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Gender roles and norms are defined by the society and almost all of us involuntarily try and fit in to the set norms for the gender we belong to. Notions like "men don't cry," "women need to take up the role of a house maker," etc are all part of the roles defined by the society. Among many other "norms" are also the sexual roles predefined for both genders. It is often assumed that men should dominate women sexually.

According to a new study by Dr. Lisa Rosenthal from Yale University in the US, and her colleagues, this assumption may lead to loss of both power and the ability to control sexual behavior among men and women and also be the cause behind people taking increased sexual risks, such as not using a female condom.

Social dominance orientation is a measure of the level to which people support social power inequalities and hierarchy.

This belief could be associated with their negative attitudes towards women's rights, greater tolerance of sexual harassment and greater preference for traditional gender roles.

The researchers in the current study aimed at studying whether the extent to people endorse social dominance orientation explains gender dominance and dynamics in heterosexual relationships.

For the research, the researchers quizzed 357 undergraduate women and 126 undergraduate men from a Northeastern US university took part by administering a questionnaire to them. Next to the seats they were seated on, there was a bowl of female condoms.

The researchers assessed the social dominance orientation in students, apart from their confidence in a sexual situation and how much they believed that men should dominate sexually. Researchers also checked for the number of female condoms they took away with them.

The findings of the study revealed that overall men were more likely to endorse the view that men should be sexually dominant. It was found that there was a direct link between belief in social power inequalities and belief in male sexual dominance. Also, people who supported male sexual dominance were less likely to feel confident in sexual situations and consider using female condoms.

"These findings suggest that beliefs about power may play a key role in both women's and men's attitudes to sexual behavior, and potentially their decisions to protect themselves during sexual activity. Results highlight that social dominance orientation and dynamics in heterosexual relationships do not only hurt women, but also men because they potentially decrease their sexual self-efficacy and interest in female condoms as well," the authors conclude.

The study is published online in Springer's journal Sex Roles.