Sunday Star Times
February 22, 2004
Beyond macho: The group-sex culture
by Alex Spence
Why would a group of
strong, presumably proudly heterosexual police watch each other having sex with
the same woman - a teenager at that? Alex Spence finds the reasons can be
complex but often come down to mateship and machismo.
In some cultures, he discovers, group sex is simply another team sport.
Two English premiership footballers and two of their friends were last
September accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old woman in a
In the
And, perhaps most infamously, during last year's
In a subculture of the sexual world, group sex is common. Swingers clubs, for
instance. Anecdotally - to judge from various lurid accounts at adult websites
and internet chat room discussions - this seems to be about curiosity,
exploring intimacy with multiple partners, breaking sexual taboos. It often
involves couples and women are often not only consenting, but in control.
This, however, is different. The above examples weren't about sexual intimacy
or exploring one's curiosity. They involved powerful men, and the women -
whether consenting or not - were in a position of subservience.
What's the attraction? Is it about power? Male bonding?
The manifestation of repressed homosexual fantasies?
The Sunday Star-Times contacted a number of psychologists who deal with sex and
sexuality, but they could only speculate as to the appeal of group sex to
aggressively masculine men. People who engage in group sex don't present to sex
therapists, as Dr Robyn Salisbury, director of Sex Therapy
The explanations posited - ego, arousal, voyeurism - all appeared partially
correct but, on their own, insufficient.
Social historian Dr Jock Phillips, who has written perhaps the best-known book
about New Zealand manhood, A Man's Country? says group
sex under these circumstances should be considered in the context of the
institutions to which the male participants belong.
"This sort of behaviour is not dissimilar to behaviour which has occurred
in many exclusively-male groups in many societies," Phillips says.
"It's particularly the case where those groups have an emphasis on
teamwork, and where physical strength, courage and masculine characteristics
are held in high regard."
It's well established that, because of the risks inherent in police and armed
forces work, the requirement for loyalty, discipline and physical strength have
traditionally encouraged an atmosphere of machismo. Women are equated with
emotion, unreliabilty, weakness; they become treated
as "objects".
PHILLIPS believes male-dominated group sex is a symptom of this environment -
"a natural progression from jokes about women, comments on their appearance,
wolf-whistles".
Former police psychologist Dr Ian Miller, manager of police psychological
services from 1985 to 1999, describes a culture - typical, he says, of not only
the police but the fire service and armed services - in which insular, tight-knit
teams are developed as a defence against the dangers of the job and the trauma
officers often experience.
"Key individuals may create a climate of expected group behaviours, and
other members are expected to go along with them or at least not to question
them," he says. These groups encourage loyalty and competitiveness and
reject self-examination. Off duty, or off the field, that can result in a group
becoming involved in inappropriate actions - particularly if drinking is
involved, as it often is.
According to Miller, the competitiveness of such groups is often manifested
sexually, particularly if the group is involved in "high-demand
activities".
Group sex "was not considered the norm in my experience of the
culture", he says, but there was certainly an atmosphere in which officers
boasted about their conquests. Individuals who were able to "score"
carried greater distinction.
Extramarital liaisons were not uncommon - perhaps, Miller suggests, as a
defence mechanism against the more unpleasant aspects of the job - and it was
implicit that such infidelities were not discussed outside the team.
SO GROUP sex in this context is more likely a result of competitiveness. It's
about performing for the team and competing with your teammates.
Proving you belong. These strong, well-built guys want to prove themselves to
their colleagues, to demonstrate their sexual prowess, that they have what it
takes to be part of the group. And vanity should not be overlooked.
As Schwarzenegger said in his now notorious gang bang interview with magazine Oui, not all the men at his gym took part - only those who
felt their members were large enough to display in public.
The group may get carried away but to refuse, to back out, would demonstrate
weakness. "Each individual comes under group pressure to assert their
acceptance of the group values by joining in anti-women behaviour,"
Phillips says. "To abstain from such behaviour invites
endless ribbing, accusations that you're a poofter or
effeminate."
It's the "whaddarya?" mentality, he says,
citing the famous line from Greg McGee's play Foreskin's Lament.
The demands of the job and the authority bestowed by the uniform may encourage
certain controlling, authoritiative personalities to
exhibit aggressive, exploitative behaviour, Miller says, but such individuals
are not confined to the police, nor do they dominate the force.
Rather, they represent a small number whose actions have a potential to attract
high attention and widespread concerns bringing all police into disrepute.
"Like corrupt officers, or those who engage in criminal activities, the
damage they do is disproportionate and lasting."