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Partner Solicitation Language As A Reflection Of Male Sexual Orientation
Judith A. Reisman
There is sharp national dispute over similarities and differences on what is common heterosexual and homosexual conduct. Kirk and Madsen (1989) write that the "sex and love lives of gays and straights today are both similar and conventional," and similarly, Thompson (1994) writes that "gay men lead daily lives that are basically similar to those of heterosexual men." In contrast, says Danneymeyer, "so many homosexuals are extremely promiscuous" (1989) that society must be protected from what Altman (1982) views positively as "The Homosexualization of America." The data reported here, which are readily available in public magazines, throw light on this issue as it relates to one important type of sexual conduct, namely, solicitation. We analyzed Classifieds, "In Search Of" (ISO) advertisements placed by males in two magazines, the Washingtonian, which is predominantly heterosexual in orientation, and The Advocate, which is predominantly homosexual. The two are "upscale" (affluent, educated readers) and have comparable reader demographics. We examined 2,885 Washingtonian ISO ads and 7,407 The Advocate ISO ads for the period 1988 to 1992. A sample of ads was scored for the presence of categories of expressed preferences.
{1} Below are five key findings about ISO advertising language placed by men.{2}There were striking differences. For example, one ad category suggested a time commitment; (such as, "seeking long-term companion") in 86% of Washingtonian (W) ads but in only 2% of The Advocate (A) ads. For an expressed preference or interest in non-sex activities the respective figures were 49% (W) and 3% (A). For certain other solicitations, the expressed preferences had a markedly different pattern. For example, for solicitation of sexual prostitution, the respective figures were 5% (W) and 63% (A). For solicitation of sexual sadism, the figures were 0.41% (W) and 25% (A) and for apparent solicitation by adults of teen sex, the figures were 0.45%(W) and 15% (A). Thus the heterosexual and the homosexual males expressed very different preferences in these ads and used very different solicitation language. The striking differences found in this study suggest that it may be worthwhile to study other forms of media solicitation for differences in language and expressed preference in relation to sexual orientation.
KEY WORDS: Homosexuality, heterosexuality, language, time, sexual orientation, human sexuality.
Source: Collected Papers from the NARTH Annual Conference, Saturday, 29 July 1995.
Judith Reisman, Ph.D. is the president of the Institute for Media Education. In 1981 at the fifth World Congress on Sexology, she spoke against the alleged scientific fraud and crimes against children involved in Alfred Kinsey's data collection. A film, "The Children of Table 34," describes her charges against Kinsey. Dr. Reisman's efforts recently brought a bill to investigate the Kinsey study to the floor of Congress. She is the author of Kinsey, Sex and Fraud and Soft Porn Plays Hardball, and has offered expert testimony in court cases concerning mass media effects, homosexuality, child abuse, pornography, and art and public policy.
Introduction
While there is much disagreement in government, the military, churches, schools and courts concerning the nature of sexual orientation, few studies of sexual orientation exist which can be easily tested or checked by these groups or by interested lay persons. In the past, sex surveys widely accepted as objective have created information that is highly questionable as factual data.{3} Current sex surveys suffer from similar difficulties as do many clinical and laboratory studies. This investigation should contribute to open debate on sexual orientation by pointing out a readily available source of data and by demonstrating a method of analysis that can be replicated (the test of science) by anyone with access to a library carrying two widely circulated magazines. The same approach can easily be extended to other published sources of similar data.
Figure 1: Overall Findings for Advocates v. Washingtonians
Five Major Findings for Partner Solicitations in The Advocate Ads
and in the Washingtonian Ads
(Percent of ads with expressed preferences)
Methods
This study sought to test Kirk and Madsen’s (1989) claim that the "sex and love lives of gays and straights today are both similar and conventional."{4} Such claims are challenged by many,{5} such as Reuda & Schwartz (1987), who charge that heterosexuals and homosexuals are quite unlike, and that "[a]ctive homosexuals are so astonishingly promiscuous" that AIDS is the result. The methodology employed to analyze male homosexual and heterosexual partner solicitations in mainstream magazines does provide information on whether these two affluent, educated populations of "gays and straights today are both similar and conventional" while yielding data on what Altman (1982) codified as "homosexualization" or "heterosexualization."
To address these questions, the authors identified two well respected magazines documented by market research as patronized by mainstream, largely white, affluent (upscale) and professional young males, whose only obvious contrast was that of sexual orientation. The monthly, high-gloss, four-color, regional, Washingtonian magazine, begun in 1965 and serving the nation’s capital and its prosperous suburbs, represented the heterosexual male population. The Advocate, a bi-weekly, high gloss, four-color magazine begun as a regional newspaper in California in 1967 and now national, represented the homosexual male population. The oldest extant "gay" publication, The Advocate was dubbed by author and homosexual spokesman, Randy Shilts, "the only national gay newsmagazine" in his pioneering work, And the Band Played On (1987).
Since both periodicals had a Classifieds/In Search Of (ISO) section where males solicited partners, a study of the expressed preferences of each group would reveal a great deal about these men, which might even say something about the larger populations. For example, if homosexual ISOs sought promiscuous or monogamous mates, heterosexual ISOs should have similar rates of expressed preferences. (One test of the generalizability of these data might be how closely Washingtonian ISO males resemble the courtship conduct of ordinary heterosexual males.)
To determine partner solicitation characteristics by sexual orientation, 10,292 Classifieds In Search Ofs (ISO) were analyzed; 2,885 largely heterosexual Washingtonian ads and 7,407 The Advocate advertisements. While the Washingtonian ISOs have long been accepted in libraries and schools (despite somewhat racy recent ISO ads) in winter 1992 The Advocate, seeking to reach libraries and schools, removed their Classified ISOs (roughly 80 pages) into a separate The Advocate Classifieds{6}.bi-weekly periodical. Immediately after isolating The Classifieds, in 1993 and 1994, The Advocate won coveted journalistic awards. At once, politicians, media giants and film stars appeared in interviews: including Hugh Hefner, past Surgeon General Dr. Jocelyn Elders, Emma Thompson, Patrick Stewart, and a vast collection of other celebrities. With its Classifieds removed, The Advocate is now found in many schools and libraries, alongside The Washingtonian (its Classified intact).
