Sexual Coercion in Gay/Lesbian Relationships: Descriptives and Gender Differences

A sample of 162 gay males and 111 lesbians (N = 273) completed a survey measuring the frequency of sexually coercive acts occurring within gay and lesbian relationships. Several hypotheses were proposed to clarify earlier findings and to explore gender differences in the data. Contradicting earlier studies’ findings that lesbians experience sexual coercion at higher rates than gay men, the results of this study suggest lesbians are not more likely than gay men to be classified as victims of sexual coercion. Gay men also were found to experience a significantly higher mean number of coercive experiences. Other analyses specific to the type of coercion experienced and the severity of the sexual coercion outcomes (penetration) revealed no gender differences, however. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.