Specificity of Sexual Arousal for Sexual Activities in Men and Women with Conventional and Masochistic Sexual Interests

Abstract

Prior studies consistently report that men’s genital responses correspond to their sexual activity interests (consenting vs. coercive sex) whereas women’s responses do not. For women, however, these results may be confounded by the sexual activities studied and lack of suitable controls. We examined the subjective and genital arousal responses of men and women with conventional (22 men and 15 women) or masochistic sexual interests (16 men and 17 women) to narratives describing conventional sex or masochistic sex. The aims of the studies were twofold: (1) to examine whether gender differences in the specificity of sexual arousal previously observed for gender also exist for sexual activity interests; and (2) to examine whether men and women with masochistic sexual interests demonstrate specificity of sexual response for their preferred sexual activities. Surprisingly, the pattern of results was very similar for men and women. Both men and women with conventional sexual interests (WCI) reported more sexual arousal, and responded more genitally, to conventional than to masochistic sex, demonstrating specificity of sexual arousal for their preferred sexual activities. Despite showing specificity for conventional sexual activities, the genital responses of WCI were still gender nonspecific. In contrast, women and men with masochistic sexual interests demonstrated nonspecific subjective and genital responses to conventional and masochistic sex. Indices of genital and subjective sexual arousal to masochistic versus conventional stimuli were positively and significantly correlated with self-reported thoughts, fantasies, interests, and behaviors involving masochism. The results suggest that gender similarities in the specificity of sexual arousal for sexual activity exist despite consistent gender differences in the specificity of sexual arousal for gender.

Appendix

Appendix 1: Examples of Masochistic Sex Story Used in Study 1

You are in a room with this tall, menacing woman. She is wearing stiletto heels and a tight black leather dress that shows off her figure. The woman is wearing a leather mask. You are sitting on a hard, wooden chair with a gag across your mouth and your hands bound tightly behind your back. You can barely breathe and you can’t move your hands at all. The cords dig painfully into your wrists. Your shoulders and neck ache from the strain. The woman leans toward you. She slaps you in the face, hard. Your cheek stings from the impact. You’re breathing fast and your heart is racing. You feel yourself getting aroused. She slaps you again, scratching your face with her sharp, dark-red fingernails. The woman picks up a small black leather whip from a table. She begins striking you with it, using all her strength, drawing blood with each blow. You moan and struggle against your bindings but you can’t get free.

Note: This story was presented without the sentence, “You feel yourself getting aroused” in Study 2 as a “masochism only” stimulus.

Appendix 2: Example of Masochism and Sex Story Used in Study 2

You are in a room with a tall, stern-looking man. He is wearing a tight shirt and pants that reveal his powerful, muscular build. You are naked, kneeling and holding the master’s leather glove above you. Your shoulders ache with the strain. Slowly, he pulls the tight leather gloves over his broad hands. The man orders you to look down at the floor and slaps you hard across the face when you hesitate for a moment. Your cheek feels hot and stings as you quickly look down. He tells you that you will be punished for your hesitation. He twists both of your nipples hard and the pain radiates through your body. He slaps you several more times, hard, and you struggle against the shackles, trying to stop your moans. He cups your face roughly with his gloved hands. His pants are unzipped and you feel his hard cock pressing into your mouth slowly but insistently. You moan as you feel his hardness thrusting deep into your throat.