Major(s) Attitude(s) Sexual Values and Behaviors at a Women’s College By Amanda Deja

Overview Introduction Thesis/Purpose Literature Review Theory Method Findings Discussion Questions

Introduction Saint Mary’s College is a Women’s Catholic Liberal Arts Institution in Notre Dame IN. Non-traditional Major- A major that is underrepresented by women or new to the realm of academia. ▫Examples: Math and Women’s Studies Traditional Major- A major that has been well represented by women over the past century. ▫Examples: Education and Nursing

Purpose and Thesis This study aims to analyze how sexual attitudes and behaviors differ between traditional and non-traditional majors at an all women’s Catholic college. I hope to better understand how an educational discipline constructs a person’s attitudes and behaviors in regards to sexuality.

Literature Review Traditional Majors ▫Pavalko (1970) ▫Blakemore and Low (1984) ▫Jacobs (1986) ▫Jacobs (1995) ▫Bradley (2007) Non-traditional Majors ▫Gray (1972) ▫Wood (1981) ▫Jacobs (1986) ▫Westkott and Victoria (1991) ▫Bradley (2007)

Literature Review Attitudes toward Sexual Behaviors ▫Thornton and Camburn (1987) ▫Donovan (1998) ▫Remez (2000) ▫Bearman and Bruckner (2001) ▫Waite and Lehrer (2003) ▫Bay-Cheng and Zucker (2007) Women’s Colleges ▫Smith (1990) ▫Riordan (1994)

Theory Social Construction Theory ▫Donileen Loseke: 2003 Education can construct attitudes and beliefs about the world. ▫The major that you choose will aid in how you construct your attitudes toward society.

Method: Procedure The chair’s from each of the departments sent out my survey to each of the majors. Survey made available by using Survey Monkey. Consent was given by clicking yes. Participants had to answer specific questions. Example: What major are you in?

Method: Materials I created a survey which asked question about sexual attitudes and behaviors. The survey consisted of 41 questions. The questions were multiple choice, true and false, likert scale, and short answer. Participants took the survey online.

Method Materials: Survey Question Examples Are you a virgin? If you are not a virgin, state age you lost your virginity. Did/Do your parent(s) or guardian(s) condone the practice of premarital sex? If you are sexually active do you use protection 100% of the time against pregnancy and STDs? Do you consider oral sex sex? How much guilt do you feel about masturbating, if you answered yes to question #19? 1 is no guilt. 5 is the most possible guilt you can feel. Have you passionately kissed someone of the same sex? Have you engaged in sexual activities with more than one person at the same time? (ex: threesomes, foursomes, etc.) How often do you have sexual fantasies during the day? 1 is never. 5 is all the time.

Method: Participants Sample comes from four majors at Saint Mary’s College. 85 participants between the ages of Only 65 completed the survey. Nursing = 40 participants Education = 9 participants Math = 15 participants Women’s Studies = 1 participant

Method: Pros and Cons Pros ▫Large number of Nursing major respondents. ▫The survey is large, with questions related to attitudes and behaviors. ▫A large number of respondents gave descriptive answers to the short answers questions. Cons Only one Women’s Studies respondent. Would have opened up the survey to minors. Would have liked a larger Education Major sample. Time.

Findings The four majors were divided into two groups. Nursing and Education are traditional majors. Math and Women’s Studies are non-traditional majors. The questions are divided into four different categories. ▫Attitudes and Behaviors toward Sexual Intercourse. ▫Attitudes toward Sexual Education and Methods of Birth Control. ▫Sexual Behaviors other than Sexual Intercourse. ▫Attitudes toward the Practice of Abortion.