The study’s stratified or modified cluster random sample{7} of ten magazines, two per year (representing all but two months to avoid seasonal bias), covered 1988 to pre-winter 1992. A coding instrument of 126 variables, designed and tested on the first author’s earlier 21 year study of The Advocate, was redrafted to fit both magazines. Two separate coding groups were applied to each magazine, each attaining a reasonable inter-rater reliability of just under .80 IRR. (See "Coding Procedures" below for more detail on the coding instrument, variables and coders).
Content analysis (CA) was the research methodology chosen for this study. CA enjoyed widespread application following its successful use by allied military intelligence in World War II to forecast enemy movements (Krippendorff, 1980). CA takes an identified data set as it exists in the research population, without treatment, and extracts the integral variables and recurring themes for tabulation. Beyond military operations, CA has been used to quantify television violence (Gerbner, et al., 1978, circa 1980s and 1990s), racism and sexism in teacher’s training manuals, textbooks and films (Allen, 1971; Lange and Kelley, 1971; Simms, 1976), textbook humor (Bryant, Gula and Zillmann, 1980), advertisements (Goffman, 1976), erotica/pornography (Greenberg and Kahn, 1970; Malamuth and Spinner, 1980; Reisman 1987, 1990{8}; Reisman, Elman and Fink 1986), and political cartoons (Zillmann and Bryant, 1974). CA has also been used to predict suicides and accidents based on certain characteristics of death reportage (Phillips, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1983) and to study alcohol use (Defoe and Breed, 1979; Walfish, et al; Winick, 1981). Hence, content analysis of language has both an historic and current value in describing conduct and a predictive value in suggesting possible behavioral forecasts.
The Hypothesis
The research hypothesis to be confirmed or rejected is that heterosexual and homosexual male populations seeking partners will not measurably differ in the process by which they solicit partners (language used, characteristics described) or in the outcomes they anticipate (instant sex, delayed sex, marriage, sex with youths, etc.).{9}
Data Set Characteristics
The extant scholarship on sexual orientation includes CA studies of upscale male homosexual use of "Personals/In Search Ofs" (ISO) to find partners (Davidson, 1991; DeCecco, 1988; also cited in Dynes, 1987; Haynes, 1995; Marshall and Kirk, 1987). Also, The Advocate Sex Survey (August 23, 1994) reported that 29% of their survey respondents claimed to use personal advertisements in the last five years. Previous studies made no direct comparison of overall ISO language in two magazines: one catering primarily to homosexual males and the other catering primarily to heterosexual males.{10} Yet, interest in and use of the ISOs suggests the helpfulness of comparing heterosexual and homosexual advertisements. Based on the population statistics for men 20-45 years old (Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1992), and an estimated male homosexual population of less than 2% of that total (Smith, 1990; Ray, 1993, Reisman and Eichel, 1990), market research data {11} find The Advocate (often described as the homosexual equivalent of Newsweek) directly or indirectly reaching between 33.5% and 50.3% of the white, upscale male homosexual, urban population between ages 20-45.{12}
Although no two readerships are exactly alike, The Advocate and Washingtonian readers (hereafter called "Advocates" and "Washingtonians") are an excellent demographic fit across socio-economic variables. Market researchers find male Washingtonian and Advocate ISOs to be largely secular, urban, white, affluent/upscale, politically aware, college educated, world travelers with a taste for restaurants and fine liquor.{13} In addition, at roughly 215,000 readers per issue, Simmons Market Research found 94% of Advocate readers "likely to try products and services they see advertised." As nearly 80% of Advocates peruse the Classifieds (which sell products and services) ,{14} most Advocates would be fully appraised of Classifieds content.
This study found, of Washingtonians, 9% were married, 2.5% bisexual, and .03% couples. Of Advocates, 0.50% were married (to women) 3% claimed bisexuality, and 2% were couples seeking a third sexual partner. Unless the ad suggested otherwise, all men were identified as white and as unmarried (including divorced and widowed).
- Of almost half of Washingtonians who sought a woman by age:
0.45% sought 18+ year olds; 42% sought 20+ years; 39% sought 30+; 13% sought 40+; and 6% sought 50+. - Of nearly 17% of Advocates who sought males by age:
53% sought 18+ year-olds; 24% sought 20+ years; 13% sought 30+; 9% sought 40+; and 1% sought 50+.
Among the phrases used for coding advertisements was a "Hobbies," category under which coders recorded phrases, for example, implying sadosexual activity ("chains," "play room," "all scenes," "leather," "Lashmates," etc), pederasty ("dad" seeking sex with "son") as well as scatological references (W/S=water sports, "scat," enemas), prostitution ("$100 In" and "$150 Out," "all credit cards," "models and masseurs"), and other such conduct.
Coding Procedures
The "coding instrument" is a multiple page survey, classifying, categorizing a magazine’s content. While short and elderly ISO advertisers may falsely claim to be tall and young, the magazine gives a truthful account of the advertiser’s claims (e.g., married, divorced, hung, tall, lonely) and so on. These claims are valuable as comparative sexual orientation data.
The magazine interviewer (the "coder") wrote his or her name in the upper right hand corner for validation purposes. The coder then examined and recorded the magazine’s "Overall Data," marking down the date, total magazine and Classifieds pages, total number of ISOs, Models and Masseurs, strippers, child pictures, and so on. After establishing the "Overall" data, each of 10,292 ads were coded.
Example Washingtonian Ad: "SWM -- 27 seeks attractive SWF 23-31 nonsmoke with great smile, pretty eyes for fun, laughs, committed relationship. Photo" (October 1990, p. 313).
