General Question

SeventhSense's avatar

What do women want and why is their objective response of arousal so much different than their subjective response?

Asked by SeventhSense (18944points) March 30th, 2009

There was a fascinating article in the New York Times titled What do women want? In it Meredith Chivers did a study of a cross section of men and women and measured their response to a variety of stimuli that included homosexuality, heterosexuality and Bonobo Chimps having sex. The genitals of the volunteers were connected to plethysmographs. They were measured both objectively in this fashion and subjectively by their responses. The response by the men was typical of their stated preferences and their physical response was in keeping with their preferences.
The surprise was in the women who exhibited marked contrasts between their subjective and objective response of desire as measured by the plethysmograph. Their responses were all over the map. The readings from the plethysmograph(objective) and the keypad(subjective) weren’t in much accord. Many hypotheses have been formed by this study. One is that women had to be ready for sex in a variety of circumstances whether they welcomed in or not-i.e. rape. So therefore it would be less damaging to her body if she in fact was genitally aroused. And that response could be in marked contrast to her actual experience of desire.
Another is that a women’s ideas about the experience and enjoyment of sex are a veritable mish mash of emotions and societal standards which can create this incongruity.
AsSigmund Freud posed to one of his female disciples almost a century ago: “The great question that has never been answered and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my 30 years of research into the feminine soul, is, What does a woman want?”

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22 Answers

fireinthepriory's avatar

I read this article, too, and thought it was totally fascinating.

My answer is, I have no idea. I guess I’d be more inclined to think their first hypothesis is true, as distasteful as it is, since the second one seems a little… flaky. If you show a woman a video of toasters humping, does she get aroused? Yeah, probably not. A rape scene? Some women do admit that they’re turned on by that, and I think that these researchers’ hypothesis can begin to try to explain that.

What I do know is that this “phenomenon” is keeping the pantyliner companies in business! Too much? Sorry…

GAMBIT's avatar

It has been my experience that women want someone who will listen to them.

jo_with_no_space's avatar

Short answer is that there probably is no ONE answer.

SeventhSense's avatar

@fireinthepriory
second one seems a little… flaky. If you show a woman a video of toasters humping, does she get aroused?
???
Anyone else actually read the article?

Garebo's avatar

What I have read and tend to believe, and I can’t specifically provide any detailed studies at the moment; women can get just as aroused at sexually visual content as men, but they hide it better.

fireinthepriory's avatar

@SeventhSense Doesn’t seem like it… Oh, well. It was a great article. They just need to test a few more types of video before they can nail down which of their hypotheses is the most likely, I think. Hence the toaster suggestion, which was sort of a joke… But that would be a GREAT control video, don’t you think? Hahaha. On a more serious note, if women were genitally turned on by videos of rape, that would be some solid evidence. Course I don’t know who’d sign up for THAT research project…

SeventhSense's avatar

@fireinthepriory
Interesting control study idea. But I’m sure some “appliances” would make a stir. Also good point as to the rape video and I guess the concern would be the ethical implications of the findings.

fireinthepriory's avatar

@SeventhSense I guess maybe they could, couldn’t they? Haha. That would be fun to write up in the discussion. “Subjects were inexplicably turned on by the eggbeater porn, but not the spatulas…” I study fish behavior (or the genetic/hormonal underpinnings of fish behavior anyway) so I can only imagine trying to come up with suitable behavioral treatments for human subjects. It seems way too complex. :)

And yes – the ethical concerns of adding a rape video to the study would be rampant… I bet that someone somewhere would find a way to twist the findings. It’s hard to try to find the biological underpinnings of something like rape without feeling like you’re justifying it, which is obviously NEVER the goal.

SeventhSense's avatar

@fireinthepriory
No…I meant “phallic” appliances. Although some women past their childbearing age might be turned on by an egg beater.

fireinthepriory's avatar

@SeventhSense Yeah, I figured you meant something like that. It’s hard to communicate irony via fluther! :) In any case, it would be strange data to deal with. I suppose maybe something like crickets or turtles would have to be the control.

mitten13's avatar

I thought my aunt put it best,“we don’t know what we want, but we want you to get it for us”. hahahha

hearkat's avatar

I haven’t read the article, and if I tried right now, I’d probably fall asleep. But here’s my 2¢ on the topic…
I was sexually abused in childhood (prepubescent) and the stimulation elicited an arousal response in my body. This caused much conflict for me, because I didn’t like what was happening, yet my body liked it – understand? As a child this led me to bear a lot of shame and even guilt for what took place. It was through much counseling that I was able to recognize that the biological reaction was simply that—a biological reflex.

In my early relationships, all those emotions and also having body image issues and being insecure about love, I had issues with being physically intimate. I thought I was fat, I thought I was unloveable, I was very passive and sex became a chore. My body responded, and I enjoyed it some; but my mind was never present. I was always thinking of other things and not allowing myself to enjoy the moment.

