt displays of sexuality. We found no significant difference between the definitions held by men and women, and found that both genders were consistent with the group total. Interesting though not surprising was the fact that nearly all participants associate promiscuity with women and youth. Often they used quotations around the word when using it in reference to men, i.e. “When I think of promiscuity, I admit I immediately think of a young female. Men can be ‘promiscuous’ too I guess, but they are usually encouraged.” This overwhelming consistency reveals that despite the efforts of the women’s movement and the sexual revolution, popular sexual morality continues to contain a gendered doubled standard in expectations of behavior.

Sixty-five percent of respondents indicated sexual activity with multiple partners as a marker of promiscuity, and 41% indicated that sexual activity without emotional attachment or outside the context of a committed relationship as a marker of promiscuity.

We noticed that definitions of promiscuity increased in complexity and nuance among younger participants compared to older participants. Perhaps this reflects confusing and conflicting messages about sexuality in popular culture today as opposed to pre-sexual revolution ideologies. Promiscuous people are harder to identify for younger people, most likely due to increasing tolerant attitudes toward flirtation and revealing clothing. One thing is clear, whatever the reason, commonly held definitions of promiscuity have destabilized over the course of the last 80 years.

Among females 66-88, definitions of promiscuity are startlingly consistent. When asked “How would you define promiscuity?” one respondent, 88 years old, answered, “Not being honest with your husband.” Another, 78 years old, commented, “I was aware in my youth that divorce was not well accepted and that divorces were generally considered loose women.” Their comments reflect traditional patriarchal values, in that a woman’s position as a sexual being is defined by her relationship to a man.

Younger respondents express far more progressive views about sexual morality. A 52 year old female said, “I don’t believe in the concept of promiscuity. I believe the concept come form a place of judging women because of their choices visa vie sexual activity, and I don’t believe anyone has the right to judge others’ choices.” This comment reflects ideologies of the women’s movement and the sexual revolution following World War II, and, though this individual is certainly an outlier in our study, her comment marks and important shift in social definitions of promiscuity, and perhaps the beginning of the destabilization of these definitions. One 54 year old female respondent said, “I would categorize myself as promiscuous in my twenties. I look at someone today with the same behavior, and I simply think they are looking for the right person.” This comment reflects the essence of our study. This individual recognizes changing meanings and cultural expectations about sexual conduct.

The youngest group of participants, those between the ages of 19 and 42, introduce the vocabulary of the “hook up”. This curious term has unclear meanings, it can refer to anything from kissing to sexual intercourse, and its consistent use highlights the confusion of younger people about sexual morality. This group reported their ideas about sexual conduct, what is permissible and what is not with the greatest degree of diversity of opinion. Seventy-one percent indicated that sexual intercourse with multiple partners is the most important marker of promiscuous behavior, yet many specified that one must be sleeping with multiple partners during the same time period, while others including a rapid, sequential changing of partners in their definition of promiscuity. Because of the comparatively liberal behavior of young people today, we were expecting far more defensive attitudes about female sexuality, perhaps even some mention of empowerment through personal choices about sex, but not a single participant from this group spoke this way. Instead, they spoke of what promiscuity means with uncertainty, citing many exceptions and grey areas in their explanations of appropriate, moral sexual conduct.

At a rate of 82%, participants aged 50 or older were socialized in sexual morality by family and religion, while younger participants, especially those in their 20’s, indicated media (television, magazines, internet) as a major socializing agent at a rate of 78%, friends at a rate of 60%, and family at a rate of 45%. This is not surprising in that access to television and the internet was unavailable during the formative years of many older participants, but, given that participants were not limited in their responses, the rare mention of the family and religion among younger participants reveals a decline in their role in the construction of sexual morality. As we know from common experience, the media, especially television, sends mixed messages about sexual conduct, particularly to women. Shows like Flavor of Love and The Bachelor encourage competition for a man’s attention, while sanctioning a man’s right to date and sexually engage with multiple women at the same time. Representations of female beauty are increasingly sexualized; images of fully clothed, beautiful women promoting a product in print ads have been replaced by exposed models frequently posed in sexually suggestive positions. Celebrity news shows depict young women rewarded (with fame and money) and at the same time punished (by scandal, humiliation, exploitation by paparazzi, etc.) for their sexual behavior, as in the case of Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears. Pornography glorifies and commodifies female sexuality at the same time.

An analysis of the relationship between media and social definitions of promiscuous behavior lies beyond the scope of this study, but certainly deserves further investigation. The over representation of women in our pool of participants may suggest that women are typically more interested in answering questions about promiscuity and sexual morality. Perhaps this is because they have more at stake in terms of the social, personal and emotional consequences of these definitions.