Research has repeatedly shown marked differences in men's and women's sexual response patterns; genital response in men tends to be elicited by cues that correspond to their sexual preference (preferred gender), while women's genital response is less sensitive to gender cues and more sensitive to the presence and intensity of other sexual cues (e.g., sexual activities). We tested whether the cue of copulatory movement in a general sexual context elicited a genital response in androphilic women but not in gynephilic men. If so, women should react to stimuli depicting not only the non-preferred gender but also other animal species differing in phylogenetic distance to humans. We studied the genital and self-reported arousal of 30 gynephilic men and 28 androphilic women to two sexual videos depicting penetrative human sexual intercourse (female-male and female-female) and nine videos depicting animal copulation. Neither women nor men showed genital or subjective sexual arousal to non-human sexual stimuli. Moreover, both sexes demonstrated a highly cue-specific pattern of arousal. Our results suggest that copulatory movement displayed in non-human species is not a sexual cue that can elicit genital or subjective sexual arousal in humans.
- MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- koitus fyziologie psychologie MeSH
- kopulace * fyziologie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladý dospělý MeSH
- podněty * MeSH
- sexuální vzrušení * MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladý dospělý MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
So far, only a limited number of representative studies have been conducted on exposure to sexually explicit media in women. Existing research tends to focus on men, who form the majority of users of sexually explicit materials. This research aimed at the identification of categories of sexually explicit videos sought by adult women in the Czech and Slovak Republics and the examination of variables associated with overall frequency of use of sexually explicit media. A stratified sample of Czech (N=400) and Slovak (N=413) women who confirmed the use of sexually explicit materials and were aged between 18–76 completed an online questionnaire through online panels of respondents. Participants reported the overall frequency of sexually explicit materials sought and its related measures. Using linear regression, authors tested associations between the frequency of sexually explicit videos sought and sociodemographic data, variables related to sexual behaviour, and lifetime experience with sexually explicit videos. Results showed a high prevalence of seeking sexually explicit videos that depict normative heterosexual and female homosexual activities. No significant differences were found between the Czech and Slovak samples in searching for particular sexually explicit content. Authors found that younger age, higher frequency of masturbation, and higher sociosexual attitude score (measured by SOI-R) predict a higher frequency of searches for sexually explicit videos in both samples. This is the first empirical investigation of sexually explicit video content sought by women in the Czech and Slovak Republics. The findings suggest that there is a high prevalence of sexually explicit materials use in women in both countries (Czech Republic = 60.4% vs. Slovak Republic = 62%), but further investigation is necessary to assess the impact of sexually explicit materials exposure on women.
Sexuální reaktivitu lze charakterizovat jako somatickou reakci, která je kontrolována nadřazenými spinálními a mozkovými centry, modifikována hormonálním stavem organismu a psychickým vyladěním člověka. Ve svých fyziologických projevech se mezi pohlavími příliš neliší, nicméně se ukazuje, že ženy se oproti mužům ve vzorech sexuální reaktivity liší. Cílem této přehledové studie je blíže představit koncept tzv. (ne)specifičnosti sexuální reaktivity mužů a žen. Kategorická specifičnost sexuální reaktivity popisuje stav, kdy je genitální sexuální vzrušení jedince v souladu s jeho subjektivně pociťovaným vzrušením. Výzkumy na toto téma ale ukazují, že ženy jsou ve své sexuální reaktivitě kategoricky nespecifické a že tělesné sexuální vzrušení nemusí nutně odpovídat jejich subjektivně vnímanému sexuálnímu vzrušení. Výsledky předkládaných studií dále naznačují, že pro měření sexuální reaktivity při reakci na erotické stimuly u mužů a žen je jednak nutné pečlivě volit nejen typ stimulů (videa, fotografie), ale rovněž také vhodné měřící metody. V textu jsou dále nastíněny některé z hypotéz, které vysvětlují zmíněný nesoulad mezi subjektivním a genitálním sexuálním vzrušením žen. V závěru článku jsou uvedeny možné aplikace těchto poznatků do klinické praxe, a to především v kontextu problematičnosti měření sexuální orientace a sexuálních preferencí žen.
Sexual response is a somatic event mediated by the spinal cord and brain structures, modulated by the hormonal milieu and mental state of a person. Studies of sexual arousal have repeatedly demonstrated sex differences in genital response and subjective rating of arousal in subjects who were exposed to erotic video stimuli showing couples of different sexual orientations. Men exhibit higher re-sponses to stimuli of preferred sex (i.e., responses are category specific), while genital response in women is category non-specific. The aim of this review is to describe the concept of (non)specificity of sexual response in men and women. Category-specific sexual response describes a pattern wherein individuals show preferential genital response to a specific category of stimuli and this pattern is typical by congruence between genital arousal and subjective ratings. Studies of sexual arousal have repeatedly shown that female genital arousal is category non-specific while the subjective arousal is category specific. Also, these results suggest that it is necessary to carefully choose not only the type of stimuli (videos, photographs) but also an appropriate method of measurement. Hypothesis that might explain the lack of congruence between genital arousal and subjective ratings in women will be discussed. To conclude, clinical application tackling difficulties related to measurement of sexual orientation and sexual preference in women will be suggested.