- The Washingtonian ad would be coded as follows: : the ISO advertiser is a white man over 20, who seeks a female ("single") with characteristics ("attractive"), race ("white"), age (20+), health ("nonsmoke"), nonsexual characteristics ("great smile/fun, laughs" coded as good humor "funny"), to share time-bound nonsex fun ("committed relationship").
Example Advocate ad: "Younger (18-21 yrs) fresher faces with bodies to match. . .from $125/hour" (April 9, 1991, p. 64).
- The Advocate ad would be coded as follows: : the ISO advertiser is coded as one solicitation from one 18+ prostitute despite the fact that he represents a group of similar young ("18+"), males ("including charges"), who advertise fresher ("fresh" is often understood as a code word for underage boys, discussed later) bodies (young/masculine body).
Sexual orientation was coded heterosexual for Washingtonian, homosexual for The Advocate, unless the ad claimed otherwise. "Models/Masseurs "(unless claiming "nonsexual") is documented homosexual argot for prostitutes, hence coded as such.{15}
Ages were coded as claimed ("I am 18+" or "ISO 25-40"), as was religion and education, "post grads," "medical doctor," "professionals," "good job" and "student" status) and "nonsex characteristics," (kind, sensitive, intelligent, good humor, funny, honest). "Physical attributes," (tall, short, fat, and the like). Health attributes (condom use, safe sex, AIDS, other VDs, drugs or tobacco use, etc), attitudes toward children ("I have," "I like, don’t want, etc.) and political affiliation (liberal, conservative) were coded, as was mention of body parts offered or desired (hung, bubble butt, size of bust or phallus) Nonsexual activities preferred (skiing, reading, boating, museums, etc) were coded.
Missing data are often as important as data that are present. No pictorial condom ads, none in color and none with attractive models were displayed in either magazine. One CDC "safe sex" public service ad (all text) appeared in most Advocate issues. No Advocate ISOs said they would have sex only with persons using condoms, and none said they carried venereal disease. 1% of Washingtonians warned they had genital herpes and under 1% of Advocates reported as AIDS+ or HIV+. 11% of Advocates mentioned "safe sex.".{16}
Washingtonian ISOs used common language symbols such as D (divorced), W (white), M (man), J (Jewish), S (single), A (Asian), BI (bisexual), L (Latin), I (Italian), M (married), SEP (separated), W (widowed), and combinations thereof. For example, "DWM seeks SJF for long term relationship" would be translated as a divorced, white male seeks single Jewish female for some time commitment, possibly marriage.
Many words and symbols in The Advocate were so encrypted that the language required decoding via The Queens’ Vernacular (1972) an oft-cited homosexual dictionary republished as Gaytalk in 1979.{17} Perhaps 20% of all 7,407 ads had double meanings or unknown meanings to even sophisticated heterosexual readers.{18} G (gay) and S&M (sadism) are now part of the general lexicon. However, a few of these common symbols are: Gr (Greek); FF (Fist F--king); J/O (Jack Off or Jerk Off); BB (Body Builder/Bubble Butt/Ball/Bustser); 18+ (teenager or younger); "buff" (a boy or wash-board body); "C/B/TT" (specific form of torture); Top or Bottom (sexual position); Master or Slave (as described); B/J (type of sodomy) etc. (For example, "G/W/M, Great B/J for yng (18+)" would mean a gay, white male adult offers to provide oral sex to a young boy), all defined in the extant homosexual lexicon.{19}
Limitations
Due to the nature of the research question addressed, data on female ISOs were eliminated. It may be of interest to note that while roughly half of the Washingtonian ISOs were women in search of men, lesbians were notable by their absence as Advocate ISOs.
While the data suggest many Advocates may use ISOs{20} it is inaccurate to state that those who advertise "In-Search-Of," represent all readers. It is clear from the known number of purchasers that not all Washingtonians or Advocates place "In-Search-Of" advertisements in these publications. Lack of resources limited the exploration of the placement and use of different kinds of ads in the Classifieds (The Advocate Classifieds occupied roughly 35% of the magazine at center, with a nearly 80% consumer viewing rate, contrasting dramatically with Washingtonian Classified/ISOs occupying roughly 9% of the back pages.)
Beyond their socio-economic similarity, the data are unusual in that both populations were similar only in the area of "health" attitudes and conduct. While some content analyses suggested a large language change to monogamy to ensure AIDS prevention (Davidson, 1991), this study did not find support for that conclusion. Each issue included at best 2 small condom, AIDS prevention ads and one CDC public service text ad, out of roughly 1,000 sexually explicit ISOs, as well as film, phone and other sex ads. With roughly 2% of Advocates seeking time-bound relationships, serious condom advertisements (often displayed in schools and other public quarters) were noticeable by their absence in this prime homosexual venue. The Washingtonian’s lack of focus on condoms is offset by the fact that "first date" sex was not sought by this heterosexual male population.
The following data, displayed as percentages and simple frequencies, are statistically significant beyond the .005 level of confidence. Statistical significance does not explain why the variance exists or what caused it, only that it is not a random finding.
Seven Major Findings
Finding 1) Time-Bound Relationships: 86% of Washingtonians and 2% of Advocates sought a time-bound relationship, from friendship to marriage. Roughly 98% of Advocates versus 14% of Washingtonians appeared to anticipate sex on the first date.
- Examples "monogamy," "long-term" "commitment" "serious" "marriage" "friendship"{21} "possible lasting union," "serious-minded," "possible commitment and even kids," "seeking lifelong relationship," "family oriented," "traditional values," or, "monogamy . . . must be ready for love, if it comes along," "the future," "family minded," and the like.
- Examples of first-date sex expected: "horny," "hot," "sensual bodyrub," "plumbing," "massage," "male call," "good hands," "Big meat," "Muscle wanted," "Discreet visits," "Service," and a large number of terms describing direct sexual acts, which are less useable in this paper.
