Sex differences in sexual needs and desires

Female and male responses on attitudes toward foreplay prior to sexual intercourse, sexual intercourse, and afterplay following sexual intercourse, were compared. Foreplay was defined as the sexual activity that occurs before sexual intercourse, whereas afterplay was defined as the interaction such as hugging, holding, talking, and so forth that occurs after sexual intercourse. The subjects were 39 men and 49 women students enrolled in various courses at the University of Kansas. The mean age of the men was 22.1 years, while the women averaged 21.0 years. A voluntary questionnaire was given to the students, and they were asked to fill it out at home and return it during the next class meeting. The results indicated that there were significant sex differences in sexual needs and desires. When given a choice between foreplay, intercourse, and afterplay, women indicated that foreplay was the most important part of a sexual encounter, while men felt intercourse was the most important aspect. Women also indicated that they wanted to spend more time in foreplay, as well as more time in afterplay, than did men. It is concluded from this study that women are more likely than men to report enjoying both foreplay and afterplay more than intercourse, while men are more likely to report enjoying intercourse.This research was supported by a General Research Fund grant from the University of Kansas.     

Sex fantasies revisited: An expansion and further clarification of variables affecting sex fantasy production

Findings of prior research which indicated both external factors (experimental response cues and internal factors (sex guilt) influencing subjects' writing of their sexual fantasies were expanded. University males (N = 88) and females (N = 122) were studied. They read sex fantasy examples varying in conventionality of the sexual activity and the relationship context before reporting their own fantasies. Sex guilt level of all subjects was measured as well as their subjective responses to writing the fantasies. The data were analyzed to determine whether varying response cues along certain dimensions could influence subjects to write parallel fantasies. Sex guilt levels and sex of the subject were the best predictors of the length, explicitness, and variety of content of subjects' reported fantasies. Males wrote longer, more explicit and varied fantasies but were affected similarly by sex guilt levels as females. High sex guilt subjects in general produced more restricted content and shorter fantasies. They also experienced more embarrassment and less arousal. Females were more likely to have high levels of guilt about sex than males. The varying dimensions of the fantasy examples had little effect on the types of fantasy material revealed and therefore the erotic/explicit aspect of the examples found in the prior research seems to be the factor that produces effects on fantasy production. Comparing the two studies, females may respond with longer, more explicit fantasies when given erotic but more traditional sexual examples.     

Sexual Fantasies of Adolescent Male Sex Offenders in Residential Treatment: A Descriptive Study

An attenuating sample of 87 male adolescent sexual offenders logged sexual fantasies during their entire time in therapy. These patients were attending residential treatment and kept a log recording all normal and deviant sexual fantasies which they experienced. Patients recorded which fantasies were interrupted and which fantasies were accompanied by masturbation. Typically, at the beginning of treatment, the reported rate of normal fantasies was maximal, the occurrence of deviant fantasies was minimal, and there was little effort to interrupt the deviant fantasies. The reported frequency of deviant fantasies increased substantially (about 380%) during the first 5 months of treatment and then steadily declined (approximately 47%) over the remaining months in therapy. Following an initial decline in the early months of treatment, an increase in the rates of normal fantasies was reported. Additionally, over the course of treatment, the frequency of deviant fantasies decreased relative to all fantasies. While deviant fantasies remained predominant to normal sexual fantasies and were more frequently paired with masturbation, patients reported substantial changes in the proportion of deviant fantasies that were interrupted (from about 20% to 70%). Implications of the results for juvenile sex offender treatment are discussed.     

