Eagly has articulated social role theory and its application to gender roles and gender differences (e. g., Eagly, 1987; Eagly & Crowley, 1986). Here we will extend these applications to gender differences in sexual be­haviors and attitudes. Sexual behaviors are governed by roles; at the same time, sexuality is an important component of gender roles. […]

Although Bandura’s original writings on social learning theory did not address the issue of sexuality (e. g., Bandura, 1977; Bandura & Walters, 1963), Mischel (1966) applied principles of social learning theory to un­derstanding gender roles and gender differences in behavior. According to Mischel, gender differences are shaped by positive re­inforcements for gender-role-consistent behavior, whereas role-inconsistent […]

Sociobiologists apply evolutionary biology to understanding the causes of human social behavior. The sociobiological approach to human sexuality has been articulated particularly by Symons (1979, 1987; see also Barash, 1977; Buss & Schmitt, 1993). The bottom line in understanding any social behavior, according to sociobiologists, is reproductive success, that is maximizing the number of genes […]

Neoanalytic Theory: Chodorow The neoanalytic theorist Chodorow (1978) sees herself as fusing psy­choanalytic theory, sociological theory, and feminist theory, and views the causes of psychological gender differences as being rooted in the early fam­ily experiences of boys and girls. The core of her argument is that because childcare is done exclusively or mostly by women, […]

JANET SHIBLEY HYDE AND MARY BETH OLIVER Feminist legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon wrote, “Sexuality is to feminism what work is to marxism: that which is most one’s own, yet most taken away” (1982, p. 1). Feminists have long identified sexuality as a key issue for women. For example, many birth control advocates in the early […]

There is an interactive link between culture and science, such that the frameworks adopted by science reflect cultural frameworks and the re­sultant findings of science are frequently the basis for bolstering those very frameworks. Four of these interlocking themes pervade the understanding of sexuality: sexual disorders as properties of individuals; sex as an energy system, […]

The reliance on sociobiological examples and biological models in general is worrisome, not because biology or natural selection are irrele­vant, but because the principles are poorly understood by those who ca­sually rely on them to justify what are essentially political beliefs (and, yes, beliefs about gender are political). For example, Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of […]

A number of scholars well versed in biology and evolutionary theory have critiqued sociobiology (Gould, 1976; Gould & Lewontin, 1979; Kitcher, 1987; Lewontin, 1979; Travis & Yeager, 1991). In brief, they argue that the major flaws of a simplistic sociobiology include (a) errors in de­scription, such as arbitrary clustering of disparate elements of behavior into […]

A group of writers has been very successful in popularizing sociobio­logical concepts, and therefore promoting myths regarding human sexual behavior. Fox (1972) argued that the evolution of increased brain size in humans was linked to the ability of the son to control his sexual approaches to his father’s females. The evolution of the female neocortex […]

The general principles of natural selection are not inherently sexist and simply stated propose that individuals vary; some variations are more favorable than others; some of this variation is heritable; differential re­productive success may occur; and differing gene frequencies may result. Sociobiology is the study of social behavior as determined by biology, and is essentially […]