# Study Guide: Chapter 9 — Sexual Behavior > Organized by textbook section. Review the objectives, study topics, key takeaways, and questions for each section. ## 9.1: An Overview of Heterosexuality ### Study Topics - The Sexual Revolution: Changing Attitudes and Changing Behavior - Heterosexuality Today: Attitudes and Behavior - Figure 9.2 Views on Sexual Behavior (Percentage Saying the Behavior Is Wrong) - Table 9.2 Lifetime Prevalence of Sexual Behaviors, Ages 15–24* - Females Males ### Key Terms - **family** — A group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who care for one another. - **religiosity** — How religious someone is, in terms of how often the person attends religious service, prays, and reads scripture. - **sexual revolution** — A substantial change during the 1960s and 1970s in many aspects of Americans’ sexual behavior and in how they thought about sex. ### Learning Objectives 1. Explain what happened as a result of the sexual revolution. 2. Describe current views on sexual behavior. 3. Understand the prevalence of certain sexual behaviors today. ### Key Takeaways - The sexual revolution liberalized some views about sexual behavior and increased participation in some forms of sexual behavior, particularly premarital sex. - Gender, age, and religiosity predict attitudes about premarital sex. - There are little or no gender differences today in the prevalence of various heterosexual behaviors, but men are more likely than women to have had at least two sex partners in the past year. ### Review Questions 1. Do you think the sexual revolution was a good thing or a bad thing? Explain your answer. 2. Did it surprise you to learn that women and men are equally sexually active today? Why or why not? ## 9.2: Teenage Sex and Pregnancy ### Study Topics - Teenage Sexual Activity - The Problem of Teenage Pregnancy - Children and Our Future - Trends in Teenage Pregnancy - Correlates of Teenage Pregnancy - Sexually Transmitted Diseases - Reducing Teenage Pregnancy and Helping Teenage Mothers - Reducing Pregnancy - People Making a Difference - Helping Teen Mothers - Addressing Poverty ### Key Terms - **drug** — Any substance other than food that, when taken into the body, affects the structure and/or functioning of the body. - **early childhood intervention (ECI) programs** — Programs that typically involve visits by social workers, nurses, and other professionals to the homes of children who are at risk for neurological, emotional, and/or behavioral problems during their childhood and adolescence. - **family** — A group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who care for one another. - **harm reduction** — A strategy that attempts to minimize the harm caused by drugs; an example includes the provision of sterile needles to heroin users. - **health care** — The provision of medical services to prevent, diagnose, and treat health problems. - **race** — A category of people who share certain inherited physical characteristics, such as skin color, facial features, and stature. - **second-chance homes** — Maternity group homes for unmarried teen mothers. - **sexual revolution** — A substantial change during the 1960s and 1970s in many aspects of Americans’ sexual behavior and in how they thought about sex. ### Learning Objectives 1. Describe how many teenagers have had sex. 2. List several problems associated with teenage pregnancy and birth. 3. Discuss how to reduce teenage pregnancy and help teenage mothers. ### Key Takeaways - The United States has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and birth of all Western democracies. However, these rates have declined substantially from the early 1990s. - Pregnancies and births among teenagers incur higher health-care costs than those among older women. In addition, children of teenage mothers are at risk for several kinds of developmental, cognitive, and behavioral problems. - A key strategy to reduce teenage pregnancies involves the provision and use of effective contraception at little or no cost. A key strategy to help teen mothers and their children involves second-chance homes and early childhood intervention programs. ### Review Questions 1. Imagine that you became a parent at age 17. How would your life have been different from what it is now? 2. Many sexually active teenagers do not use contraception regularly. Why do you think they do not use it more often? ## 9.3: Abortion ### Study Topics - A Brief History of Abortion - Applying Social Research - Abortion Data - Figure 9.8 Regional Differences in Abortion Rates, 2008 - Correlates of Public Views - Figure 9.12 Gender and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%) - Figure 9.13 Education and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%) - Figure 9.15 Region and Support for Legal Abortion for Any Reason (%) - Reducing Abortions and Making Them Safe ### Key Terms - **crime** — Behavior considered so harmful or offensive that it is banned by the criminal law. - **drug** — Any substance other than food that, when taken into the body, affects the structure and/or functioning of the body. - **economy** — The social institution that organizes the production, distribution, and consumption of a society’s goods and services. - **family** — A group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who care for one another. - **harm reduction** — A strategy that attempts to minimize the harm caused by drugs; an example includes the provision of sterile needles to heroin users. - **Prostitution** — The selling of sexual services. - **religiosity** — How religious someone is, in terms of how often the person attends religious service, prays, and reads scripture. ### Learning Objectives 1. Summarize the history of abortion and abortion law in the United States. 