The Perception of Sexual Attractiveness: Sex Differences in Variability

Results of three independent studies supported predictions derived from evolutionary theory: Men's assessments of sexual attractiveness are determined more by objectively assessable physical attributes; women's assessments are more influenced by perceived ability and willingness to invest (e.g., partners' social status, potential interest in them). Consequently, women's assessments of potential partners' sexual attractiveness and coital acceptability vary more than men's assessments. The proposition that polygamous women's assessments of men's sexual attractiveness vary less than those of monogamous women (because the former allegedly are more influenced by target persons' physical attributes) was also tested. In Study 1 male college students showed more agreement than females in their rankings of the sexual attractiveness of opposite-sex target persons. Target persons' flesh and bodily display enhanced this sex difference. In Study 2 men exhibited less variance than did women in their ratings of target persons' acceptability for dating and sexual relations. Women who viewed models described as having low status showed more variability than did women in the high-status condition. In Study 3 women showed more variability than men did in their ratings of 20 opposite-sex celebrities' sexual attractiveness. Studies 2 and 3 included the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI)—a measure of polygamous attitudes and behavior. Women's SOI scores did not affect the variability of their assessments in either Study 2 or 3. In Study 3 men with low SOI scores showed less variability than did men with high SOI scores. Alternative explanations of the findings are examined. Theoretical and empirical implications are discussed.     

Sex Differences in the Flexibility of Sexual Orientation: A Multidimensional Retrospective Assessment

The flexibility of sexual orientation in men and women was examined by assessing self-reported change over time for three dimensions of sexual orientation (sexual fantasy, romantic attraction, and sexual behavior) across three categorical classifications of current sexual orientation (heterosexual, bisexual, and gay). The primary purpose of the study was to determine if there were sex differences in the flexibility (i.e., change over time) of sexual orientation and how such differences were manifested across different dimensions of orientation over the lifespan. Retrospective, life-long ratings of sexual orientation were made by 762 currently self-identified heterosexual, bisexual, and gay men and women, aged 36 to 60, via a self-report questionnaire. Cumulative change scores were derived for each of the three dimensions (fantasy, romantic attraction, and sexual behavior) of orientation by summing the differences between ratings over consecutive 5-year historical time periods (from age 16 to the present). Sex differences were observed for most, but not all, classification groups. There were significant sex differences in reported change in orientation over time for gays and heterosexuals, with women reporting greater change in orientation over time than did men. Bisexual men and women did not differ with respect to self-reported change in orientation.     

Gender differences in memory for a sexual story

The present research extended previous work that identified gender differences in memory for a sexual text. That work identified a memory bias for the sexes in recognition memory, whereas we found gender differences in errors in recall memory. Recall memory is particularly important because it provides the opportunity for the individual to construct memory. This provides the opportunity for distortion to occur and allows the individual to make errors. The prediction that men would incorrectly recall more material of an erotic nature was supported. The prediction that women would incorrectly recall material that was romantic in nature was not confirmed. In a recognition task both genders endorsed more false positives of a sexual nature than a romantic nature. Using findings from research on memory for written text, predictions concerning the effects of importance, perspective, and typicality were made. Those predictions were not confirmed. A discussion of possible explanations for the various findings is presented.This study is based on portions of a Doctoral Dissertation submitted by J. R. Kirsch to Louisiana State University—Baton Rouge in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctoral Degree.     

Masturbation and sexual fantasies in married couples

This article reports some aspects of sociosexual behavior, as a small part of an intensive study of 38 married couples. The persons' experiences and formulations are the primary material in an effort to humanize sexological research. This article reflects the Danish psychological-psychiatric tradition with emphasis on personal interviews instead of questionnaires, inventories, or tests. The analyses are based on differences between husband and wife and between men and women as groups. A number of qualitative thematic differences in personal experience with respect to masturbation and sexual fantasies are reported. Attention is drawn to thematic differences in the psychological significance of these aspects of sexuality which are, in part, dependent on the sex of the subject.This research was supported by Grants 512-786, 512-1060, and 512-2901 from the Danish Medical Research Council.     

Gender differences in masturbation and the relation of masturbation experience in preadolescence and/or early adolescence to sexual behavior and sexual adjustment in young adulthood

A comparison of male and female masturbation practices was undertaken in a sample of university students to determine if the long-standing finding that young adult men in this country masturbate more than young adult women was still evident in the 1980s. Despite the efforts in the past quarter century to encourage women in our society to take greater responsibility for their own bodies and their own sexuality and to engage in more sexual self-exploration and self-stimulation, results show that women continue to masturbate much less than men. Twice as many men as women had ever masturbated and the men who masturbated did so three times more frequently during early adolescence and young adulthood than the women who masturbated during these same age periods. A second purpose of this study was to determine whether having masturbation experience during preadolescence and/or early adolescence was related to intercourse experience, sexual satisfaction, sexual arousal, or sexual difficulties in relationships during young adulthood. No such linkage was observed, suggesting that early masturbation experience is neither beneficial nor harmful to sexual adjustment in young adulthood.     

