We now turn from the sexual dysfunctions, in which arousal and orgasm are inadequate, to those sexual problems in which arousal and orgasm are adequate, but in which they occur to unusual and bizarre objects. These are the sexual disorders.
SEXUAL ORDER AND DISORDER Sexual order is largely determined by one's biology and by society's attitudes toward sexuality. Sexual disorder is what society considers to be abnormal sexual identity, behavior, and object choices. What is considered normal sexual behavior has undergone sweeping changes as society has changed.
ATTITUDES TOWARD HUMAN SEXUALITY Attitudes toward sexuality have changed with time. Surveys have found that sexual behavior is by no means restricted to intercourse during marriage (Kinsey et al., 1948, 1953; Hunt, 1974; Rozin, 1978). Sexual behavior in general has increased, in part probably due to the birth control pill, but also due to society's greater permissiveness. Particular sexual practices have become more frequent, mostly as a result of society's attitudes toward these practices. Moreover, a greater variety of sexual behaviors are considered normal today, including masturbation, premarital sex, oral sex, homosexuality, and bisexuality. Society's attitudes also have a profound influence on the frequency of sexual behavior and on kinds of sexual behavior engaged in, or at least on how an individual may feelabout his or her behavior. Let us consider a few of these formerly forbidden sexual practices.
Masturbation Depending on age, subculture, religion, and so on, about 95 percent of males and from 50 to 90 percent of females masturbate, or stimulate their own genitals, to orgasm. Indeed, roughly two-thirds of boys have their first orgasm while masturbating (Kinsey et al., 1948; McCary, 1978). In the 1980s, we accept this data without question. But our attitude toward masturbation is very different from attitudes in years past. This practice was long regarded as a disorder by psychiatrists. At the tum of the century, one might well have found himself hospitalized as a mental patient for frequent masturbation. Various religions have also condemned the practice. Whether these negative attitudes resulted in much less frequent masturbation in years past is not clearly known, but they probably brought about much more anxiety and guilt in those who engaged in the practice or who considered doing so.
Premarital Intercourse More than 75 percent of college students believe that virginity is unimportant in the person they marry, and more than three-fifths of Americans believe that premarital intercourse is acceptable if the couple is sufficiently involved emotionally (Gallup Poll, 1970; Hunt, 1974; McCary, 1978; Rozin, 1978). Even being cautious about the findings of the surveys, we can see that there is a high frequency of sexual intercourse prior to marriage. But years ago, attitudes were different. Our grandfathers warned our fathers against premarital intercourse, usually for three reasons: (1) there was the possibility of contracting venereal disease (VD)--.':...-syphilis or gonorrhea; (2) there was a greater risk of pregnancy, and the possibility of being forced to marry; and (3) many worried that their children would get involved with someone from a different social sphere. But a combination of technology and social opportunity in our culture has caused all three of these barriers to become less formidable, and premarital intercourse has increased. In the 1940s, penicillin was introduced to cure syphilis; in the 1960s, the birth control pill promised fewer unwanted pregnancies; and the greater social mobility of the 1950s and 1960s weakened social stratification.
Looking at other cultures, anthropologists have found that when one or more of these barriers are eliminated, more premarital intercourse is likely to occur. For example, in some cultures VD is rare and as a result we find more premarital intercourse. But society can make the barrier even stronger, as in cultures where who marries whom is of the utmost importance. In such tightly stratified societies, there is less premarital intercourse (Ford and Beach, 1951; Whiting and Whiting, 1974).
Homosexuality and Bisexuality More than one-third of all men and one-fifth of all women have had at least one orgasm with a member ofthe same sex. Figures are lower in the college population, with about 15 percent of men and fewer than 10 percent of women having been involved in at least one homosexual act. Among Rozin's introductory psychology students (1978), almost none of the women reported homosexual experience.