How Well Does the Traditional Sexual Script Explain Sexual Coercion?

Summary Male use of sexual coercion against an unwilling female partner is all too prevalent in North American society. Several theorists, most notably feminist theorists, have hypothesized that socialization practices with respect to traditional gender roles and corresponding cultural attitudes, cause sexual coercion. Although not always labeled in this way, these theorists posit that the “traditional sexual script” supports and condones male sexual coercion against women and that this sexual script remains the normative dating script in our society. In this article, I first review the aspects of the traditional sexual script that have been theorized to promote and maintain sexual coercion. Then I review the results of a program of research 1 conducted in conjunction with colleagues and former Graduate Students, which tested the validity of this theory for understanding coercive sexual interactions between dating partners. I conclude that the traditional sexual script has proven useful as a framework for understanding sexual coercion in heterosexual dating relationships. However. our research calls some aspects of this theory into question. Some modification to this theory is needed.