Social approval for violations of sexual consent in marriage and dating.

This study compares approval for minor violations of sexual consent in three contexts: marriage, long-term dating, and a first date. Quantitative and qualitative data from a vignette experiment show that as couples progress from a first date to marriage, men gain support to violate their partner's consent, and, to a lesser degree, women lose support to assert their rights. Evidence is presented that men are more approving of male dominance and female passivity in dating and marriage than are women.