Gender Differences and Similarities in Sexual Desire

Dawson, Samantha J.; Chivers, Meredith L.

doi:10.1007/s11930-014-0027-5

Cited by 66 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 95 publications

(115 reference statements)

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“…Self‐reported states of sexual desire may be somewhat distinct from trait sexual desire, given that no gender differences in responsive sexual desire were observed, despite the often‐cited gender difference in trait sexual desire [37,38]. It is also possible that retrospective reporting of trait desire is subject to reporting biases, whereas the reporting of state sexual desire is not (for a review, see Dawson and Chivers [83]). In this regard, women and men may be more similar than previously believed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender-Specificity of Solitary and Dyadic Sexual Desire among Gynephilic and Androphilic Women and Men

Dawson¹,

Chivers²

2014

The Journal of Sexual Medicine

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Introduction Incentive motivation theory proposes that sexual desire emerges from sexual arousal, and is triggered by sexually competent stimuli. Research demonstrates gender and sexual orientation differences in the features that contribute to the competency of sexual stimuli. Men's and gynephilic women's genital arousal tends to be gender-specific with preferred gender eliciting significantly greater genital arousal than nonpreferred gender. In contrast, stimuli depicting preferred and nonpreferred gender elicit similar degrees of genital arousal among androphilic women, termed a gender-nonspecific pattern. Given these differences in the features that elicit a sexual response, and that sexual desire is proposed to emerge from sexual arousal, the question remains as to whether sexual desire would emerge only through exposure to preferred stimuli or whether patterns of responsive desire would parallel those observed for genital arousal. Aim The study aims to examine patterns of dyadic and solitary sexual desire in response to stimuli differing in incentive value. Methods Thirty androphilic women, 21 gynephilic women, 21 gynephilic men, and 16 androphilic men participated in a sexual psychophysiological session. Participants viewed sexual stimuli that varied the gender of the actors and the intensity of sexual activities depicted. Main Outcome Measures Participants reported their degree of desire for sex with a partner (dyadic desire) and desire to masturbate (solitary desire), before and after each film. Results Men and gynephilic women exhibited gender-specific patterns of sexual desire. Androphilic women's dyadic desire showed significantly less differentiation between genders, and their solitary desire did not differentiate at all. No gender difference was observed for either type of desire. All groups reported greater desire as stimulus intensity increased. Conclusions Gender-nonspecific sexual response is not limited to the sexual arousal patterns of androphilic women, but extends to include responsive sexual desire. Men and gynephilic women, however, show gender-specific responsive sexual desire that parallels their sexual arousal patterns.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender-Specificity of Solitary and Dyadic Sexual Desire among Gynephilic and Androphilic Women and Men

Dawson¹,

Chivers²

2014

The Journal of Sexual Medicine

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“…Furthermore, constructs such as sexual desire may not be identical in both men and women. For example, research suggests that women may have more difficulty than men differentiating sexual arousal from sexual desire (Dawson & Chivers, 2014). Given the complex relationship between self-reported and genital arousal both clinically and in the experimental literature, inclusion of both measures in future research will be important.…”

Section: Limitations and Gaps In The Experimental Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

A review of experimental research on anxiety and sexual arousal: Implications for the treatment of sexual dysfunction using cognitive behavioral therapy

Kane

Dawson

Shaughnessy

et al. 2019

Journal of Experimental Psychopathology

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Clinical models of sexual response link anxiety to the etiology of sexual dysfunction. Furthermore, some cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs) for sexual dysfunction have included strategies targeting anxiety reduction. This review examines the experimental literature on the effects of manipulating aspects of the anxiety response (e.g., anxious sensations, thoughts, attentional focus) on genital and self-reported sexual arousal. An additional aim was to use this literature to elucidate potential mechanisms that may be useful for CBT for sexual dysfunction. Our review suggested that anxiety sometimes facilitates, inhibits, or has no effect on sexual arousal. These findings suggest that caution is warranted incorporating anxiety-focused interventions in the treatment of sexual dysfunctions. Importantly, little experimental research has utilized precise manipulations of anxiety (e.g., manipulating fear of penetration) that are related to current CBT interventions. To better understand the relationship between anxiety and sexual dysfunction, future research should explore the question of why and how anxiety exerts a variable effect on sexual arousal rather than simply if anxiety exerts an effect on sexual arousal. Importantly, experimental research

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“…Sexual desire is perhaps surprisingly not relatively well understood [14,15] especially given its association with sexual and relationship satisfaction [7,16]. Previous research has also highlighted the positive association between sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction [7,[17][18][19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using spectral and cross-spectral analysis to identify patterns and synchrony in couples' sexual desire.

Vowels¹,

Mark²,

Vowels³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Sexual desire discrepancy and low sexual desire are two of the most frequently reported sexual concerns for individuals and couples and both have been shown to be negatively associated with sexual and relationship satisfaction. Sexual desire has increasingly been examined as a state like construct that ebbs and flows, but little is known about whether there are patterns in the fluctuation of sexual desire. Utilizing spectral and cross-spectral analysis, we transformed 30 days of dyadic daily diary data for perceived levels of sexual desire for 133 couples (266 individuals) into the frequency domain to identify shared periodic state fluctuations in sexual desire. Spectral analysis is a technique commonly used in physics and engineering that allows time series data to be analyzed for the presence of regular cycles of fluctuation. Cross spectral analysis allows for dyadic data to be analyzed for shared rates of fluctuation between partners as well as the degree of (a)synchrony (or phase shift) between these fluctuations. Men and women were found to exhibit fluctuations in sexual desire at various frequencies including rates of once and twice per month, and to have sexual desire that was unlikely to fluctuate over periods of three days or less and therefore exhibited persistence. Similar patterns of fluctuation were exhibited within couples and these patterns were found to be largely synchronous. The results have important implications for researchers, clinicians, and educators in that they corroborate the supposition that sexual desire ebbs and flows and suggest that it does so with predictable regularity. Further, while instances of desire discrepancy may arise due to differences in rates of sexual desire fluctuation, such instances may be normal for romantic relationships.

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Gender Differences and Similarities in Sexual Desire

Cited by 66 publications

References 95 publications

Gender-Specificity of Solitary and Dyadic Sexual Desire among Gynephilic and Androphilic Women and Men

Gender-Specificity of Solitary and Dyadic Sexual Desire among Gynephilic and Androphilic Women and Men

A review of experimental research on anxiety and sexual arousal: Implications for the treatment of sexual dysfunction using cognitive behavioral therapy

Using spectral and cross-spectral analysis to identify patterns and synchrony in couples' sexual desire.

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