Repeated exposure to sexually explicit stimuli: Novelty,sex, and sexual attitudes

The effects of a new stimulus following repeated exposure to a familiar, sexually explicit stimulus were studied. Female and male subjects (N =56) viewed an explicitly heterosexual film daily for 4 days and then were exposed to either (i) a film showing the same actors engaging in different sexual acts or (ii) one with different actors engaging in the same activities shown in the original film. Analyses of self-rated responses showed that negative affect significantly increased with film repetition and returned to original levels with the introduction of novelty. Erotophobia was associated with negative affect. Results for self-reported sexual arousal and concern ratings revealed sex differences, with males becoming more aroused and concerned by novelty consisting of different actors, and females becoming more aroused and concerned by the same actors performing different acts. Affective and cognitive theories of human sexual responding provided possible explanations for these results.     

Sex differences in sexuality among medical students: Effects of increasing socioeconomic status

Research has consistently shown that, compared to men, women are more cautious and selective and maintain greater marital aspirations in entering and maintaining sexual relationships. One explanation of this sex difference is that women have traditionally had inferior access to earning power and social status and consequently were forced to acquire socioeconomic status (SES) through their choice of marriage partners. A contrasting view is that this difference is a component of the basic sex difference identified in the Kinsey studies: Men are more likely than women to dissociate coitus from emotional attachment and to desire and seek coitus with a variety of partners. These two explanations were explored in open-ended interviews with matched samples of 20 male and 20 female medical students. The results were more consistent with the perspective of basic sex differences than with the differential resources explanation. Increasing female SES does not appear to eliminate or even substantially reduce this sex difference. Increasing SES tends to enlarge the pool of acceptable, available sexual and marital partners for men while it tends to reduce the pool for women. Increasing SES thus tends to have different effects on men and women and may cause sex differences in the tendency to associate coitus with emotional attachments and marital aspirations to be more, rather than less, apparent. Extensive case data with verbatim quotations are presented to reveal the emotions and desires underlying subjects' overt behavior.     

Changes in sex differences in sexual behavior: A replication of a study on West German students (1966–1981)

In 1966, at the start of the student movement and the sexual liberalization process, we studied the sexual behavior and attitudes of 3,666 male and female students from 12 West German universities by mailed questionnaires. In 1981 we replicated this study with 1,922 students from 13 universities (10 the same as 1966, 3 founded after 1966). In both studies the students were selected at random. Results of these comparative studies are presented with a view to the changes in sex differences. Sex differences in masturbation behavior have considerably decreased since 1966; masturbation is nonetheless still the form of sexual behavior with the most striking differences between the sexes. The sex differences in coital behavior are now reversed, female students being earlier and more active than males. As regards the tendency to change partners or for sexual relations outside a steady relationship, the differences between men and women have disappeared. In their attitudes to sexuality, female students in 1981 are somewhat more liberal than their male counterparts, whereas hardly any difference could be found in 1966. These changes in sex differences are observed in all subsamples, i.e., in young and old, in strictly religious and nonreligious students, and in students from both upper- and lower-class backgrounds (educational level of parents).Revised version of a paper read at the 8th Annual Meeting, International Academy of Sex Research, August 22–26, 1982, in Copenhagen. This investigation was supported by a research grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bonn, West Germany. The report was translated by Tom Todd, Hamburg.     

