2011/02/28 by Jennifer L. Petersen, Janet Shibley Hyde · 2 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · Medicine · #Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior #Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology #Gender, Feminism, and Media #Human sexuality #Pornography #Psychology #Psychosexual development #Meta-analysis #Developmental psychology #Sexual behavior #Social psychology #Gender schema theory #Gender psychology #Gender studies #Gender identity #Sociology #Medicine
paper · doi:10.1080/00224499.2011.551851
openalex publication_date 2011/02/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors are typically believed to be large, yet recent evidence suggests that some gender differences in sexuality are much smaller than common knowledge would suggest. This article reviews gender differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors as reported by major meta-analyses and large datasets. In particular, this article reviews gender differences in heterosexual intercourse, masturbation, pornography use, attitudes toward premarital sex, and gender differences in same-gender sexuality. Evolutionary psychology, social cognitive learning theory, and social structural theory are explored as possible explanations for gender differences in sexuality.