As a divorcée in my 30s, I entered into a “friends with benefits” relationship. We agreed to be monogamous, but to have no emotional strings attached. Since it was just about sex, I made an effort to throw my insecurities out the window and have a good time. This allowed me to be mentally and physically in the moment, and I learned to be comfortable in my own skin and with my sexuality. After nearly a year, I found sex without emotion to be lacking, so I ended that relationship.

Not too long after, I fell in love with a man and we shared an emotionally and physically intense, passionate relationship. With him I finally experienced what it means to “make love” (and while I agree with others on another post that the phrase sounds cheesy, there is a distinct difference between sex and lovemaking).

It is said that a woman’s brain is her largest sexual organ… and my observation has me in agreement. Our body responds pretty easily to stimulation, but we can’t relax and enjoy the experience fully unless we feel safe and comfortable in the moment. And what makes us feel comfortable will vary from one woman to another. Some women are comfortable having random spontaneous sex with strangers, and some are only comfortable with their spouse in their bed with the lights off—and there’s everything in between.

SeventhSense's avatar

@hearkat
Thanks you for sharing that obviously major part of your life. It shed some more light onto this complex topic. If you get a chance, check out the article. Thanks again.

hearkat's avatar

@SeventhSense: I hope it helps. And I want to add that as men can be as complicated as women—just in different aspects of the relationship. Dating in one’s 40s is tough!

SeventhSense's avatar

@hearkat
Yes I can certainly concur with that as a 41 year old man. I have no idea where I fit in anymore.

hungryhungryhortence's avatar

I’m a female and what I want from my male lover is to make me believe he finds my body arousing to him and to pay me attention from toes to head. I want to be physically aroused before intercourse and that goes beyond just being wet which can occur with or without me being really turned on the way I want before going further. I want his hands all over me, no parts ignored or unstroked. Basically, I want my lover to pay attention to how I make love to his body and work that on me. I expect and usually make it clear I want him to guide me as we learn each other to show me what he likes and how he likes it. That’s what I want- everything.

SeventhSense's avatar

@hungryhungryhortence
Thank you. That seems pretty basic to me but highlights a significant but more encompassing need of the female sexual response and that is a complete attention to her entire body where men seem to be more genitally focused. As a man I like to be touched and caressed but sometimes I just don’t want other parts of me touched. My needs are focused on this one part stickin’ out the front for the most part during sex but as I get older my orgasms are felt throughout my entire body. Maybe if a women had an enormous clit extending far beyond her body she would be similarly focused.

@hearkat
Upon rereading, that was fascinating to hear that there can be a definite measure of arousal in the body by being wet but a non corresponding lack of arousal in the head. I think most men would be completely puzzled by that. We visually see or sense or smell arousal and in our head, “It’s on and she’s into it”. I suppose since there is hardly a corresponding response in the male. Although there are times that a man is erect and not really aroused. Of course the most obvious is the morning erection. Many women come upon this as a morning salutation to her beauty and his desire to have sex when he probably just has to piss.

And one other time I can think of is once when I was very ill with pneumonia or the flu or something and I was completely prone on my back with a raging hard on for some reason. My temperature was probably too high. My girlfriend came upon me and thought it was a grand old time to ride me like a pony. She later said it was a factor of me being vulnerable and completely passive which turned her on so much. I had to laugh because she was worse than most guys.

hungryhungryhortence's avatar

@SeventhSense: You’re welcome. I’ve always been a little annoyed at a man who wants to rush me thinking that just a few kisses and a moist cooter is going to make for great sex. I’ve never assumed just because my male partner has an erection that he doesn’t need or want further stimulation to really get turned on.

Here’s a puzzlement of mine for you: why is it men want more licking and movement than sucking in order to cum via a blowjob while women orgasm more by having their clit sucked? Doesn’t it seem like it should be the other way around since you guys have that big ole thing sticking out so far? Hmmn

SeventhSense's avatar

Well I personally like a good slow sucking but the cock doesn’t have the sensitivity of the clitoris which as far as density of nerve endings has little parallel: it has 8,000 nerve endings, double the nerve endings as the male glans. There’s also studies that indicate the penis becomes even more desensitized after circumcision because it loses the protective covering of the sensitive glans and is exposed. Imagine a clit without a hood. Most women like the clit to be indirectly stimulated because it’s so sensitive and the pressure alone from suction can be perfect. If the male had that many nerve endings he probably couldn’t walk around at all.

When I eat a woman I personally like to start with long slow licks from top to bottom with a flat tongue, peppered with kisses, teasing flicks at her clit and strong suction at the end. I’ve never had any complaints. A few have nearly crushed my head in leg locks. :)

hungryhungryhortence's avatar

@SeventhSense: what a great gent you are, bravo!