Sexual and Emotional Variables Influencing Sexual Response to Erotica: A Psychophysiological Investigation

The relative contribution of attentional and emotional factors to the physiological and subjective sexual arousal elicited by erotic film was evaluated. Sexual arousal, attentional, and emotional responses were measured while 30 men were presented with a series of erotic film segments. Levels of physiological and subjective sexual arousal were higher when subjects became absorbed in the activities portrayed in the film and when they experienced the depicted erotic encounters as appetitive, than when they were distracted and perceived the encounters as aversive. The erotic film elicited a diminished startle response to a sudden burst of white noise presented during stimulation relative to the nature film, suggesting that at a physiological level the erotic segments of film were processed as more appetitive in valence. The level of sexual arousal elicited by the erotic segments was related to the extent to which subjects were entertained by the film, even though there was considerable anxiety generated by the portrayed sexual scenarios. Sexual response was not significantly correlated with trait measures of absorption (as indexed by the Tellegen Absorption Scale) nor with vividness of imagery (as assessed by the Betts Questionnaire upon Mental Imagery). Arousal was related to state-assessed attentional and emotional variables, and physiological measures of emotional response, demonstrating the multidimensional nature of the sexual response Future directions for comparing male sexual response patterns with female response patterns are suggested.     

The female sexual response revisited: Understanding the multiorgasmic experience in women

Although it has been almost 20 years since recorded evidence of multiple orgasms among women emerged, there have been few recent investigations of this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to understand further the female multiorgasmic experience in relationship to the method of stimulatory activity, namely, masturbation, petting, and sexual intercourse. In addition, single-orgasmic and multiorgasmic women were compared by examination of various sexual and orgasmic behaviors, the role of sex partners, and perceptions of physiological and psychological sexual satisfaction. An anonymous 122-item questionnaire was utilized to obtain the responses of 805 college-educated female nurses, chosen for their perceived ability to verbalize data regarding the anatomical structures and physiological processes associated with sexual responsiveness. The findings indicated that 42.7% of the respondents had experienced multiple orgasms and that several significant differences existed between single-orgasmic and multiorgasmic women.The investigators acknowledge two grants from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Grants-in-Aid of Research program which have partially provided the resources for data collection, coding, and analyses.     

Sex with Men Before Coming-Out: Relation to Sexual Activity and Sexual Risk-Taking Behavior

This study examined the difference in sequence of coming-out and first same-sex experience in relation to risk-taking behavior in a sample of Dutch gay and bisexual men. A questionnaire assessed age of disclosure (coming-out) and age of first same-sex experience, and information on sexual history, sexual relationships, and sexual behavior. It was found that 68% of respondents engaged in their first same-sex experience before coming-out. This proportion increased with age. Men who had sex with men before coming-out reported more lifetime sex partners and more casual sex partners in the past 6 months than men in which this sequence was reversed. In addition, among this group a higher proportion of men reported STDs, engaging in anal intercourse with casual partners in the previous 6 months, and unprotected anal sex with casual sex partners in the recent past, compared to men who came out before having their first same-sex experience. The extent to which external factors (such as tolerance toward homosexuals) or internal factors (such as personality factors) can account for the difference in sexual behaviors in general and sexual risk-taking behavior in particular could be subject of further study.     

Ethnic and gender differences in sexuality: Variations in sexual behavior between Asian and non-Asian university students

Seven hundred and two (346 non-Asian, 356 Asian) undergraduate volunteers were assessed in a confidential laboratory setting on levels of interpersonal sexual behavior (e.g., petting, intercourse), intrapersonal sexual behavior (e.g., fantasy, masturbation), and sociosexual restrictiveness (e.g., lifetime number of partners, number of “one-night stands”). The purpose was to examine possible differences in sexual behavior between Asian and non-Asian Canadian university students and to determine the association between North American residency and the sexual behavior of Asians. The role of gender on sexual behavior both across and within ethnic groups was also examined. Statistical analyses revealed that Asian students were significantly more conservative than non-Asian students on all measures of interpersonal sexual behavior and sociosexual restrictiveness. Significant differences were also noted between Asian and non-Asian students on most measures of intrapersonal sexual behavior. With the exception of two fantasy items, length of residency in Canada was unrelated to interpersonal sexual behavior, intrapersonal sexual behavior, or sociosexual restrictiveness among Asians. Although gender differences were substantial for intrapersonal sexual behaviors such as fantasy and masturbation, no significant gender differences were found for measures of interpersonal sexual experience, with the exception of reported number of one-night stands. This research was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Predoctoral Scholarship to Cindy M. Meston, a British Columbia Health Research Foundation Studentship Grant to Cindy M. Meston, a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Predoctoral Scholarship to Paul D. Trapnell and a UBC Humanities and Social Sciences Grant to Boris B. Gorzalka.     