Findings: Nursing Nursing Majors AnswerYesNoOther Still A Virgin59% (23)41% (17)0 Agree With Premarital Sex 50% (20)32.5% (13)17.5% (7) Agree With Sex Ed in Schools 90% (36)10% (4)0 Agree With Use of Artificial Birth Control 75% (30)17.5% (7)7.5% (3) Nursing Majors AnswerYesNoOther Have Participated in Oral Sex 65% (26)35% (14)0 Have Participated in Anal Sex 12.5% (5)87.5% (35)0 View Pornography 80% (32)20% (8)0 Masturbate22.5% (9)77.5% (31)0 Agree With the Practice of Abortion 25% (10)75% (30)0 NaturalFamilyPlanning 1 Least Trust 2345 Most Trust 15% (6)22.5% (9)47.5% (19)7.5% (3)

Findings: Education Education Majors AnswerYesNoOther Still A Virgin 67% (6)33% (3)0 Agree With Premarital Sex 56% (5)44% (4)0 Agree With Sex Ed in Schools 78% (7)22% (2)0 Agree With Use of Artificial Birth Control 78% (7)22% (2)0 Education Majors AnswerYesNoOther Have Participated in Oral Sex 56% (5)44% (4)0 Have Participated in Anal Sex 12% (2)88% (7)0 View Pornograph y 67% (6)33% (3)0 Masturbate44% (4)56% (5)0 Agree With the Practice of Abortion 44% (4)56% (5)0 NaturalFamilyPlanning 1 Least Trust 2345 Most Trust 056% (5)11% (1)033% (3)

Findings: Math Math Majors AnswerYesNoOther Still A Virgin 67% (10)33% (5)0 Agree With Premarital Sex 67% (10)13% (2)20% (3) Agree With Sex Ed in Schools 73% (11)7% (1)20% (3) Agree With Use of Artificial Birth Control 73% (11)20% (3)7% (1) Math Majors AnswerYesNoOther Have Participated in Oral Sex 47% (7)53% (8)0 Have Participated in Anal Sex 7% (1)93% (14)0 View Pornograph y 53% (8)47% (7)0 Masturbate67% (10)33% (5)0 Agree With the Practice of Abortion 67% (10)33% (5)0 NaturalFamilyPlanning 1 Least Trust 2345 Most Trust 33% (5)13.5% (2)33% (5)13.5% (2)7% (1)

Findings: Women’s Studies There was only one Women’s Studies respondent. She is a virgin. Agrees with the practice of premarital sex. Agrees with Sex Education in schools. She gave Natural Family Planning a score of 2. Agrees with the use of artificial birth control. Has never participated in oral or anal sex. She masturbates. She does not view pornography. She agrees with the practice of abortion.

Findings: Short Answer Responses What sexual experience has impacted you most to this date? Traditional Major Response  “I think losing my virginity impacted me the most to this date because it was with my boyfriend (who I'm still with), so it meant a lot to me. Every time we have sex it is special, but the first time probably had the biggest impact on me.” Non-traditional Major Response  “Everyone has different personalities when they have sex. Sometimes they are mad, sad, happy, or just complacent. It's a lot like how we act around people. It all depends on the mood. My long- term boyfriend and I hadn't seen each other in a long time, so when I returned home, he surprised me by taking me out to a nice romantic dinner, instead of just normal takeout and a movie like we normally would. We went to dinner and then we sat in the bed of his truck and just watched the city go to bed... From where we live, it really is quite the view to watch the change in lights. Except, that's not what you are interested in so, when it finally came time to go back home and go to bed, we were laying in bed, being all sentimental, and something just clicked. It was not the first time we had had sex, but somehow this time felt much different, almost like we could read each other's minds. It was loving, sentimental, and comforting to be able to feel the love we felt for each other. I believe that sex is sex, but somehow, that night it was so much more.”

Discussion From the findings one must ask themselves what comes first: ▫ Do women in non-traditional majors have non-traditional views due their area of study or are those who have non- traditional attitudes to begin with attracted to non-traditional fields of study for women. Those who are already bending norms constructed by society, by choosing a major outside their gender role are more willing to see outside other norms in society as well.

Questions? Thank you for listening.