2. Explain why there are regional differences in abortion rates. 3. Describe some of the correlates of views on abortion. ### Key Takeaways - Abortion continues to be one of the most controversial issues in the United States. Many states have implemented laws and policies that make it difficult to obtain abortions. - Several aspects of our social backgrounds predict views on legal abortion. In particular, religiosity is associated with opposition to legal abortion, while education is associated with approval of legal abortion. - To reduce the number of abortions, it is necessary to reduce unwanted pregnancies. To ensure that abortions will be safe, they must be legal. ### Review Questions 1. Do you favor or oppose legal abortion? Does your answer depend on the reasons for which a woman desires an abortion? Write an essay in which you explain your answer. 2. A major principle of sociology is that social backgrounds influence attitudes and behavior. Write an essay in which you illustrate this principle with regard to attitudes about abortion. ## 9.4: Prostitution ### Study Topics - History of Prostitution - Prostitution in the United States Today - Types of Prostitutes - Explaining Prostitution - Sociological Perspectives - Table 9.5 Theory Snapshot - Dealing with Prostitution - Lessons from Other Societies ### Key Terms - **bar or casino workers** — Prostitutes who work in bars, casinos, or similar establishments. - **Child abuse** — Maltreatment of children in the form of physical or sexual assault, emotional trauma, or neglect. - **civil war** — War within nations. - **conflict theory** — The view that society is composed of groups with different interests arising from their placement in the social structure. - **crime** — Behavior considered so harmful or offensive that it is banned by the criminal law. - **economic inequality** — The extent of the economic difference between the rich and the poor. - **Escorts** — Prostitutes who work for escort agencies and may operate out of an apartment rented by their agency or come to a client’s hotel room or other location. - **Functionalism** — The view that social institutions are important for their contributions to social stability. - **harm reduction** — A strategy that attempts to minimize the harm caused by drugs; an example includes the provision of sterile needles to heroin users. - **Prostitution** — The selling of sexual services. - **race** — A category of people who share certain inherited physical characteristics, such as skin color, facial features, and stature. - **social problem** — Any condition or behavior that has negative consequences for large numbers of people and that is generally recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be addressed. - **streetwalkers** — Prostitutes who typically find their customers, or are found by their customers, on a street and who then have a quick act of sex in the customer’s car, in an alleyway or other secluded spot, or in a cheap hotel. - **Symbolic interactionism** — A perspective in sociology that focuses on the meanings people gain from social interaction. ### Learning Objectives 1. Summarize the history of prostitution in the United States. 2. List the reasons that lead many people to dislike prostitution. 3. Explain the problems that streetwalkers experience and why these problems occur. ### Key Takeaways - Prostitution has existed since ancient times and continues to be common today around the world. The United States had legal brothels before 1920, and legal brothels are found today in rural counties in Nevada. - Many people oppose prostitution because they feel it is immoral or because they feel it degrades and victimizes women. Because prostitution usually involves consensual behavior, some scholars say it should not be illegal in a society that values a right to privacy. - Some scholars also say that laws against prostitution do more harm than good and in particular account for the various problems that streetwalkers experience. ### Review Questions 1. Do you think prostitution should become legal and regulated? Why or why not? 2. The major difference between prostitution and sex resulting from a casual pickup involves whether money is exchanged. Write an essay in which you first take the “pro” side on the following debate question, and then take the “con” side: that