Finding 2) Nonsexual Interests: 49% of Washingtonians and 3% of Advocates sought a person by describing their nonsexual interests (not a short term travel consort).
- Examples: " skiing," "volleyball," "Bahamas," "diners," "musicals," "sailing," "cycling," "children," "beaches," "mountains," "music," "travel," "reading," "poetry," "films," "jazz." "picnics," "gardening," "auctions," "outdoors," etc.
Finding 3) Nonsexual Characteristics: 42% of Washingtonian and 4% of Advocates sought a person by nonsexual characteristics.
- Examples: " humor," "considerate," "honesty," "sincerity," "clean habits," "intelligent," "reserved," "kindhearted," "loves children," "adventurous," "make me laugh," "smart," shy, "neat," "a lady," "hardheaded woman to be a friend of mine," "ladylike," "romantic," etc.
Finding 4) Prostitution: 63% of Advocates rather openly negotiated for illegal paid sex, often citing the sex acts offered and the amount charged. While nothing like these 465 average Advocate prostitution ads per issue. existed in the Washingtonian, roughly 5% of ads or 15 per issue, implied the possibility of paid sex via massages, and the like.
- Examples: The Advocate,: "Hung ripped, Outcall" "Live your fantasy, hot, BB stud, safe, creative, 24 hrs", "porn star & mag. Very hds...smooth body, 24 yrs old, hung 9" thick & cut. Hot. call;" "Cut meat...In or Out," "UCDC Stud... handsome, hung... massage...VISA, Master Card."
- Examples The Washingtonian: "Full body massage. Given by an attractive, trained Ebony Masseuse," "Give in to the pleasure: of a relaxing message by a lovely young woman," "Great touch...latin athletic masseur, satisfaction guarantee" and "$100 In, $150 Out".
Finding 5) Sadism/Abuse: 0.41% of Washingtonians versus 25% of Advocates publicly sought verbal and/or physical humiliation and abuse with their partners. Sadism corroboration is found in The Advocate self report data claiming 10% of their respondents engaged in "sadomasochism." 20% in "bondage and discipline" and at minimum 55% varied other painful activities.{22}. Other researchers, including those contributing to John DeCecco’s{23} Gay Relationships,{24} (Laner and Kamel; Lee; Lumby; 1988) also find sadism, Lumby a minimum of 15%.
- Examples: .{25} "Lashmates," (people who beat each other with whips) "F/F Club Europe," (inserting a fist into the body cavity, with some 43 Advocate ads each issue soliciting such activity), "S&M Playroom," "Leather and Toys," "Leather Master," "Fly on my sling," "Master," "Slave," "SM Rituals," "Dominant stud," "The King’s Chamber," and the like.
Finding 6) Body Parts and Size: 0.42% of the Washingtonians mentioned interest in a "buxom" or "Rubenesque" woman but none sought a bust- waist-hip size; nor did men seek to interest women by describing a phallus or other body parts.
- Examples : Cumulatively, 22% of Advocates sought males by citing their phallic size or other body parts. 15% cited general phallus size (e.g., "Giant Tool," "Well Hung") while 7% gave length (8", 9," 10"), 5% width ("thick," 9"x 6 ½"), 5 % "cut" or "uncut" (circumcision status) and the like. No Washingtonians offered these measures to attract a female partner. Corroboratively, Laner and Kamel{26} found a similar 20% phallic focus, and The 1994 Advocate Survey of Sexuality found 62% of respondents seeking a larger phallus.{27}
Finding 7) Teens and Youths: 47% of Washingtonians and 17% of Advocates advertised some kind of partner age limit.{28}. Of this boundary-citing group, under 1% of Washingtonians as against 53% of Advocates sought teens. Overall, per issue per month, Washingtonians sought an average of one girl (the age of consent), while 15% of Advocates sought an average of 65 boys{29} per issue (130 boys per month). Because of difficulties in coding, these data would understate boy seeking characteristics. A review of The Queens’ Vernacular found 254 words in this dictionary describing sex with boys, a few of which follow:
Chicken: a young recruit; any boy under the age of consent, heterosexual, fair of face, and unfamiliar with homosexuality. Poultry dealer: man who pimps boys to interested homosexuals....pluck some feathers....rip off a drumstick; skin some chicken....freshly butchered; freshly killed; fresh meat; fresh one; fresh piece....boy...rent boy
- Examples : "Fresh Chicken" "G/W/M 40 seeks...youth (18+) for fun & fantasy" "Oriental...wants W/M 18-35," "Guys between 18-30 y/o only" "You, 18-33," and the like as well as numerous films of and photos boys: "Boys of Holland," "The Works: Boys Club," (July 16, 1991). or "How to Cruise for Fun and Profit....Say that you are over 18" (October 9, 1990 p. 30).
Discussion and Conclusions
The results of our study showed differences that were striking and sometimes (to us) unexpected. Kirk and Madsen’s theory that the ‘sex and love lives of gays and straights today are both similar and conventional" was not sustained by the data describing these two affluent white male populations. And, while some could reasonably argue that these population data support the charge of homosexuals as "astonishingly promiscuous," Washingtonian heterosexual males did not, since most Washingtonians sought commitment, not immediate sex, not body parts, and not youths.
While this study is hardly the last word on the issue, these two socio-economically similar groups of men--whose only apparent difference is sexual orientation--are dramatically and consistently opposite in their sexual attitude and conduct in several critical ways (other than the obvious differences in solicitations by gender). As these heterosexual and homosexual males are demographically alike, their ISO language might also have been alike. Yet, their advertising language finds the attitude and conduct differences between these two otherwise similar affluent, white male populations to be striking and to be statistically significant at every level: a) in how they describe themselves, b) in what they seek in partners and c) in what they intend the outcomes of their relationship to be. The divergent view of a commitment of time by these male heterosexual and homosexual populations is one of the strongest and most consistent differences we found. And, this different Advocate view of time commitment may have a strong impact on a myriad of homosexual behavioral life choices (for example, AIDS prevention conduct).
