Sexism and Sexual Problems: Societal Censure of the Sexually Troubled Male

Abstract

This experiment tested the hypothesis that the sexually troubled male is perceived as having deviated from a fundamental male-role expectation and will therefore receive a more negative evaluation of mental health. A contrived verbatim account of an interviewee's reporting either personal sexual dissatisfaction or a partner's dissatisfaction was presented to 72 male and 72 female college students. The sex of the target was manipulated by identifying the interviewee as either Allen or Alice. As predicted, the male interviewee received poorer scores on the Psychological Effectiveness Scale and greater perceived likelihood of psychological disturbance. The male stimulus person was also seen as having a greater need for psychotherapy and less chance for attaining happiness in life. The results consistently showed that these negative evaluations of the male target were made by male, but not female, subjects. Discussion focused on this self-imposed psychological pressure for adequate male sexual functioning as a harmful role stereotype.