Inferential visibility and sex norms in the middle east

Histories of sexual behavior were gathered by personal interviews with 101 single, native-born Israelis & immigrants to Israel from Iraq. The sexual behavior of the immigrant pop (as measured by N of orgasms per week which either occurred spontaneously or were due to masturbation, intercourse with prostitutes, intercourse with companions, & petting to orgasm) approached that of the native-born pop within 2 yrs after arrival. For the soc sexual behaviors of the Iraqi immigrant M's, this meant a shift from prostitution to intercourse with companions. Iraqi immigrant F's learned to pet more frequently & to masturbate less. It is proposed that this sexual acculturation takes place despite the lack of visibility of sexual behavior, through the immigrants' inferences based on soc sexual symbolism. AA.