The five to seven major comparative findings follow a similar pattern. Washingtonians are largely single, white, thirtyish, mainstream secular, affluent/upscale seeking a time-bound relationship with an adult female partner in her twenties or thirties, with specific nonsexual characteristics, with whom to share nonsexual interests and even a possible marriage and family. It was both surprising and interesting to find that sex acts and preferences were a non-issue among Washingtonians, especially as these related to any kind of coarse or harmful sexual conduct, or to female body depictions.
Advocates appear to be largely single, white, in their twenties, mainstream secular, affluent/ upscale seeking specific kinds of sexual relations with multiple partners, especially adolescents/teen to twenties by body shape, for non time-bound sex. The absence of specific age boundaries was an unanticipated finding.{30} It was unanticipated that Washingtonians would rarely seek teenage girls, while man-boy sex would emerge as a statistically significant finding for the Advocates.
The absence of time commitment is the overriding theme in the formal Advocate findings. We speculate that such continued resistance to a commitment of time is has always been part of the bachelor or "virile" macho lure, reflected in a high rate of prostitution use, expectations of first-date sex, focus on sexual body parts, lack of interest in nonsexual personality characteristics and, in the homosexual case, a high interest in sex with boys.{31}
ISOs, or personals advertisements are, as has been said, "useful data sources for assessing the meanings people attach to their sexuality."{32} The interpretation of our findings was based on the authors’ assumptions that the words used, and the intentions expressed and implied, largely reflect the advertiser’s goals and objectives. Someone who pays to advertise "ISO a 1995 blue Ford convertible" is unlikely to really be seeking a 1980 yellow Volvo sedan. Similarly if a man seeks an "attractive female companion with a sense of humor," one can feel confident that it is very likely that those are the qualities being sought. Likewise if a male specifies another male with certain physical characteristics, it is quite likely that those characteristics are what he is seeking. Moreover, if a male pays to say he possesses certain physical characteristics in his efforts to attract a partner, it is assumed he defines himself by those characteristics he finds most attractive to others and by characteristics which have had a largely fair record of success in attracting the partner attributes sought.{33}.
However, it is possible that the ISO Classified ads systematically distort the characteristics and wishes of the advertiser. It would be worthwhile to investigate this possibility. Both populations studied in this report are representative of an affluent, educated and hence influential part of their society. It is hoped that further analyses can be conducted on these data, and that other researchers will undertake large-scale comparative studies of sexual orientation in mass media.
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Reisman, Fink and Elman, Sexual exploitation by Health Professionals in Cartoons of a Popular Magazine, in A.W. Burgess and ed. Hartman (eds.) Sexual Exploitation of Patients by Health Professionals, Sexual Medicine, Vol. 4, New York, Praeger (1986) pp. 107-119.
Reisman, J.A, Role of pornography and media violence in family violence, sexual abuse and exploitation, and juvenile delinquency, Volumes I-III (Project No. 84-JN-AX-K007). Washington, D.C.: Report submitted for publication (November 1987).
Reisman, J.A., and Eichel, E. W., Kinsey, Sex and Fraud: The Indoctrination of People, Lafayette, LA: Huntington House (1990)
Reisman, J. A. Soft Porn Plays Hardball Lafayette, LA: Huntington House, (1991).
Ringer, J. Queer Words, Queer Images, NY: New York University Press (1994)
Rodgers, B., The Queens’ Vernacular, San Francisco: Straight Arrow Books (1972).
Rodgers, B., Gay Talk, New York: Paragon Books (1979)
Rueda, E. & Schwartz, M. Gays, AIDS and You. Old Greenwich, Connecticut. The Devin Adair Co. (1987).
Rueda, E. T., The Homosexual Network: Private Lives and Public Policy Washington DC: Devin Adair Co., (1982).
Socarides, C. Beyond Sexual Freedom New York: Quadrangle (1977).
Thompson, M., The Long Road to Freedom, New York: St. Martin’s Press (1994).
Zillmann, D., The Tactics and Ethics of Persuasion. Attitudes, Conflict and Social Change, eds. E. McGinnies and B. King. NYC: Academic (1971).
Zillmann D. and Bryant J. Media, Children and the Family. NJ: Erbaum (1994)
Zimbardo, P. Psychology and Life. MA: Scott, Foreseman (1988)
Bob Damron’s Address book, 1992. San Francisco, CA: Damron enterprises (1992).
Warren, R., Gay Baya, San Diego, CA: Roger Warren, (1987).
Gayellow Pages, New York, Villabe Station: Renaissance House (1991).
Spartacus Travel Guide 92/93. ed., Bruno Gmunder, Berlin, Germany 1994.
Women on Words and Images, Channeling Children: Sex Stereotyping in Prime-Time TV, Princeton, NJ., (1975)
Selected Relevant Scientific Studies/reports
Abel, G. et al., (1987). "Self-Reported Sex Crimes of Nonincarcerated Paraphiliac" Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Vol. 2 No. 1, pp., 5-25.
Allen, V.S. (1971). "An analysis of textbooks relative to the treatment of Black Americans." The Journal of Negro Education, 40, PP. 140-145.
ACSF Investigators, (1992). "AIDS & Sexual Behavior in France, Nature, vol. 360,, p. 407.
Bardwick, J. and Schumann, S. (1967) "Portrait of American Men and Women in TV Commercials", Psychology 4 (4): 18-23.
Bryant, J, Gula, J. and Zillmann, D. (1980). "Humor in communication textbooks" Communication Education, 29,, pp. 125-134.
Cantor, M.G., E. Jones, (1983). "Creating Fiction for Women," Communication Research, 10, pp. 111-137.
