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Andrew Smiler's research |
| Masculinity and gender |
| One of my primary research interests focuses on gender, particularly masculinity. Masculinity, of course, is one of those things that we all know about and we all recognize when we see it. As a researcher, my interest is learning more about how men and women learn about masculinity. From whom do we learn that American men (mostly) don't show emotion? (Italian men, by contrast, are much more emotionally expressive.) Some of the information sources that I study are the media, friends, and voluntary activities (e.g., sports teams). |
| I also examine the extent to which men and women choose to behave in a masculine manner. In other words, does it matter "how masculine" someone is? Also, can a person be very masculine in one way, such as very unemotional, and also not masculine in another way, such as not very promiscuous? |
| I also study the role of (male) stereotypes, such as "jock," "nerd," and "rebel" might play a role in all of this. (more...) |
| Sexuality |
| Another interest of mine is the dating and sexual behavior of adolescents and young adults. Although social scientists have been studying this for about 40 years, the vast majority of that research has focused on preventing pregnancy and STDs. Part of my interest is in identifying what is normal or "healthy." (Does the concept of healthy adolescent sexuality seem odd to you?) Another part of my research lies in understanding people's perceptions of their sexual behaviors. |
| I also study what individuals learn about sexuality from the media, as well as from friends. Research has shown that most American adolescents remember very little from THE TALK with their parents (if they had the talk at all), and what they do remember are things like "don't get pregnant" and "don't get a disease." but adolescents know a lot of stuff about sexuality, including how to be attractive and what "should" come after kissing but before sex. (more...) |
| If you are interested in helping me conduct research, please contact me about being a research assistant (Psy 490). |
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Last Updated 2/22/08