When It Comes to Sex Some Men are from Mars but
Older Ones May be from Venus
Older men become more careful and particular in
choosing sexual partners
June
5, 2008 - When it comes to sex, some men are from Mars, others from
Venus, say researchers at the Kinsey Institute, who
found in a recent study that older men have distinctly different views
about sex than their younger brethren.
The changes in the quality of older men's erections
had a direct effect on their sexual encounters, including, for some, a
shifting focus to the partner and her sexual enjoyment, report the
researchers at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and
Reproduction at Indiana University.
Older men in the focus groups also consistently
mentioned that as they aged, they became more careful and particular in
choosing sexual partners.
The study by finds, in fact, that men report a
variety of different experiences involving sexual desire and arousal.
Men participating in focus groups expressed a range
of experiences and feelings relating to such matters as the relationship
between erections and desire, the importance of scent and relationships,
and a woman's intelligence.
The Kinsey Institute study, which appeared in the
April issue of the journal Archives of Sexual
Behavior, is unique, the authors say, because few studies so
far have examined how closely the findings of decades of laboratory
studies on sex actually reflect the experiences of men.
"We have a lot of assumptions about how men think
and feel and behave sexually," said Erick Janssen, associate scientist
at the Kinsey Institute.
"We use all kinds of methods to measure men's
sexual responses; in addition, we use questionnaires and surveys to ask
about sexual behaviors. It's less common to sit down with men and ask
them to talk about their experiences."
The focus groups involved 50 men divided into three
groups based on their age (18-24 years, 25-45 years and 46 and older).
Below are some examples of the different
experiences reported by the men:
● The sexual history of women also mattered to
the men - but differently for different age groups.
>> Sexually experienced women were considered more threatening by
younger men, who had concerns about "measuring up," but such women were
considered more arousing for older men.
● Some factors, such as depression or a risk of
being caught having sex, were reported by some men as inhibiting sex,
while other men found that they can enhance their desire and arousal.
● An erection is not the main cue for men to
know they are sexually aroused. Most of the men responded that they can
experience erections without feeling aroused or interested, leading
researchers to suggest that erections are not good criteria for
determining sexual arousal in men.
● Many men found it difficult to distinguish
between sexual desire and sexual arousal, a distinction prominent in
most sexual response models used by researchers and clinicians.
Background on the study
Janssen and his colleagues at the Kinsey Institute
have been working for more than 10 years on a theoretical model that
focuses on sexual excitation and sexual inhibition. They refer to this
as the dual control model of sexual response.
It holds that separate and relatively independent
activating and suppressing sexual systems exist within the central
nervous system and that the balance between these two systems determines
a person's sexual response in any particular situation.
Janssen relates this to the gas and break pedals in
a vehicle -- both can influence a car's behavior (you can slow down by
letting go of the gas or by pressing the brake) but they do so in
different ways. This model is used around the world by sex researchers
in studies on topics as varied as sexual dysfunction and sexual risk
taking.
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To measure the propensity for sexual excitation and
inhibition, the researchers designed a questionnaire. The original
questionnaire was developed for men, leading researchers at the Kinsey
Institute to conduct focus groups with women in an effort to create a
similar questionnaire that would be more relevant for women.
Janssen said the success of women's focus groups
led him and his colleagues to conduct the focus groups with men. The
findings ultimately could lead to a more effective questionnaire for the
dual control model but also can inform research efforts to better
understand the variability in sexual behavior.
"One of the main conclusions of the focus group
study is that, just like women, men are different," Janssen said.
"Sex researchers tend to focus a lot on differences
between men and women, while not giving as much attention to the
differences that exist among men, and women. This research is part of a
larger agenda at the Kinsey Institute of looking at individual
differences.
This dates back to Alfred Kinsey's original
research, but in our current research we not only try to capture the
variations in men and women's sexual experiences -- we also try to
understand better what explains variations in those experiences."
Co-authors of the study are Kimberly R. McBride, IU
School of Medicine; William Yarber, Department of Applied Health
Science; Brandon J. Hill, Department of Gender Studies; and Scott M.
Butler, Georgia College and State University.
Editors Notes:
Source: "Factors that Influence Sexual Arousal
in Men: A Focus Group Study," Archives of Sexual
Behavior, April, 2008. Vol. 37, No. 2.
June
5, 2008 - When it comes to sex, some men are from Mars, others from
Venus