This is my perception as well. My personal belief is that few people are in the middle and most people know that they are mainly hetero or homosexual but may view themselves as hetero or “bi” in part because they feel pressured into heterosexual relationships.
This makes sense to me.
Perhaps it’s because female sexuality is more complex but my perception is men tend to understand their own sexuality better than women do.
??
Was that supposed to be connected to what I said, in which case I don’t see the connection?
Or is it just another subject thrown into the conversation, in which case, what is your perception based on?
I’m not so much into categorizing people. In addition to a spectrum of sexual preferences I think there is also a spectrum of openness to variety that may sometimes distinguish people who call themselves totally heterosexual or homosexual from a vast world of varieties in the middle. I’m kind of old now, not likely to get involved in much sexual experimentation but if I were young I would be open to more variety of experience to find out just what my preferences are. And I probably wouldn’t expect them to stay the same throughout my life.
Of course you’ll find similarities shared by most people who identify as heterosexual, or homosexual, but there are still whole worlds of difference among people within each of those groups, and there has to be an even broader range of possibilities in that simplistically defined group known as bisexual people.
It’s not related to your post at all but is related to the larger conversation. It’s not meant to be a slight toward women. My perception is based both on personal experience and studies like the ones mentioned in this thread which seem to indicate a woman’s own sexual responses can surprise them.
Not sure if this is either what you mean or what the researchers were measuring: but genital lubrication may not be a good measure of arousal. There’s some evidence that women may lubricate in sexual situations even if very much not aroused, such as in some cases of rape; possibly as a physical defense mechanism trying to reduce damage to the vagina.
So ‘no, I’m not aroused’ may not be refuted by ‘your genitals say you are’; at least, if ‘aroused’ is taken to include a mental response as well as a genital one.
– ah, found a combination of terms that gets me google results. Here’s one: https://westland.academy/rape-myths/
There appears to be an autonomous mechanism that creates arousal at a sub-cortical level (i.e., not perceived) to activate and increase vaginal blood flow, which thus increases the production of vaginal lubricating fluid (Levin & Burlo, 2004). In fact, a study done by Suschinsky and Lalumiere (2011) revealed that women showed genital arousal to all types of stimuli presented- including nonconsensual and violent narratives – even when experiencing unpleasantries and anxiety. It is argued that the nonspecific arousal of female genitals prepares the body for sexual activity, functioning to protect genital organs against injury. This is referred to as female genital non-concordance. Thus, the body’s physical response does not signify sexual desire, nor consent.
And that is why it’s not generally used.
Vaginal Photoplethysmography
Vaginal photoplethysmography has been the primary method used to assess female genital arousal. It is the most common and most validated physiologic instrument used in the study of female sexual function. Palti and Bercovici developed the first vaginal photoplethysmograph in 1967. They mounted a light source and photosensitive cell on a gynecologic speculum and recorded vaginal pulse waves (9). In 1975, Sintchak and Geer improved upon this model by adding a vaginal probe. This became the first “modern vaginal photoplethysmograph.” This device generated considerable research interest; subsequent improvements were made by Hoon et al in 1976, and Wagner and Levin in 1977.
Physiologic Measures of Sexual Function in Women: A Review - PMC