Sexes, Volume 2, Issue 2 (June 2021) – 7 articles

Feminist scholarship has analyzed the gendered dynamics of national- and international-level risk factors for peacekeeper-perpetrated sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA); however, the gendered dynamics within the host country have not been adequately considered. Using the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) as a case study, this research analyzes gender differences within community-level perceptions of SEA. Using SenseMaker^® as a data collection tool, cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative data were collected by Haitian research assistants over an 8-week period in 2017. Participants first shared a narrative in relation to MINUSTAH and then self-interpreted their narratives by noting their perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs on a variety of questions. The self-coded perceptions were analyzed quantitatively to determine patterns, and this was complemented with a qualitative analysis of the narratives. Women/girls were more likely to perceive the sexual interactions as “relationships” compared to Haitian men/boys. Furthermore, women/girls were more likely to perceive the peacekeeper as “supportive”, whereas men/boys conceptualized the peacekeeper as “authoritative”. SEA-related policies/programs, such as the UN Trust Fund in Support for Victims of SEA, should engage with local Haitian actors and consider such nuanced and gendered perceptions to maximize community trust and program efficacy. Full article

The current paper examines the utilization of community mobilization as a strategic health communication technique in an intervention to reduce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STI) rates among marginalized and at-risk populations such as commercial female sex workers in a red-light district in India. The research documents the struggles of a historically exploited community in India to mitigate its marginalization through implementation of a multilayered strategy of capacity building and economic empowerment. Semi-structured interviews of 37 commercial female sex workers were conducted in a red-light district of India. Qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts showed the prevalence of three themes which demonstrated the different facets of the community mobilization framework within the context of a health communication intervention. The findings of this research delineate how STI risk reduction as well as participation and empowerment can be achieved through a community-based health promotion project targeted towards commercial female sex workers within the context of their lived realities of marginalization and oppression. Full article

The present research examined the associations that narcissistic personality features had with subjective arousal in response to sexually aggressive behaviors, as well as whether these associations were mediated by the power that was believed to accompany these behaviors. Participants were 221 community members (115 women, 106 men) who completed a self-report instrument that captured narcissistic admiration (an agentic form of narcissism) and narcissistic rivalry (an antagonistic form of narcissism). In addition, participants were asked to rate how powerful they would expect to feel if they actually engaged in an array of sexually aggressive behaviors (e.g., “Tying up a person during sexual intercourse against her/his will”) as well as how sexually aroused they would be by each behavior. A multilevel mediation analysis revealed that both narcissistic admiration and narcissistic rivalry were positively associated with subjective arousal in response to sexual aggression and that these associations were mediated by the perceived power that was believed to accompany these sexually aggressive behaviors. These results suggest that perceptions of power may play an important role in the connections that narcissistic personality features have with subjective arousal in response to sexually aggressive behavior for both men and women. This discussion will focus on the implications of these results for understanding the connections between narcissism and sexual aggression in both men and women. Full article

Mounting, intromission and ejaculation are commonly reported sexual behaviours in male rats. In a mating session, they can have several copulatory series with post-ejaculatory intervals in between ejaculations before they reach sexual satiety. Here, we describe a phenomenon where male rats displayed consecutive ejaculations (CE) with a short inter-ejaculatory interval (IEI). Male rats were daily mated with a sexually receptive female rat. Two out of 15 rats displayed CE in one of their mating tests. The first rat had CE at 9.9 and 10.1 min (IEI = 16.3 s) after the start of the test. The second rat showed CE at 28.1 and 28.5 min (IEI = 18.7 s) after the test onset. During the IEI, the rats did not show any mounting or intromission. Full article

Background: Quality of life, physical, psychic, and social functioning assessments in patients suffering from chronic, progressive, and incurable diseases are one of the most significant aims of the palliative care home teams. Sexuality and intimacy can be one of the most important elements of a person’s life, even at the end of it. Unfortunately, there is very little interest in this topic among medical staff of palliative care units. The objective of the study: The aim of this study was to assess the health status, the quality of life, the quality of sexual life, and the recognition and resolution of sexual problems by the palliative care team in adult patients in the advanced stage of terminal illness, who were receiving home palliative care. Research methods: The study involved 342 adult patients in the advanced stage of incurable, progressive disease, covered by home palliative care in 15 facilities in Poland. A generic EuroQoL 5-Dimension 3-Level health and quality of life assessment questionnaire and a questionnaire developed by the researchers, including questions about sexual problems, were used in this prospective study. Results: The presented results are the part of the more extensive study. The assessment of health status and quality of life of the study patients showed that the evaluation was the lowest for performing ordinary daily activities. The quality of sexual life after diagnosis in more than half of the study patients has worsened. Almost half of the respondents felt that the palliative care team did not recognize or address their sexual concerns. Patients indicated nurses and physicians as the members of the palliative care team most helpful in identifying and addressing sexual concerns. Conclusions: Members of the palliative care team should receive training in communication with patients concerning their sexual life, their needs and expectations and have knowledge about options for obtaining specialized sexological care. It is necessary to prepare and validate simple tools that will facilitate the initiation of appropriate communication between patients and members of the medical staff. It will be important to conduct more detailed and targeted research on sexuality and intimacy in the Polish palliative care patient population. Full article

The pace of women’s access to leadership positions is very different from country to country. With 69.4 out of 100 points, Spain ranks fourth in the European Union (EU) on social power, first measured in the 2020 edition of the Gender Equality Index. However, a need of deepening the reasons for gender inequalities remains. The Women As Managers Scale (WAMS) is a useful tool that allows for the measurement of the attitudinal factors that hinder access to managerial positions. The aim of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the WAMS among sport managers through three factors: acceptance of women in key positions, features for business success, and barriers to access to managerial positions. For that purpose, a questionnaire—as is the original WAMS—was distributed to 401 managers working within sports organizations in the community of Madrid, Spain. Interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Student’s test were performed to analyze the stability of the scores. The internal consistency of the scales was assessed through Cronbach’s alpha, the Homogeneity Index, and Discriminability Index. The construct validity was completed through exploratory factor analysis using principal components. The results show that the WAMS serves as a reference for use as a measure of attitudinal factors that hinder access to an executive position. Therefore, this work generates an instrument with adequate properties in the Spanish context. Full article

The debate around the principle of equality and the theme of discrimination around sexual orientation has been one of the most relevant in the process of ensuring the spread of human rights. After ensuring a set of civil and political rights, several groups and social movements have warned political actors of the need to look at each citizen’s individuality and guarantee through legislation and daily practices, respect for that individuality. This process is being conducted around the dichotomy between the concepts of equality and difference. It is from this analysis of the two concepts that we come across the theme of the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transvestite, transexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) community. With a qualitative approach, and while referring to the historical path of this theme, we review the central concepts in the promotion of equality and analyze the dichotomy between equality and difference. We ask, in an increasingly globalized world, does it make sense to point out difference as a mechanism for the defense of equality? Using semiotics, we approach the two central concepts and the political effort to normalize this theme to the public, using the Portuguese case (law and Non-Governmental organizations action) to characterize the central debate on equality and difference. Full article