Sexuality and insult behavior∗

Employing ethnographic data from the Human Relations Area Files and other sources, this paper sets forth a number of generalizations and tentative hypotheses concerning some possible relations between sexuality and patterns of insult behavior. Available data suggest the hypothesis that sexrelated insults, particularly those which refer to the genitals, are a cultural universal. There are, however, considerable variations between cultures in what kinds of sex-related insults are considered severe or innocuous. It is hypothesized that the perceived severity of a sex-related insult is directly related to the salience and seriousness with which different cultures view the sexual acts referred to in the insult. Cultural differences might also exist in the extent to which husbands consider adultery an insult and the ways in which they respond to insults. A significant aspect of sex-related behavior that has relatively been neglected in the social-scientific and sex research literature is the nature of the relation between sexuality and insult behavior. This paper is based upon data obtained after a thorough examination of ethnographic material from the Human Relations Area Files, together with material from other sources. The purpose of this study was aimed at uncovering general patterns of relations which might exist within and between cultures with respect to both the initiation of and the response to sex-related insults. One of the most prominent aspects of the varied patterns that emerged was the multifaceted character of the relationship between sexuality and insult. In this paper, I will describe various aspects of this relationship, with emphasis upon both cross-cultural differences in insult behavior, and the ways in which sex-related insult patterns help maintain the values and norms of their particular cultures.