Straight but Not Narrow; Within-Gender Variation in the Gender-Specificity of Women’s Sexual Response

Gender differences in the specificity of sexual response have been a primary focus in sexual psychophysiology research, however, within-gender variability suggests sexual orientation moderates category-specific responding among women; only heterosexual women show gender-nonspecific genital responses to sexual stimuli depicting men and women. But heterosexually-identified or “straight” women are heterogeneous in their sexual attractions and include women who are exclusively androphilic (sexually attracted to men) and women who are predominantly androphilic with concurrent gynephilia (sexually attracted to women). It is therefore unclear if gender-nonspecific responding is found in both exclusively and predominantly androphilic women. The current studies investigated within-gender variability in the gender-specificity of women’s sexual response. Two samples of women reporting concurrent andro/gynephilia viewed (Study 1, n = 29) or listened (Study 2, n = 30) to erotic stimuli varying by gender of sexual partner depicted while their genital and subjective sexual responses were assessed. Data were combined with larger datasets of predominantly gyne- and androphilic women (total N = 78 for both studies). In both studies, women reporting any degree of gynephilia, including those who self-identified as heterosexual, showed significantly greater genital response to female stimuli, similar to predominantly gynephilic women; gender-nonspecific genital response was observed for exclusively androphilic women only. Subjective sexual arousal patterns were more variable with respect to sexual attractions, likely reflecting stimulus intensity effects. Heterosexually-identified women are therefore not a homogenous group with respect to sexual responses to gender cues. Implications for within-gender variation in women’s sexual orientation and sexual responses are discussed.

Below:  Subjective sexual arousal to female and male audiovisual stimuli by attraction group for Study 1. Exclusive Androphilia (n = 14), Predominant Androphilia (n = 19), Andro/Gynephilia (n = 21), Predominant/Exclusive Gynephilia (n = 22). Error bars indicate standard error of the mean.

Below:  Genital response to female and male audiovisual stimuli by attraction group for Study 1.  Exclusive Androphilia (n = 14), Predominant Androphilia (n = 19), Andro/Gynephilia (n = 21), Predominant/Exclusive Gynephilia (n = 22). Error bars indicate standard error of the mean.

Below:  Subjective sexual arousal to female and male narratives by attraction group for Study 2. Exclusive Androphilia (n = 23), Predominant Androphilia (n = 19), Andro/Gynephilia (n = 24), Predominant/Exclusive Gynephilia (n = 10). Error bars indicate standard error of the mean.

Below:  Genital response to female and male narratives by attraction group for Study 2. Exclusive Androphilia (n = 20), Predominant Androphilia (n = 19), Andro/Gynephilia (n = 24), Predominant/Exclusive Gynephilia (n = 10). Error bars indicate standard error of the mean.

Full article at:  http://goo.gl/B7ZvvW

By:  Meredith L. Chivers, Katrina N. Bouchard, Amanda D. Timmers

Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

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The Impact of Sleep on Female Sexual Response & Behavior: A Pilot Study

The etiological role of sleep disturbance in sexual difficulties has been largely overlooked. Research suggests that short sleep duration and poor sleep quality lead to poor female sexual response. However, prior research consists of cross-sectional studies, and the influence of sleep on sexual functioning and behavior has not been prospectively examined.

We sought to examine the influence of nightly sleep duration, sleep quality, and sleep onset latency on daily female sexual response and activity.

This study used a longitudinal design to study 171 women free of antidepressants and with reliable Internet access who were recruited from a university setting in the United States. Participants first completed baseline measures in a laboratory, and then completed web-delivered surveys at their habitual wake time for 14 consecutive days.

All outcome measures were modified for daily recall. Participants completed the Profile of Female Sexual Function's desire, subjective arousal, and orgasmic functioning scales and the Female Sexual Function Index's genital arousal scale, and indicated whether they engaged in partnered sexual activity or self-stimulation in response to dichotomous items.

Analyses revealed that longer sleep duration was related to greater next-day sexual desire, and that a 1-hour increase in sleep length corresponded to a 14% increase in odds of engaging in partnered sexual activity. In contrast, sleeping longer predicted poorer next-day genital arousal. However, results showed that women with longer average sleep duration reported better genital arousal than women with shorter average sleep length.

Obtaining sufficient sleep is important to the promotion of healthy sexual desire and genital response, as well as the likelihood of engaging in partnered sexual activity. These relationships were independent of daytime affect and fatigue. Future directions may investigate sleep disorders as risk factors for sexual dysfunction.

Via:  http://ht.ly/SHZii Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/KK2qgL

By: Kalmbach DA1, Arnedt JT1, Pillai V2, Ciesla JA3.

• 1Sleep and Circadian Research Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
• 2Sleep Disorders & Research Center, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA.
• 3Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA.

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