Sexual Scripts of Brazilians at Sexual Debut

Ann M. Moore, Alan Guttmacher Institute

Sexual scripts are the most socially acceptable roles for males and females to live out. I carried out 25 focus groups with women in Belo Horizonte and Recife, Brazil between April and December 2002. The way the respondents perceived male sexuality was that males needed to be sexually experienced; they needed to have many sexual partners; that they would never turn down the opportunity to have sex; and when males wanted sex, it is a need for them that had to be satisfied by someone and if their partner is unwilling do it, they will look elsewhere. The dominant sexual scripts for women were the virgin/whore dichotomy, not to take sexual initiative, and to say 'No' to sex no matter what. Any modification of sexual behavior must start with an understanding of the sexual dynamic according to the social pressures at play on the actors.