Me First: The Relation Between Neoliberal Beliefs and Sexual Attitudes

Neoliberal ideology has permeated US culture, creating a climate that values individual choice and self-interest over collective welfare. This has extended into the domain of sexuality and intimate relationships in a discourse that encourages people to put their own interest first sexually, with little thought of their partner’s. This project analyzed survey data from 249 US young adults collected via MTurk in 2015 to explore relations between neoliberal ideology and sexual attitudes while controlling for gender norm conformity. Neoliberal beliefs seemed beneficial in that they were predictive of self-affirming sexual attitudes. Less favorably, stronger neoliberal beliefs were also associated with endorsing a sexual double standard that disadvantages women, and with feeling more sensitive to the judgments of others. We argue that the neoliberal call to prioritize oneself may come at a price, to others and oneself.