LAWRENCE, Kan., Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Men who prefer "one-night stands" are apt to use aggressive courtship strategies that sexist women who favor casual sex respond to, U.S. researchers say.
Jeffrey Hall and Melanie Canterberry of the University of Kansas say men with negative sexist attitudes toward women compete with other men who show an interest in a woman, tease the woman and isolate her from her friends.
The researchers conducted two surveys -- one given 363 college students and another to 850 adult volunteers. The results showed that men who favor one-night stands were more likely to use aggressive strategies when flirting with women, while women who were also open to casual sex were more likely to respond to this type of aggressive courtship.
The study, published in the journal Sex Roles, found that men with negative, sexist attitudes toward women -- justifying male privilege -- were more likely to use assertive strategies, which may serve to "put women in their place" in a submissive or yielding role during courtship.
However, women with sexist attitudes toward members of their own gender were more likely to be responsive to men's assertive strategies -- suggesting they find men who treat them in a dominant way during courtship more desirable, because it is consistent with their sexist ideology, the researchers said.
