Incidence in sexual double standars: mobilizations in favor of women and religious factors

Abstract

Throughout history there have been differences regarding the sexual behavior of men and women. This has led to a sexual double standard (SDS) with more restricted sexual standards for women. On March 8, 2018, the largest social mobilization in favor of women in recent decades took place in Spain. The present study provides results on SDS before and after these mobilizations. Data were taken from a total sample of 531 university students along the years 2015-2019. Results are analyzed in two periods: from a previous sample corresponding to 2015-2017, before mobilizations, and from a second sample for the years 2018-2019, after mobilizations. Results of the first period indicate important differences in SDS between genders. Thus, the score of men is significantly higher and therefore much more restrictive with regards to female sexual behavior. After the mobilizations, inter-gender differences are significantly reduced: the 21.6% of the total sample of students believe that mobilizations have had a strong or very strong influence on their evaluation of sexuality on the SDSS scale (the Sexual Double Standard Scale), while the 16% and the 42% of the sample consider, respectively, that mobilizations have had a medium influence or have not had any influence on them. We show that the students who attend religious practices more frequently (1 to 7 times per week) obtain the highest mean in SDS. Thus, this variable is a possible influencing factor in the permanence of differential and restrictive attitudes regarding SDS. Our study also shows that it is necessary to create a deep reflection among young people about SDS and the influencing factors such as people’s characteristics and social factors, and that it is also needed to incorporate virtual networks and the relationships that derive from them in the field of sexuality