China: Acceptability and effect of three kinds of sexual publication

A nationwide political movement named “sweeping away the yellow subjects” (“yellow” means erotic and pornographic as does “blue” in U.S.) was launched by the Communist Party and then enlarged by the government in China since the end of July 1989. Almost all of the written, audio, and visual publications were banned as long as they described any kind of sexual behavior. Publishers were punished by arrest. At least 20 persons were put to death for selling “the yellow subjects.” The argument of the Party and the government for launching such a movement was that the yellow subjects result in readers and viewers becoming sexual offenders. Although we are unable to test directly with enough survey data, we studied two basic facts: (i) How many and what kind of persons accepted three kinds of publications on sexuality: scientific books, erotic literature, and visual materials? (ii) What kind of and how much influence was there on the readers' and viewers' attitudes towards other subjects which were not directly sexual? As the first research on this subject in China, we conducted a social survey with a questionnaire. What we found provided a basis for confirming one aspect of the hypothesis that a sex revolution appeared in China in 1988.     

Sexual language usage in different interpersonal contexts: A comparison of gender and sexual orientation

Previous investigators have demonstrated that gender differences exist in the use of sexual language in various interpersonal contexts. However, sexual orientation has not been addressed in any study regarding sexual language usage. This investigation examined the use of sexual language for female and male in different interpersonal contexts based upon sexual orientation. Respondents were 440 university students: 202 heterosexual female, 30 lesbian, 173 heterosexual male, and 35 gay male. Findings indicate that differences in sexual language usage in interpersonal contexts is significant for gender as well as for sexual orientation. Conjecture is made for the implications this may have on intimate relationships.     

Subjective Sexual Arousal in Response to Erotica: Effects of Gender, Guided Fantasy, Erotic Stimulus, and Duration of Exposure

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of gender, guided fantasy, erotic stimulus (with or without audio), and exposure duration on the subjective sexual arousal of participants watching a 10-min erotic video excerpt depicting sexual activities between a heterosexual adult couple. The excerpt was shown to 105 male and 110 female undergraduates, and sexual arousal was measured four times, at intervals of 1, 4, 7, and 10,min from the onset of the excerpt. While no erotic stimulus effect was found, analysis of variance showed main effects of gender, guided fantasy, and exposure duration, and three two-way interactions of gender × guided fantasy, gender × exposure duration, and guided fantasy × exposure duration. According to the results of simple effects tests, the gender effects were found regardless of whether they had firstly experienced a guided fantasy, while the guided fantasy effect was detected only for the females. The simple main effects for gender were found at all four time intervals, while the pattern of within-subject contrasts at the four time intervals for the males was different from that for the females. The simple main effects for guided fantasy were not found at 1,min and 4,min, but at 7,min and 10,min, while the pattern of within-subject contrasts at the four time intervals for the guided fantasy present condition was different from that for the absent condition. The findings involving gender differences were discussed in the context of biological and social factors.     

Profile analysis as a method of comparing intergenerational differences in sexual behavior

Profile analysis can be used in sex research as a statistical procedure to assess the degree of similarity between various samples on different parameters of sexual behavior. Data are presented to analyze intergenerational changes comparing three independent samples including a time interval of approximately four decades. Profile analysis can differentiate the intergenerational trend. Results show (i) a clear trend of male-female profile-convergence over time; (ii) intergenerational changes in males are few with male sexual behavior seemingly little influenced by social changes; (iii) females show large intergenerational differences. These asymmetric trends demonstrate that the sexual changes within the last four decades are a one-sided process of females liberating from the behavioral double standard.