This document summarizes research conducted by students enrolled in gender, sex, and culture courses. The students surveyed respondents from their own ethnic and religious communities about topics related to sexuality, dating, and marriage. Some of the key findings included: - Respondents were most likely to seek marriage around age 27, though Armenians sought marriage the earliest. - Asians were most likely to remain virgins until marriage, while Hispanics were most sexually experienced. - Cultural expectations still influenced behaviors, but younger generations in most groups were more open to dating and marrying outside their ethnicity/religion. - Students observed generational differences in attitudes, with older generations more strictly adhering to cultural norms

1. Leanna Wolfe, Ph.D.

2.  Research for this project came from several modalities. First it
came from teaching college level anthropology and sexuality
classes in Los Angeles classrooms where ethnicity and religion
emerged as major factors in why students behaved (or reported
that they behaved) the ways that they do.
 Beginning in the summer of 2006 students enrolled “Gender Sex
and Culture” at LA Valley College and “Evolutionary Perspectives
on Sex and Gender” at Cal State LA were invited to research their
own ethnic/ religious communities. Students helped to design
the survey, administered it to 10 respondents apiece, learned
how to code their data and wrote short reports explaining their
preliminary findings.
 This presentation consolidates all the student-coded data as well
as comments and interpretations offered by student researchers
in their individual reports. Many of the researchers had never
before stepped back to look at their own cultures as sexual
scientists.

3.  196 Respondents
◦ 113 female
◦ 83 male
 Average Age – 21
◦ Age range 15-29
 Ethnicities
◦ 100 Hispanics
◦ 34 Asians
◦ 24 Armenians
HISPANIC
ARMENIAN
◦ 16 Whites ASIAN
◦ 12 Blacks WHITE
◦ 10 Others BLACK
OTHER

4. Methodology
I surveyed people randomly that included people I had never
spoken to or seen before as well as some whom I have a
relationship with. To avoid lies and errors in my data I told
everyone before I handed out the survey that because some
of the information was personal, I would not look at it after
they gave it to me. Rather I would stick it in a pile of other
surveys and would only analyze the data at the time I was to
interpret it so I would not be able to link faces to
information. I felt this way I would get more honest
answers.
Imelda Vargas
Hispanic Researcher

5. DATING PATTERNS
GROUPS
SINGLE PERSON
BOTH
OWN ETHNICITY
OTHER
ETHNICITIES

6. Dating Outside One's Ethnicity
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Total Hispanic Asian Armenian Males Females

7. Parents' Same Religion/Ethnicity?
120
100
80
Religion
60
Ethnicity
40
20
0
Total Hispanic Asian Armenian

8. Important to Marry Same Religion
100
80
Yes
60
No
40
For Parents
20
0
L
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9. Important to Marry Same Ethnicity
90
80
70
60 Yes
50
40 No
30 For Parents
20
10
0
L
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TA
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M
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10. Most Korean families firmly believe in Christianity and
most Korean parents make it a top priority for their
children to also marry a Korean who is also Christian.
Children grow up realizing the importance of religion and
culture and seek mates that have this quality to fulfill
their parents’ requests. They do not wish to disappoint
their parents and have them shamed in front of neighbors
and friends. Pride is also another important aspect in the
Korean culture.
Kiyeon Kook
Korean Researcher

11. From my data it appears that Armenian
men only date women from other
ethnicities, but with no intention of
marrying them. They only date these
women to fool around with them.
Then they expect to find an Armenian
woman who is still a virgin to settle
down with. Most of the women I
surveyed do date outside their ethnic Armine Alagozian
group and reported that it Armenian Researcher
is not important for the person they marry to be Armenian, but it
was important to their parents. Our parents’ generation felt it was
important to marry within their ethnicity and it appears that the
parents want their children to marry within as well. It is mostly the
males of our generation who agree with their parents’ views on
endogamy.

12. SEXUAL EXPERIENCE
Armenians
Asians
Hispanics ORAL SEX
Females NOT A VIRGIN
Males
Total
0 20 40 60 80 100

13. I had an amazing time with this research project. I
learned a lot about my culture and learned that I was not
the only one blind to sex. My fellow male Filipinos were
also not taught about it by their parents. I thought that
since I was a girl, they would not want to teach me or
even say the word “sex” in our household, but I learned
that it was not just me. It was the Filipino culture. All my
friends, not just the ones who participated in my research
project, said that their parents did not say a word to them
about sex. Hearing that makes me feel a lot better. I do
not feel as bad as I did before because I was in the closet
about a lot of things. This opened my eyes to learn new
things.
Vanessa Prudencio
Filipina Researcher

