Sexuality research: Untested gender assumptions amid paradigm shifts

Content analysis of 803 sexuality research abstracts selected from Sociological Abstracts published from January 1974 to August 1992 answers three questions: (1) Are there trends in sexuality research? (2) Is there a paradigm shift? and (3) Is gender differentiation present? Research between 1973 and 1991 displayed a consistent division between the positivist "nature" paradigm and the interactionist "nurture" paradigm. The proportion of studies which attempt to be non-gender specific has declined annually while researchers have consistently neglected to study male sexuality. Although there has been little change in basic principles, there have been trends in interpretations of research data. Conclusions display significant gender differences in both gender interests and author style. The author gender differentiation and the concurrent decrease in non-specific gender studies complicate formulation of a causal distinction. Sexuality research may be broadening due to the increased involvement of female researchers or the interpretations may be influenced by a widening range of issues introduced by both interactionist and postmodern paradigms.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

1993

Author dc:creator

• Walker, Donna J

Contributors dc:contributor

• Barbara G. Brents

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/307

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-1306