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A new study provides evidence that negative attitudes toward sexually expressive people may apply to adults of all ages, rather than being a bias specifically aimed at older adults. The research also suggests that an individual’s sensitivity to disgust can influence these judgments differently depending on whether they are evaluating a man or a woman. The findings were published in The Journal of Sex Research.
The motivation for this research stems from the rapidly aging population in the United States and the need to better understand the sexual and relationship needs of older adults. Previous research has shown that negative attitudes about the sexuality of older people, a phenomenon known as sexual ageism, can be a barrier to their well-being. However, the existing body of research on this topic has produced mixed results.
Some studies indicate that older adults are often stereotyped as asexual or are viewed negatively when they do express sexuality. Other studies suggest that people hold neutral or even positive views. The researchers behind this new work noted that much of the prior research lacked important comparison groups.
Without comparing judgments of older adults to judgments of younger adults, or judgments of sexual behavior to non-sexual behavior, it is difficult to determine if negative reactions are due to a person’s age or simply due to their sexual expression. This study was designed to disentangle these possibilities.
“Older adults frequently report that others treat them as asexual or dismiss their sexuality, and we wanted to design a study that would test whether older adults faced stigma for their sexual expression, but also whether this sexuality-based stigma was present for younger adults as well,” said study author Gabriella Rose Petruzzello, a PhD student at the University of New Brunswick and member of the Sex Meets Relationships Research Lab.
“Simultaneously, a bunch of research has shown that people who have higher levels of the emotion of disgust tend to report more homophobia, transphobia, and more negative attitudes towards individuals who violate sexual norms. We live in a sex-saturated world, but one where a sizable portion of individuals, knowingly or unknowingly, continue to stigmatize certain forms of sexual expression. This research sought to identify this sexual stigma and determine whether an individual’s likelihood of experiencing disgust was one factor that could predict this stigmatization.”
The research consisted of two separate experiments. In the first study, 303 participants were recruited online and randomly assigned to read one of four different informational flyers. The flyers were designed to introduce a new neighbor, a woman named Elizabeth, who was either 25 or 65 years old. The content of the flyer was also varied; it described Elizabeth as having either a vibrant “romantic life” or a vibrant “sex life” with her husband.
After reading one of the four versions of the flyer, participants rated Elizabeth on several scales. These scales were used to assess their general interpersonal evaluations of her, such as viewing her as good or bad, and their perceptions of her lifestyle, such as viewing it as safe or risky. Participants also completed a questionnaire to measure their own level of disgust sensitivity, a personality trait related to how easily a person feels disgust in response to various situations.
The results of the first study did not show strong evidence for ageism. The 65-year-old woman was not evaluated more negatively or as being riskier than the 25-year-old woman. A clear pattern did emerge regarding sexual expression. The woman described as having a vibrant sex life was rated more negatively and as riskier than the woman described as having a vibrant romantic life, and this was true for both the younger and older targets.
The researchers also found a connection with the participants’ own disgust sensitivity. Individuals who were more easily disgusted tended to judge the sexually open women more harshly, viewing them more negatively and as being riskier. This relationship was not present when they evaluated the women described in romantic terms. This suggests that for women, being openly sexual invites more negative scrutiny from people who are high in disgust sensitivity.
The second study followed a nearly identical design to investigate whether these patterns would hold true for male targets. A new group of 375 participants read one of four flyers introducing a man who was either 25 or 65 years old and was described as having either a vibrant romantic or sex life. Participants then provided the same types of ratings as in the first study.
Consistent with the first study, the results provided evidence for a general sexual stigma. Men described as being sexual were rated more negatively and as riskier than men described as being romantic, regardless of their age. The findings on age were slightly different. The younger men tended to be perceived slightly more negatively and as riskier than the older men, a finding that runs contrary to the concept of ageism against older adults.
A notable difference emerged in the role of disgust sensitivity. When evaluating the male targets, participants higher in disgust sensitivity tended to rate the sexually open men more positively. This is the opposite of the pattern observed in the first study, where higher disgust sensitivity was linked to more negative evaluations of sexually open women. Disgust sensitivity was not found to be related to how risky the men were perceived to be.
“The key takeaways are 1) sexual stigma appears to transcend age and gender related boundaries with both younger and older men and women being rated as more negative and as riskier for their sexual expression compared to their romantic expression,” Petruzzello told PsyPost. “We were surprised by just how present this stigma appeared to be and how this stigma was present across age and gender groups. 2) Disgust sensitivity was not universally related to negative perceptions of sexuality. Individuals higher in disgust sensitivity appear to penalize sexually open women but actually reward sexually open men. This would point to disgust as a factor reinforcing sexual double standard beliefs, whereby women are penalized for their sexuality and men are rewarded.”
“Collectively, this study offers evidence that sexual stigma is alive and well and that individual difference variables like disgust can perpetuate harmful sexual stigmas against some groups (like women) more so than other groups (like men).”
The researchers acknowledge some limitations of their work. The use of an experimental flyer might not perfectly reflect real-world social interactions, as such a direct disclosure about one’s sex life to a new neighbor could be seen as a violation of social norms. The negative reactions might be partly due to this oversharing, rather than simply the sexual content itself.
Additionally, the flyers in the study only featured White individuals. This means the findings may not be generalizable to people of other racial or ethnic backgrounds, where cultural norms and stereotypes around sexuality and aging might be different. Future research could explore how factors like race and sexual orientation intersect with age and sexual expression to shape people’s perceptions. Future studies could also include male and female targets in a single experiment to more directly compare judgments and confirm the patterns observed.
“Our lab wants to continue understanding how feelings of disgust contribute to sexual stigma and can also undermine individual’s general and sexual well-being,” Petruzzello said. “We’re excited that we were able to add to the body of research showing that disgust sensitivity is related to harmful beliefs about certain groups, which has important implications for future efforts to mitigate the effects of these biases.”
The study, “Sexual Ageism or Sexual Stigma? Sexual Double Standards and Disgust Sensitivity in Judgments of Sexual and Romantic Behavior,” was authored by Gabriella Petruzzello, Lucia F. O’Sullivan, and Randall A. Renstrom.