14. Most people would say I’m sort of a rebel going against
cultural norms, but who’s to say how many other people are
doing it? I enjoy giving head, I love having anal sex, I love
making out, I like penis, I like my boobs, and I like the fact
that I can have multiple orgasms. I am who I am, and just
because I’m not perfect doesn’t mean I’m not happy.
21 year old Armenian Female

15. Armenian Girl Friends

16. Traditional Chinese culture believes that both men and women
should be virgins before they are married because it symbolizes
purity as well as respect for one’s partner. However, the data
shows us this value is no longer true. As Chinese Americans
have been influenced by Western culture, the belief in being a
virgin before marriage is considered nonsense. Oral sex,
however, may not be practiced widely. Several participants told
me that asking a partner to give oral sex seems to be degrading
that individual. This perspective is rarely seen in Western
culture….
Mark Wang
Chinese Researcher

17. One interesting point I came across while analyzing my data
was that two of the Armenian males when responding to the
question regarding oral sex asked how they should go about
answering it. They explained that they have received oral sex,
but have not performed it. This makes me wonder if this is a
case of male pride and ego. Maybe they felt they were too good
to perform oral sex on a woman or felt it was a degrading act.
Armine Alagozian
Armenian Researcher

18. Mother's Virginity
100
80
60 Yes
40 No
Don't Know
20
0
Hispanic Asian Armenian Total

19. Father's Virginity
80
60
Yes
40
No
20 Don't Know
0
Hispanic Asian Armenian Total

20. Even though in most Asian cultures people are expected
to remain virgins until marriage, most of those surveyed
were not even sure if their parents were virgins. The
parents are supposed to teach their children to keep their
virginity until marriage and yet they do not talk about
whether or not they were virgins. On the other hand,
most Asian families do not talk about anything related to
sex at home, so that might be another reason why the
people surveyed were clueless about whether their
parents were virgins when they married.
Marcella Wong
Chinese Researcher

21. Sex is a very private topic that is only kept between the
individuals and is not something that is shared. The only
conditions under which this topic is touched upon within
Hispanic culture is when it is used as advice. It is very
common to hear mothers say, “I got married at___and now I
realize that it was too young. I would like it if you went to
school and got a good job before you get married like me.”
This is the reason why children find out the age their parents
got married, not because it is a casual topic of conversation.
Imelda Vargas
Hispanic Researcher

22. Important for Partner to be a Virgin?
80
70
60 Yes
50
40 No
30
20 Don't Know
10
0
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To
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M
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isp
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Fe
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Ar

23. Important for You to be a Virgin Before Marriage?
80
70
60
50 Yes
40 No
30 Don't Know
20
10
0
Hispanic Asian Armenian Males Females Total

24. I thought that by praying harder all
those sexual thoughts would go away.
Days would pass and all I could think
about was sex and how it would feel.
I would think of how it would be my
first time with my boyfriend. I would
be almost there—ready to do it and I
would pull away. I would pull away
because every time I would try to get
intimate , a picture of the Virgin of
Guadalupe would pop up in my head.
This is how it was in every
relationship. At times I thought I was
going crazy visualizing these pictures.
Female Hispanic Virgin

25. The most important thing parents teach
their offspring about sexuality is
virginity. They want their girls to be
virgins until marriage. I noticed that
the subjects who reported that “it is
important to them to be a virgin when
they marry and vice a versa” were the
ones who are the virgins right now.
They believe what their parents have
told them. Those who aren’t virgins
anymore may be influenced by other
cultures or media. Other cultures may
not emphasize virginity as much as
Thai culture. If subjects live away Vikanda Meechan
from Thai culture long enough, they do Thai Researcher
not see virginity as valuable anymore.

26. Armenians consider it a sin to speak about sex or anything of
its nature. The words that pertain to a person’s private parts
are considered foul words that only people living in the streets
would use. A good Christian Armenian woman is expected to
maintain her virginity until her wedding day. A woman’s
virginity is viewed as sacred; it is the one thing that keeps her
from being considered more than the dirt on the floor of an
Armenian man.
Ayarpi Reganyan
Armenian Researcher

27. In the 80s and early 90s most of the Hispanics used to follow
their customs. This meant getting married in white through
the church and for the female to be a virgin. Being a virgin
until you got married was the best gift you could give your
husband. Being a virgin was what you were valued for. If
you got pregnant outside of marriage you had to get married
even if you did not like him/her.
Ana Lara
Hispanic Researcher

