Sex With Women is Different
Yes, that headline is deliberately provocative, but I just couldn't resist it. It is, however, an accurate starting place for this essay. Recent research reveals that women do, indeed, have a startlingly different response to sexual stimuli than men do, which is completely congruent with the ages-old knowlege of humanity that women respond differently to sexual situations. What interests me today is more the way that the media use this research to push their agenda.We start with this post at Gene Expression, one of my favorite blogs, where the discussions are frank, open, and anything but politically correct. There one can go to explore the relationship between our genes and our behavior without any agenda beyond the discovery of scientific truth. It is exactly the opposite of most media outlets, where facts are seen as convenient tools, or inconvenient obstacles, only there to help one make one's point. But GNXP is there with the facts, ma'am, only the facts. And today, the facts are these:
Men are only physically aroused by either male or female stimuli, and men do not exhibit a bisexual arousal pattern (i.e. men who are aroused by male stimuli are only aroused by male stimuli). Men who report being gay or ‘bisexual’ are also aroused only by male stimuli. Women, on the other hand, exhibit physical arousal to both male and female stimuli, which does not track their subjective/psychological arousal or their stated orientation (lesbians and straight women are physically aroused by both male and female stimuli).Of course, it has not been a secret to zero base thinkers that women see the world through a sexual filter, but that fact is not a part of the common wisdom, and it is anything but politically correct. Even as research has demonstrated that female sexual arousal is nonspecific, whereas, in males, sexual arousal is strongly related to sexual orientation, our society is spending a large amount of effort "gender norming" various human activities, and trying really hard to get us to accept as normal the tiny portion of humanity who self-identify as male homosexuals. Thus the mainstream media use this research in articles such as "What Makes People Gay?" While this particular article offers a wide-ranging review of a lot of recent research, its beginning, its end, and especially its headline declare exactly what the "correct" result of the research should be. As hard as he tries to be even-handed, the author reveals his biases throughout the piece. And he never mentions that women get aroused at the sight of animals doing it. Or the fact that all women are bisexual. Or the fact that no men are.
Why it is so hard to just allow that human sexuality is incredibly complex, and varies hugely from person to person? Beyond our physical equipment, we have the mind, which is very different from each to the other. Not surprising, since we each have to write the software for this fine instrument ourselves, and do it at an extremely early stage of life. Now we can see proof that women have a relationship with their sexuality that is very different from that of men. We can now understand why a threeway with two girls is so much more satisfying for all concerned than one with two guys. We now know that the differences between the sexes are quite basic, and efforts to "norm" the sexes are doomed to failure. And we can appreciate one of the few examples of French culture that remains valid still ; Vive le difference!