Male college athletes having sex

A study of college men found that more than half of athletes and a more than 38 percent of non-athletes admitted to coercing a partner into sex. Researchers surveyed male college students from one large, public, Division I university in the Southeast and asked about a list of sexually coercive behaviors — including threatening partners into oral or anal sex — almost all of which met the legal definition of rape. Researchers admit that surveying men from only one college limited the study, which was published in the journal Violence Against Women last week; they asked four other universities to participate, but they each declined, they told the Washington Post. A disturbing pattern emerged. Men who admitted to coercive sex acts tended to agree with two specific attitudes: the belief in rape myths, like "If a woman doesn't fight back, it isn't rape," and a traditional view of gender roles, such as "Women should worry less about their rights and more about becoming good wives and mothers. Of course, not every college guy wants to force or trick a girl into having sex, and not every athlete is a predator.

A new study published Thursday in the journal Violence Against Women may provide a revealing look into the disturbing reality of sexual violence seen on college campuses. The researchers conducted an online survey of male undergraduate college students under the age of 23 enrolled at an unnamed public university within the southeastern United States. Roughly half were either intercollegiate athletes who officially represented their school or regularly participated in recreational sports. The other half were nonathletes similarly matched by age and other demographic factors. The students answered a variety of questions about their history of sexually inappropriate behaviors as well as their beliefs concerning traditional gender roles and the nature of sexual assault. Nonathletes fared better, but 38 percent still admitted the same.

This piece originally appeared in the April issue of GQ. It is reprinted here with permission. I met the first boy I ever had sex with at the roller rink. It was a lesson I would have to learn over and over again.

More than half of intercollegiate and recreational athletes in a new study say they have pressured women into having sex. The athletes included in the study were mostly those who play recreational, not intercollegiate, sports. Students were asked questions about their sexual behaviors, attitudes toward women and belief in what are called rape myths -- a series of commonly held but inaccurate assumptions about sexual violence. The authors of the study said they decided to conduct the survey after noticing there was a dearth of research on the prevalence of sexual assault among athletes. I changed to stagnant though if you're OK with us changing that?