BeeVomit's avatar

My guess is that generally men are pleasured in a certain way, or think they are, and thus have little general basis in Sensuality. Think of how much work a man has to do to get a woman off and keep her satisfied in that way (meaning no toys, no change-ups, nothing). It could be that you’re blessed with the perfect size penis, the perfect body, the perfect personality and the knowledge to get the job done quickly and satisfactorily, that the woman in your life is completely and utterly spent when you are. That’s a stretch (no pun intended). It is no surprise to me that women have so many different psychological pathways (as far as sex is concerned) when they’re so often left wanting after their partner has finished and gone to sleep.

In my experience with women, the more unpredictable and openminded I can be (within reason) the quicker I can please their senses. Many women are hyper sensitive to other areas of the body than their genitals, as are men, but the difference is that those men I know don’t go looking for them. Moreover, they’re equally ignorant of their own sensitivities, taking up the popular culture practice of shunning them. This is a loss, if you ask me. No amount of friction can beat out a good mind job (watch for falling puns).

As an aside, If you’d like an interesting activity with yourself or your partner, try reaching orgasm without touching any genitals. You’ll find it’s as much a mind game as a physical one, and much more fun than you’d ever expect. Besides, after hours of foreplay in this manner, everything becomes much more sensitive. ;)

If you go back to puberty, guys, you’ll likely remember the funny feeling “down there” and wanting to explore it. Of course you use it all the time, so what’s this other feeling? Something new? I don’t know everyone’s case, but in my own, I was much more intent on exploring this one new thing that I hardly paid any attention to the others. It wasn’t until I started dabbling in some psychoactives as an adult that I even knew my body had the potential at least equal to that of my gonads to please me, fairly anywhere and everywhere I choose. Since the physical body is there and constant (and most people can feel it, no matter how sensitive), I have come to the conclusion that to please the body further is a matter of mentality. Therefor, I’m sure if more men were to explore the sensuous nature of their entire bodies, the tests would have been markedly different.

Ladies, you might have noticed I didn’t say much about your physiology and psychology. The truth is, I don’t really know it. I had been blessed as a child, raised almost entirely by women. I even found my mom’s smut under her bed shortly after I got my inklings “down there” and started my explorations into that world fairly early. What I found out (usually reading erotica by women, for women) is that in particular cases, women are attracted to the unknown. That is, not to define as exhibitionist, voyeur, or to coin a phrase, open for all occasions. Rather, that when faced with a new possibility for stimulus, a woman will react with curiosity towards this new experience. I don’t know how far that goes, but I think I’m about a 90% ballpark on this theory (no hotdog jokes, please).

Whereas men would likely have studied the same tactics with little variation to get off, I would guess that women generally practice more ways of sensual pleasure. You understand, don’t you all, that a woman’s genetalia are much more complex than a man’s, at least as far as the finished product is concerned. I’ve been lucky enough to explore my body’s pleasures to what I would consider multiple orgasmic states (with coaching), but I admit that when I’m focusing on the “one thing,” when I’m done, that’s it for me.

I would go further on this reach to say that I think women develop their senses earlier than guys, and since they don’t have one all-encompassing trick to study again and again, they are able to achieve much more exploration. I would say that since a woman generally knows how to please herself, but also knows there are other ways to achieve the goal, they are constantly aware of how to get off on anything that comes to mind. If I may be so bold to say further, I know for a fact that no matter how dirty and conniving my mind can be, sexually, nearly all the women I’ve met that have any background in self-pleasure are even further involved in that mentality. In short, women get turned on because they have active imaginations, and, they know that they can achieve their goals in multiple ways.

And that’s about all I want to say right now. I’m open to corrections.. Just know, I tried to generalize a lot of my suppositions simply because I’ve known several girls who didn’t know a thing about their sexuality because they’d never given themselves the chance to try it out. I also know women who are strongly attracted to their mates, and very well pleased with them, but still find some displeasure at not reaching the highest heights, so to speak.

BeeVomit's avatar

@fireinthepriory Your turtle and cricket idea reminded me of some photos a friend of mine shot in California where the elephant seals go up on beaches along the central coast during much of the winter months. These were shot about 3 year ago. The photos show, simply, elephant seals “in the act.” Man! What a face. Looked just like a fat couple having sex. The guy was totally blissing, and the female (about ¼ his size) was kind of panting and looking at the ground… Then another photo was of his member sliding up and out, and the female looking around as if meaning “where’d it go?”

Now think just for a minute, that my female friend was flushed, giggling and showing me these pictures. She was turned on! For sure, it was no mistake. So.. I know it’s a long shot, but sex is sex no matter who’s doing it, and some people can appreciate that simple fact. Go toasters!

Btw… have you ever seen snails do it, up close? ... there’s a video I’ll try to remember the name of for you. I’m not joking, these critters can be quite sensual. Now for the joke, ever hear of lady-bug style? Cheers!

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