ABSTRACT

Sexual modesty is the social, cultural, interpersonal, and psychological systems – defined by the tenets of Script Theory – that regulate individuals’ sexual expression and experience at the social, legal, and interpersonal boundaries of acceptable/not-acceptable, private/public, and personal/social. Almost all aspects of sexual expression and experience are touched by the pervasive modesty standards for sexual communication, sexual display, sexual relations, and sexual behaviors. Sexual modesty influences an array of sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Many aspects of sexual modesty are enforced by legal as well as social, cultural, and religious proscriptions, including social shaming and ostracism as well as corporal and capital punishments. The purpose of this paper is to summarize a diverse literature related to sexual modesty from the years 2000 to 2021 in order to clarify its role in sexual health and sexual wellbeing and to identify directions for new research.

摘要

性谦虚是社会、文化、人际和心理系统——由剧本理论的原则定义——在社会、法律和人际边界可接受/不可接受、私人/公共、和个人/社会。性交流、性展示、性关系和性行为的普遍谦虚标准几乎触及了性表达和性体验的所有方面。性节制会影响一系列性健康和生殖健康结果。性节制的许多方面是通过法律以及社会、文化和宗教禁令强制执行的，包括社会羞辱和排斥以及体罚和死刑。