Coleman, E. and Remafedi, G., (September-October 1989). "Gay Lesbian, and Bisexual Adolescents: A Critical Challenge to Counselors," Journal of Counseling and Development, Vol. 68, pp. 36-40.
Courtney, A. and Whipple, T, (1974). "Women in TV Commercials" Journal of Communications 24 (2): 110-118.
Davidson, A.G., (February 1991). "Looking for Love in the Age of AIDS: The Language of Gay Personals, 1978-1988," The Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 125-137.
DeFoe, J.R., W. Breed, (1979). "Problem of alcohol advertisements in college newspapers," Journal of American College Health Association, 27, pp. 195-99.
Greenberg, B. and Kahn, (1970). S. Blacks in Playboy Cartoons, Journalism Quarterly, 47, pp. 557-560.
Hayes, Andrew (April 1995) "Age Preferences for Same-and Opposite-Sex Partners," The Journal of Social Psychology, Volume 145, No. 2, pp. 125-134.
Johnson, R.L., and Shrier, D.K., (1985). "Sexual Victimization of Boys: Experience at an Adolescent Medical Clinic," Journal of Adolescent Health Care, pp. 372-376..
Lange, R., and Kelley, W. (1971). "The problem of bias in the writing of elementary history textbooks," The Journal of General Education 22 (4), pp. 257-267.
Laner, M., (1977-1978) "Permanent Partner Priorities: Gay and Straight," Journal of Homosexuality, 3:32-39.
Laner, M., (1978-979) "Media Mating I: Newspaper "Personals" ADS of Homosexual Men," The Journal of Homosexuality, 3: 149-162.
Malamuth, N.M., B. Spinner, (1980). "A longitudinal content analysis of sexual violence in the best-selling erotic magazines," The Journal of Sex Research, 16 (3), pp. 226-237.
Myers, M.F., (March 1982). "Homosexuality, Sexual Dysfunction, and Incest in Male Identical Twins:" Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 27, pp. 144-147.
Phillips, D.P., (1983). "The impact of mass media violence on U.S. homicides," American Sociological Review, 48, , pp. 560-568.
Phillips, D.P., (1979). "Suicide, motor vehicle fatalities, and mass media: Evidence toward a theory of suggestion, American Journal of Sociology, 84(5), pp. 1150-1174.
Phillips, D.P., (1974)."The influence of suggestion on suicide: Substantive and theoretical implications of the Werther effect," American Sociological Review, 39, pp. 340-354.
Pyle, W.J., (1976). "Sexism in children’s literature," Theory into Practice, 15(2), pp. 116-119.
Reisman, J.(June 1991) A Content Analysis of Two Decades of The Advocate (July 5, 1972 - July 2, 1991) and The 1991 Gayellow Pages, The Institute for Media Education.
Simms, R., (1976) "Bias in textbooks," The Education Digest, 41 (6). pp. 38-40.
Smith, Tom W., (February 1990) Adult Sexual Behavior in 1989: Number of Partners, Frequency and Risk, presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, published by NORC, University of Chicago.
Spiegelman, M.C., C. Terwilliger, F. Fearing (1953) "The content of comics: Goals and means to goals of comic strip characters," Journal of Social Psychology, 37, pp. 189-203.
Sten H. Vermund, M.D., M.Sc., Karen Stein, M.D., et al., (October 1989). "Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Among Adolescents: Case Surveillance Profiles in New York City and the Rest of the United States," American Journal of Diseases of Children, vol. 143, pp. 1220-1225 at p. 1223
Walfish, S., D.E. Stenmark, D. Wentz, C. Myers, D. Linares, (1981) "Alcohol-related advertisements in a college newspaper," International Journal of Addictions, 16(5), pp. 941-945.
Winick, C. (February 1981). "Drinking and disinhibition in popular culture," Conference on Alcohol and Disinhibition, Berkeley, CA, pp. 347-373.
Zimbardo, P.G., (1971) "The tactics and ethics of persuasion." In Attitudes, Conflict and Social Change, eds. E. McGinnies and B. King, New York: Academic.
Endnotes
{1}Ten unduplicated months at two magazines per year over five years were analyzed using a pretested coding instrument on both samples. The resulting data were classified and tabulated by language variables (.80 IRR) with the simple frequencies and cross-tabulations identified Washingtonian and Advocate solicitation characteristics.
{2}The Advocate and the Washingtonian (1988-1992). A stratified random sample of The Advocate:
July 5, 1988; December 20, 1988; January 3, 1989; November 21, 1989; April 10, 1990; October 9, 1990;
May 7, 1991; September 10, 1991; March 24, 1992; June 30, 1992 and the Washingtonian: January 1988; December 1988; February 1989; November 1989; March 1990; October 1990; April 1991; September 1991; May 1992; August 1992.
{3}Reisman and Eichel, Kinsey, Sex and Fraud (1990). Huntington Press, Lafayette, LA. See, Kinsey, A.C., W.B. Pomeroy, C.E. Martin, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders (1948). and Kinsey, A.C., W.B. Pomeroy, C.E. Martin, P. Gebhard, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders (1953).
{4}Reported in After the Ball, p. 107. See also Thompson’s (1994) Advocate history in Long Road to Freedom; "gay men lead daily lives that are basically similar to those of heterosexual men," p. 164.
{5}Similarly, Island and Letellier (1991) find male-male relationships shorter, and domestic violence higher than man-woman relationships.
{6}Both magazines advertise for each other and both are edited and served by The Advocate staff.
{7}The Washingtonian was coded using a modified cluster or stratified random sample, beginning with the first month of the first year studied, alternating early-to-late months across all years, all originals purchased and held by the Institute. June and July of the Washingtonian were hence not part of the collection while February and August were not included in the ten magazines representing The Advocate. The coder assigned to train the staff on The Advocate (in Kentucky) was instructed to randomly pick one issue from an early and one from a late month in each year from the dates alongside the microfiche, so that each issue had a similar chance of being selected. Following this, the ten selected magazines were copied by the University of Louisville, Extrom Library staff, with all Xeroxed copies stored by the Institute.