prostitution is worse than sex from a casual pickup. ## 9.5: Pornography ### Study Topics - The Popularity of Pornography - Effects of Pornography - Dealing with Pornography ### Key Terms - **crime** — Behavior considered so harmful or offensive that it is banned by the criminal law. - **family** — A group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who care for one another. - **Pornography** — Printed or visual materials that are sexually explicit and that are intended to arouse sexual excitement rather than artistic appreciation. - **Prostitution** — The selling of sexual services. - **religiosity** — How religious someone is, in terms of how often the person attends religious service, prays, and reads scripture. ### Learning Objectives 1. Explain why pornography is difficult to define. 2. Describe evidence indicating that pornography is popular. 3. Discuss whether pornography contributes to violence against women. ### Key Takeaways - Pornography is notoriously difficult to define. Just as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, to quote the old saying, so is pornography. - Pornography is a major industry in the United States and around the world and accounts for about $13 billon in US revenues annually. - A growing conclusion from the research evidence is that pornography does not lead to violence against women. In addition to this consideration, laws against pornography raise questions of freedom of speech. ### Review Questions 1. Do you think all pornography should be legal for people age eighteen and older? Why or why not? 2. In your opinion, does pornography promote violence against women? Explain your answer. ## 9.6: End-of-Chapter Material ### Key Terms - **family** — A group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who care for one another. - **Pornography** — Printed or visual materials that are sexually explicit and that are intended to arouse sexual excitement rather than artistic appreciation. - **Prostitution** — The selling of sexual services. - **sexual revolution** — A substantial change during the 1960s and 1970s in many aspects of Americans’ sexual behavior and in how they thought about sex. - **streetwalkers** — Prostitutes who typically find their customers, or are found by their customers, on a street and who then have a quick act of sex in the customer’s car, in an alleyway or other secluded spot, or in a cheap hotel. ### Chapter Summary 1. The sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s involved changes in Americans’ attitudes on certain sexual issues and an increase in premarital sex. 2. Although teenagers are more sexually active today than before the sexual revolution, teenage pregnancy and birth rates have declined sharply since the early 1990s. Teenage pregnancy and birth cause several problems for the teenage mother and for society as a whole. 3. To reduce teenage pregnancy further, the United States should expand publically funded family planning programs and increase the provision of contraceptives at little or no cost. 4. Abortion has been common since ancient times and remains one of the most controversial issues in the United States. Since the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized all abortions during the first two trimesters, subsequent court rulings and various state actions have made abortions more difficult to obtain. Abortion rates differ by region of the nation and reflect the presence or absence of abortion providers. 5. Around the world, abortion rates do not depend on whether abortion is legal or illegal, and they occur in great numbers even when they are illegal. For abortions to be as safe as possible, they must be legal. 6. Prostitution has also been common since ancient times. Until the second decade of the twentieth century it was legal in much of the United States in the form of legal brothels. 7. Streetwalkers comprise about one-fifth of all prostitutes. Compared to indoor prostitutes, they are more likely to be victims of violence and to obtain and transmit sexual diseases. 8. When prostitution is legal, prostitutes fare much better than when prostitution is illegal. The problems that streetwalkers experience generally stem from the fact that their behavior is illegal. 9. Pornography has also been around since ancient times. It does not appear to cause sexual violence against women, and efforts to ban it raise freedom of speech issues. ### Application A friend of yours has become pregnant after a casual sexual encounter. She is in the second semester of her junior year and was planning to graduate in fifteen months and go on to get a master’s degree in a business school. She confides in you that she is considering an abortion and wants your advice on what she should do. What do you tell her? ### Action Ideas To help deal with the sexual behavior problems discussed in this chapter, you may wish to do any of the following: 1. Volunteer for a local agency that helps pregnant teenagers. 2. Start or join in efforts on your campus to encourage safe sex. 3. Volunteer at a family planning agency.