Exploring negative dating experiences and beliefs about rape among younger and older women.

Although there is extensive research describing negative dating experiences and rape myth beliefs among university- and college-age women, there is little exploration of these issues among older dating women. An exploratory study that extends existing research by investigating rape myth beliefs and negative dating experiences of women ranging in age from 18 to 85 years is described. Participants (N = 115) completed a questionnaire which included a standardized measure of rape myth adherence (R-Scale; Costin, 1985), and a series of questions that assessed concerns about the potential for negative experiences while dating and actual negative dating experiences (ranging from unwanted affection to rape). There were remarkable similarities among younger and older women with respect to their dating behaviors and experiences. Women from both age groups reported being the target of negative dating experiences and being concerned about these experiences--with older women expressing slightly more concern. Older women, however, endorsed rape myths to a greater extent. This suggests that older women may be at greater risk for self-deprecation because they may be more likely to attribute the negative experiences they encounter to personal faults. Findings highlight the need for more life-span research of dating experiences and attitudes towards dating violence.

Women's evaluations of and affective reactions to mainstream violent pornography, nonviolent pornography, and erotica.

Women's reactions to three types of sexually explicit materials were examined. Ninety-six female undergraduates completed questionnaires measuring previous exposure to pornography, past history of coercive sexual experiences, attitudes toward feminism, hostility toward men, adversarial sexual beliefs, and rape myth acceptance. They were then randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (a) erotica, (b) nonviolent pornography, (c) violent pornography, and (d) control. They viewed 50 slides during each of two 30-minute sessions, completed a measure of mood disturbance, and evaluated each slide. The erotica was evaluated positively, while the pornography was evaluated negatively, and the violent pornography was evaluated more negatively than the other three conditions. Mood disturbance increased significantly from pre- to postexposure in the violent and nonviolent pornography conditions only. In addition, women with past coercive sexual experiences evaluated pornography more negatively and erotica more positively than women who had no such experience.