There was a commonly accepted broad generalization about the differences between what men and women find attractive. Men are more specific, while women use broader criteria when considering attraction.
A new large-scale study suggests the reality is more complicated and much more social than biological.
In a study published in The Journal of Sex Research, scientists analyzed data from more than 50,000 people across three datasets. They examined physiological reactions, self-reported attraction, fantasies, and subconscious associations.
Instead of boxing participants into “straight,” “bi,” or “gay,” the study used more nuanced categories, reflecting how people actually describe themselves. Participants rated their attraction to men and women, reported sexual fantasies, and completed implicit association tests designed to capture automatic, knee-jerk responses.
Why Straight Women Fantasize About Other Women, According to Research
The results largely confirmed past findings: men in general, but specifically straight men, show extremely strong gender-specific attraction. Their fantasies and subconscious responses are almost entirely focused on their preferred gender, whatever it is, with little overlap with any other gender.
Women, on the other hand, were much more flexible. Straight women reported clearer attraction to men, but also higher levels of attraction and fantasy involving women than straight men reported toward men. Someone might read that and do the dumb person version of analysis by saying that women are attracted to everyone and everything. No. It just means their preferences are less exclusive.
The pattern wasn’t universal. Gay and lesbian participants were less picky when it came to gender differences. Lesbians showed levels of gender specific attraction as strong as or stronger than gay men, suggesting that sexual orientation matters as much as gender when it comes to how specific attraction takes shape.
Another fascinating find that the researchers stumbled upon challenges the idea of men being more sexual overall. That’s not what the numbers say. If it were true, men would report attraction more broadly, which they don’t.
This is where social stigmas come into play. Straight men face stronger stigma for same-gender attraction, which pushes them toward narrower expressions of their innate desires. Women get cut a little bit more slack when it comes to sexual fluidity, explaining their broader patterns of attraction.
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