{8}See: Reisman, Images of Children, Crime and Violence in Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler, (1986, 1989), U.S. Department of Justice, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention study (1954-1984), reprints available from The Institute for Media Education, Arlington, Virginia.
{9}The hypotheses can be written as:
Null Hypothesis: Ho:u1 == (P/O) == u2
Ha: u1 =/= (P/O) =/= u2
(P/O = process or outcome u1= heterosexual sample u2 = homosexual sample)
As above, the null hypothesis (Ho) finds process (P) or outcome (O) the same for heterosexual solicitors (ul) as for the homosexual sample (u2). Hence if 15% of Advocates seek sexual partners with youths at the age of consent, so too should roughly 15% of Washingtonians, or allowing for a standard deviation % of Washingtonians could do so and be seen as similar to Advocates on this variable. At 0.45% however, well under 1% of Washingtonians solicit youths at the age of consent, telling us that it is not possible to define these two male populations as similar in their solicitations for youths. The alternate hypothesis (Ha) would find that these two populations differ beyond "chance. While .05 is an accepted level of confidence the following findings differed well beyond the .001 level a much higher standard for statistical significance. See George Smith (1975). Quantitative Methods of Research in Education, Washington D.C., College and University Press, pp. 46, 47, 53.
{10}Mary Laner (1977-1978) fist quried a volunteer group of 48 heterosexual and 69 homosexual male and female students, then studied one issue (n=359) of Advocate ads and compared these to a study (Cameron, et al. 1977) of heterosexual men and women (males n=192) in one California Singles News Register issue. Both studies of adverts tends to support our findings of male homosexual focus on sex, youth and macho bodies.
{11}See the full 21 year study of The Advocate, available from The Institute for Media Education and the subsequent full comparative study for market research documentation. Market research would define the generalizability of this study to the larger Advocate readership by: the popularity and status of this long standing magazine, the 20-year acceptance of the Trader Dick section as the "center" of the periodical and its 77% rate of perusal of "Personals" rate. Moreover, authors Kirk and Madsen’s testimony ("We and our friends have placed many such [personal] ads over the year,") is supported by The 1994 Advocate Survey of Sexuality which includes every characteristic described in these "Personals" findings.
{12}See population statistics identifying roughly 2% homosexuality among the white, upscale, male, urban population, between ages 20-45.
{13}Briefly, almost all of both magazine readers are employed, own at least one car and commonly earn roughly 50% above the national average, an average household income $89,000 for Washingtonians (often including a second or part-time earner) and $62,100 for a largely single Advocate household: Moreover, 78% of Washingtonians and roughly 70% of Advocates are college graduates with 36.5% of Washingtonians and 28% of Advocates completing graduate school. Washingtonians travel by plane often and Advocates travel by plane four times a year, 66.3% of Washingtonians own a passport as do 67% of Advocates vacationing overseas. Washingtonians dine out an average of 15 times per month and Advocates order drinks by brand name. Moreover, in the last year, 84% voted in an election, 81% contributed to a gay or AIDS program, 89% would boycott an anti-gay corporation, 85% see themselves as "politically conscious," 51% would participate in a gay street protest, 51% belong to a gay organization, 6% say they are still "in the closet" (The Simmons Report, 1990).
{14}The surrounding "environmental" data in The Classifieds were coded separately (e.g., dating services, escorts, strippers, phone and film sex, sex "toys," condom advertisements) but due to limited funds these data were largely not fully explored. What are termed ISOs in The Advocate include three groups of reader solicitations; the "personals" generally non economically motivated ISOs, "models and masseurs" generally straight prostitution ISOs, and a small section called the "mail shop" which mixes sales of specialized boy-focused masturbatory film and video materials with men soliciting others to join them in sex "clubs" such as "lashmates," "married" men and "Chubs-R-Us". The Washingtonian, Classifieds included dating services, escorts, strippers and the like. No sex clubs existed, and while there was no separate section for models and masseurs, Washingtonian masseurs were also coded as prostitutes unless the advertiser specified "nonsexual massage" etc. Unfortunately. due to lack of resources, we were unable to explore much of the dramatically different quantitative and qualitative data on phone and film sex etc., sold in the Classifieds.
{15}See final report data on decoding prostitution and documentation for this protocol, especially the use of The Queens’ Vernacular to support the recurring "models and masseurs" paid sex theme.
{16}See the final report for a discussion of "sadism as safe sex" ISOs/Personals in The Advocate.
{17}Bruce Rodgers (1972): The Queens’ Vernacular, San Francisco, CA: Straight Arrow Books. The dictionary was republished as Gaytalk [1979]. Also see the 21-Year The Advocate Study, 1972-1992 available from The Institute For Media Education. See also, for example, The Advocate Classifieds advertisement for a "Penetratable Boy Doll....Available in 3 provocative positions" (with explicit text) aside a silhouette of a young boy roughly 12-13 years old, , August 13, 1975, p. 26.
{18}The Advocate Classifieds, Sexually explicit, full color ads of semi-nude men and boys, phone and film sex ads interspersed among hundreds of ISOs, called "Personals," "Models and Masseurs" (prostitutes) and the "Mail Shop." Called, "Trader Dick," this section was for some years, paginated separately and stapled at the center for easy removal to a separate site. The Classifieds’ 35% of sex pages were retooled as a spin-off magazine in late 1992. As noted, the rare lesbian ISO was excluded from this study.
{19}For example, The Queens’ Vernacular defines "affair" as: 1. "illicit extracurricular relationship. Among gay die-hard romantics, the word carries the strength of three months. To the vast majority, however, the word often represents five minutes in the bushes 2. (Brit gay sl) one’s current lover of uncertain duration "Ques: How old did you feel my affair was? Ans; ‘Probably much less!’" The latter joke apparently refers both to the age of the partner as "much less," (possibly "chicken") as well as the duration of the relationship.
