The same was true when it came to erotic stories with only 14% of women saying that they were turned on by erotic stories against nearly half of the men questioned. In fact many more women than men were said to be offended.
Kinsey himself was surprised of the data regarding how few women were turned on by erotic stories. In his studies the only kind of psychological stimulation to which women seemed more susceptible than man was ordinary movies. Kinsey attributed this to the romantic or emotional atmosphere that is part-and-parcel of erotic scenes in most movies.
There has since though been further study that recorded different observations. Gunter Schmidt and Volkmar Sigusch from Hamburg University observed how college students reacted to sexually explicit stories, slides and films. They found that on average men reported slightly more sexual arousal to the material than women but in both sexes there was a lot of variation from individual to individual. They noted that 42% of women who saw the films and slides were more aroused than the average man. Women were also more likely than men to describe themselves as shocked or disgusted by erotica. According to the German studies the sexual and emotional reactions of both men and women were more alike than different.
It is interesting to note that the majority of both men and women in the German studies reported physiological signs of sexual arousal to the erotica. When Schmidt and Sigusch grouped all kinds of reactions together - in men, pre-ejaculatory emissions, erections and ejaculation; in women, vaginal lubrication, genital or breast sensation and orgasm - they found that 80-91% of the men and 70-83% of women had been aroused.
There are problems generalizing from these results. College students are more permissive towards sexuality than many other groups. Those in north-western Europe seem to be more permissive than their American counterparts. Studies such as Schmidt and Sigusch's do show though that there is nothing inevitable about a sex difference in reactions to erotic materials.
Ok fine but I know that some people may believe than women may be more likely to lie or at least to be evasive about their response to pornography or that women may be less sensitive to physiological signs of arousal. The answer may come from Julia Heiman a psychologist who got round these problems by recording the actual physiological responses of college men and women while listening to taped erotic stories.
Men wore a flexible circlet (like a rubber band) around the base of the penis. The device called a strain gauge is filled with mercury and measures blood volume and pressure pulse, recording the slightest sign of erection. Women got a newly designed device called a photoplethysmograph which is a small acrylic cylinder containing photocell and light source. When inserted into the vagina the device registers changes in blood volume and pressure pulse, early indications if sexual arousal.
The students were then to listen to four different kinds of tapes which were:-
* Erotic stories about explicit sex * Romantic versions of the same story * Stories than were both romantic and erotic * Control stories that were neither erotic or romantic
In general the women were as likely as men to be turned on physiologically while listening to the erotic stories and for both sexes straight sex was more arousing then romance alone. Further there was no evidence that these women preferred romantic-erotic stories to one than as simply erotic. In fact when students evaluated the stories subjectively the women rated the erotic ones more arousing than did the men.
Although previous findings of sex difference in response to pornography may have been due to women difficulties in recognizing or admitting arousal it is also possible that real change has taken place since Kinsey's day. Women are now exposed to much more erotica today than ever before and the content is much more female orientated. It is now permissible for women to enjoy erotic magazines such as Playgirl or to view erotic movies many which are geared towards a female perspective.
In conclusion it is fair to say that the majority both and women seem in today's world respond positively to erotic material. It is much more common place now for women to view and enjoy erotica. With this in mind I believe that erotica can be used successfully in any sexual relationship. For example the viewing of pornographic movie can be used as a form of foreplay with both people within the couple most likely physically aroused on viewing the film. I say why not give it a try if you haven't before.
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