28. Hispanic Girl Friends

29. I already have two children but I would have preferred to be
single until I was 25 so I could be free like a bird. I do not
consider virginity to be as important as others do. My
preference would be to marry someone who is not a virgin so he
could have had experience. If he was a virgin then I would
have to worry about him trying to experience it with other
people. In conclusion most Hispanics do not follow their
parents’ traditions. We have seen that being a virgin is not
something that is valued. Now we get to decide who we want to
be. Being a single parent is now something that is common.
So, do you follow your family traditions or not?
Ana Lara
Hispanic Researcher

30. Getting Permission
When I was in confirmation classes in the 11th and 12th
grades, a priest came to speak to us. I asked him if I had sex
with someone I truly cared about and loved and it was not
just lust, would that still be considered a sin in the eyes of
God? His answer was “no.” I have to admit that I felt that
gave me the okay. I lost my virginity on prom night and
mostly because I wanted to.
Hispanic Female

31. How Culture is Used
Parental expectations are offered as a publicly expressed
cultural excuse for abstaining. For some young people this
cultural excuse protects them from engaging in sexual
exploration they fear or are uncomfortable with. For others
the cultural excuse functions as a cover-up for clandestine
behaviors. Still others are caught in the middle. They see
limited value in engaging in arranged / endogamous
marriages and yet felt stymied in regards to defying their
parents and their communities. Ultimately, culture functions
both as an excuse for maintaining distance from mainstream
practices and values as well as a protection for those whose
behaviors and activities belie their family’s expectations.

32. Culture As A Cover
No one was every going to know about it because being
Armenian having premarital sex is completely unacceptable.
Once I decided to do it I went to a tanning salon and got a
Brazilian wax for the big day. I think it’s the best thing that
has ever happened to me. I had this wonderful secret I would
run to whenever I was in need. No one knew. I was seen as
this little good girl, yet had sex every week with no strings
attached. The sex was amazing. He taught me a lot, sexually.
He was the first to go down on me. I would experience a few
orgasms every time I got with him. Because of this experience
I am so comfortable with my body—a comfort that women in
their 30s are just discovering…and I love it.
19 year old Armenian female

33. MARITAL AGE
35
30
25
MOTHER
20
FATHER
15
WANT TO MARRY
10
5
0
TOTAL HISPANIC ASIAN ARMENIAN

34.  All ethnicities seek to marry at age 27
 Armenians most seek to marry one another
(83%) while Hispanics have the least interest
(20%)
 Asians have the least interest in marrying a
partner from the same religion (26%) while
Armenians have the greatest interest (87%)
 Following an unplanned pregnancy 20%
would seek an abortion, while 41% of
Armenians would do so.
 Asians are most likely to be virgins (44%)
and least likely to engage in oral sex (29%)
 Hispanics are most likely to be sexually
active (72%) and to engage in oral sex (69%)

35. I learned a lot doing this project—mostly that I wasn’t the
only non-virgin and that there were others who were a little
rebellious like me. It was interesting to find out that it
wasn’t that important to other Armenians to marry a virgin.
Armenian Researcher

36. From this research I found out that while earlier generations
followed the traditional Chinese cultural norms, the new
generation has adopted some Western cultural practices and
started to form a new culture. As this particular society
continues to evolve, there might be conflicts between older and
younger generations. I believe these conflicts will not destroy
Chinese American culture, but instead they will help it to evolve
into a unique and special ethnicity.
Mark Wang
Chinese Researcher

37. I think that there is definitely a shift in the Latino culture, however
the shift has been for the better. Thanks to those changes in
female behavior as far as sexuality is concerned, we now have
more independent women who do not need a man to survive.
With more women in control and secure enough to express their
sexuality without being afraid or embarrassed, the whole family
dynamic can benefit. Having women that express their sexuality
to a higher level than ever makes a man appreciate women even
more. Thank God for women!
Juan Aguirre
Hispanic Researcher

38. The generation gap between Armenian men of this
generation and their fathers’ generation is almost non-
existent. The men are not changing. Their views about
women have not changed much either. They are not treating
women equally and have different standards and expectations
for and of women. Armenian men are holding on to the same
views and traditions that their parents (mostly fathers) have
had in terms of females and their virginity, endogamy and
female gender roles. However, there is a change between the
women of this generation and their mothers’ generation.
Armenian women of this generation are not afraid to explore
outside of their culture and ethnicity. They are starting to get
involved in sexual relationships before marriage. They are
also getting married at older ages perhaps because they want
to educate themselves first and experiment with more than
one guy before marriage…
Armine Alagozian
Armenian Researcher