{20}See full Reisman and Johnson report of Advocate use of ISOs, and additional corroborative data on same. Washingtonian use is less detailed, beyond periodic reports of annual numbers of marriages resulting from their ISOs.
{21}For some Advocates, a "friend" is a "f--k-a-buddy," a term used for males readily available for sex.
{22}August 23, 1994, "When It’s Not Vanilla Sex", graph on p. 21.
{23}DeCecco is Editor of Gay Relationships: NYC; Harrington Park Press (1988), Editor of the Journal of Homosexuality, and Editor of Paidika, Journal of Paedophilia, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He self identifies as a pedophile in the first edition of the pederast/pedophile journal; "The ground on which we stand is the emergence and evolution of paedophile consciousness and identity in history . . . we intend to demonstrate that paedophilia has been, and remains, a legitimate and productive part of the totality of human experience. The Editors." (Summer 1987) pp. 2-3.
{24}Ibid. See DeCecco, Gay Relationships, for reports by these researchers in their The Advocate Classifieds studies, largely confirming the data found in the Reisman and Johnson research. See especially John Alan Lee and Malcom Lumby analyses and findings. Also, see Herdt in Gay and Lesbian Youth, NYC: Harrington Park Press: (1989) who warns young boys "now shun older gays as role models or even friends. . . .fear of AIDS contact has seemingly alienated teenagers from younger and middle aged adults." Herdt notes that "one in four" teenagers will die of AIDS for "Teenagers tend to be very susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases." Knowing this, Herdt notes, "gay culture began to institutionalize ‘socialization techniques for the transmission of its cultural knowledge to a younger generation." Gays, he says "are focusing upon gay youth. . . . and the coming out process in teens."
{25}These responses are often similar to many women’s responses to standard pornography fare.
{26}DeCecco, Ibid.
{27}Janet Lever, August 23, 1994, The 1994 Advocate Survey of Sexuality and Relationships: The Men, Sexual relations, p. 20.
{28}Re: Age Boundaries Cited: 85%. of Washingtonians and 42% of Advocates self-reported their own ages. Almost half of Washingtonians sought a partner within some age boundary, most seeking someone in her 20’s or 30’s, 17% seeking a woman over forty and none claiming to be teenagers, while 15% of Advocates giving an age claimed to be teens, most said they were under 30 years old, 53% of this group, seeking youths at the age of consent (18+), 25% seeking men 20+, 13% at 30+ and 10% those over 40 years of age.
{29}Additional Homosexual Male Global Travel Data support the research findings. Measurement of global travel data in the mainstream gay travel guide, Spartacus, found of 139 nations reviewed, 98% cited areas for public sex, 93% status of homosexuality and sodomy laws and 41% status of man-boy sex laws and locations including "House of Boys" which appeared to be brothels offering young boys. No mainstream heterosexual travel guide advertises "House of Girls," nor age of consent, or cities wherein the tourist could locate sex partners. On this issue of boy brothels advertised in Spartacus, the magazine editor was just barred entry by the Thai government, which said "his publication tells readers where to pick up boy prostitutes," and has done so apparently for more than 24 years" (The Advocate, September 19, 1995, p. 12).
Adult Male Sex with Boys v. Sex with Girls In the Statistical Abstract of the United States 1992, population figures for 1991 find 90 million men in the United States 18+ with roughly 2% (1.8 million) men estimated as homosexual. Now, according to the accepted child sex abuse estimates, a small subset of 85 to 88 million largely heterosexual men have abused perhaps 8 million girls (25%) under 18 years. If, based on similar estimates, at minimum, 6 million (17%) to 8 million (24%) boys, are abused "by age 15," then they were largely abused by a subculture of under 2 million homosexual males. Supporting these statistics is the August 23, 1994 Advocate 1994 Survey of Sexuality self-report data which find 21% of homosexual men admitting to early abuse by an adult, while the estimates could double were they to reflect standard child abuse data of age 18 and were it to include older juvenile offenders. Said The Advocate: of their respondents, "Just over one in five (21%) of the men say they were sexually abused by an adult, by age 15" (p. 20. The final report addresses the 15 to 1 rate of homosexual to heterosexual child sex offender rates, a nearly 60% admission rate of boys with AIDS infected by homosexual males, and other boy sex abuse data.
{30}Age of consent was strengthened (to 18 years) in 1984, yet this research finds Advocates blur the distinctions between boys and men (e.g., "seeking 18-33"). Moreover, the earlier 21 year study of The Advocate ISOs found, pre-1984, age of consent law, Advocates publicly sought 12 to 18-year-old boys.
{31}Sex with boys was found to average 14 eroticized Advocate photographs of boys per issue. No such eroticized girl photographs were found in the Washingtonian. ). Many of these films appear to be included in the newer problem of child pornography on the Internet. See legislative efforts to control "cyberspace" due to the use of child pornography, headlined recently in Time, "Cyberporn" July 3, 1995.
{32}Alan Davidson, "Looking for Love in the Age of AIDS: The Language of Gay Personals," 1978-1988, The Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 28, No 1., February, 1991, p. 136. Typical of the analyses on personals or ISOs, Davidson studied 844 ads from The Village Voice over ten years, (compared to the current 10,292 ads studied over five years (n = 7,407 The Advocate and n = 2,885 Washingtonian). Davidson studied 261 ads from 1988, 207 from 1985, 294 from 1982 and 82 from 1978 (1978-1988).
{33}The difference in the quantity and quality (number of back pages of Classified Washingtonian, or at The Advocate center of the ISOs, also suggests their value or meaning to the general reader and imply the degree of tolerance, acceptance or in marketing terms, "reach" of these concepts within each overall population.
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