On The Sex Diaries

Bettina Arndt’s new book, “The Sex Diaries” is currently perhaps most prominent publication on families, relationships and gender, if recent media attention is a guide..... She claims with this book to provide a “provocative analysis that challenges our basic assumptions about sex”(1).

Provocative indeed- Arndt frames “the domestic sex war as one largely grounded in supply, or more accurately, a lack of supply of sexual services by women” (2). In her biography and by others, Arndt is described as, variously, a journalist, writer, sex therapist, clinical psychologist, social analyst, social researcher and sociologist. She lists her qualifications as an undergraduate science degree and a Masters degree in psychology (3). She describes the collection and discussion of the material she uses, as a “research project” (4). She writes in a way which seems to draw generalizations from her small, self-selected sample. She recruits research participants with statements in which she suggests male participants in her new project may like to write about “Are women hard to please?” or, “The female touch – why older men need more of it”(5).

No research conducted in this way would be accepted by an ethics committee, to a peer reviewed journal, by an academic publisher, or as acceptable evidence to teach social science students.

I have been interested in the media reception of this work, as the book and its conclusions have been taken very seriously by journalists and other media commentators. I have heard none of the discussions make any critical inquiry in to the quality of the study, and there is no indication that the media or the public make a distinction between Arndt’s book. and what we sociologists know as academic research.

I offer some questions on these issues.

• How can we communicate the value of slow and laborious ethics and peer review procedures we value in the Academy?

• Is “academic” research the best way for us to think of the knowledge we produce? Not all high quality research comes from the academy, and there are professional bodies who have an interest in maintaining research quality. For example, the American Association of Public Opinion, whose members comprise University, Government and private sector researchers, uses a code of conduct for its members and makes public statements about research which contravenes this code. Is there a role for our group or for TASA in commenting on the production of research?

Your comments are welcome.

(1) http://www.mup.com.au/catalogue/978-0-522-85555-5.html

(2) http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/if-men-want-more-sex-they-could-try-improving-their-appearance-20090402-9kwp.html?page=-1

(3) http://www.bettinaarndt.com.au/docs/cv.pdf

(4) http://www.theage.com.au/news/lifeandstyle/lifematters/sex-wives-and-libido/2009/03/03/1235842367573.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

(5) http://www.bettinaarndt.com.au/volunteers.php