The Male Role and Heterosexual Behavior

The intent of this paper is to extract those elements of the traditional male sex role which have relevance for sexual behavior and to suggest how they influence adult male heterosexual behavior in contemporary Western society. Two important themes‐the centrality of sexual behavior to male gender identity, and the relative isolation of sex from other aspects of male heterosocial relationships‐are identified. Then a number of linkages between male sexual behaviors/attitudes and general facets of the male sex role are examined: (a) goals and success, (b) control and power, and (c) aggression and violence. It is argued that many of the influences emanating from a restrictive sex‐typed socialization process are maladaptive, and specifically that recent shifts away from the traditional “sexual animal” stereotype toward a modern “competent lover” image are largely surface alterations, that both have their roots in the same learning process with similar pernicious effects.