Chapter 23 Further Reading: Gender, Sexuality, and Scripts

Foundational Theory

Gagnon, J. H., & Simon, W. (1973). Sexual Conduct: The Social Sources of Human Sexuality. Aldine. The foundational text for sexual script theory. Dense but essential; the three-level framework (cultural, interpersonal, intrapsychic) remains the most productive analytical tool for understanding how sexuality is socially organized. Later editions include updated prefaces by Simon.

Gagnon, J. H. (1990). The explicit and implicit use of scripting perspective in sex research. Annual Review of Sex Research, 1, 1–43. A more accessible introduction to the scripting framework than the original book; situates the approach within sexological debates of the time. Good starting point for students coming to the theory for the first time.

Courtship Scripts

Laner, M. R., & Ventrone, N. A. (2000). Dating scripts revisited. Journal of Family Issues, 21(4), 488–500. The study discussed in the chapter on normative judgment vs. personal preference. Empirically clean, accessibly written, and directly applicable to the chapter's central arguments.

Bogle, K. A. (2008). Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus. NYU Press. Sociological study of hookup culture at two U.S. universities using interview methods. Essential for understanding how traditional courtship scripts have and have not been revised in contemporary college contexts.

Gender and Masculinity

Anderson, E. (2009). Inclusive Masculinity: The Changing Nature of Masculinities. Routledge. Research on contemporary masculinity in British university and sports contexts. Argues for real change in homosocial masculinity norms while documenting the continued operation of performance pressures in heterosexual courtship contexts.

Connell, R. W. (1987). Gender and Power: Society, the Person, and Sexual Politics. Stanford University Press. The theoretical foundation for "hegemonic masculinity" — the concept underlying the analysis of how dominant masculinity scripts are maintained and what they cost everyone. Challenging reading but foundational for serious engagement with the topic.

Scripts and Violence

Milner, J. S., et al. (2016). Rape myth acceptance: Correlates, antecedents, and consequences. In Handbook of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention (pp. 255–274). Springer. Review of the rape myth acceptance literature; covers the connection between traditional script adherence and perpetration/victim minimization. Comprehensive and well-organized for students new to this research area.

Muehlenhard, C. L., & Hollabaugh, L. C. (1988). Do women sometimes say no when they mean yes? The prevalence and correlates of women's token resistance to sex. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(5), 872–879. The original study, important to read in its own words rather than through secondary description. Muehlenhard has published multiple clarifications of how the findings should and should not be interpreted.

Scripts and Race

Hunter, M. (2011). Shake it, baby, shake it: Consumption and the new gender relation in hip-hop. Sociological Perspectives, 54(1), 15–36. Analysis of how racial scripts operate within specific cultural contexts. More accessible than many academic race and gender articles, with concrete examples.

Script Change and Generation

England, P., Mishel, E., & Caudillo, M. L. (2016). Increases in sex with same-sex partners and bisexual identity across cohorts of women (but not men). Sociological Science, 3, 7–26. Data on generational change in sexual behavior — valuable companion to the chapter's discussion of how and whether Gen Z courtship scripts differ from millennial ones.