# What would happen if males and females traded sexualities? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 17, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001 "2018-02-17T16:12:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/1 "2018-02-17T16:12:43Z")
I think it’s an amusing thought experiment to ponder how bizarrely this world would operate if EVERYTHING else between the sexes were kept the same except that males now had female sexuality and females now had male sexuality. ---
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/2 "2018-02-17T16:20:25Z")
Just to clarify, the vast majority of males would still be attracted to females and vice versa, it’s just that the \*nature \*of their sexualities would be switched. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/3 "2018-02-17T16:35:09Z")
… why do you think anything at all would be noticeably different? Unless you’re talking about culture instead, in which case it would still be pretty much the same except with the overarching gender categories reversed. ---
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/4 "2018-02-17T16:59:28Z")
I should have said “sex drive” isn’t of “sexuality.” So \*\*everything \*\*is the same, (strength, psychology, etc) except sex drives are reversed. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/5 "2018-02-17T17:02:57Z")
I assume the OP means that a lot of women would try to have casual sex with as many male partners as possible, while men would be more selective and reserved in which women they have sex with. And it would be men saying things like, “Let’s just cuddle, no sex,” and women who would be the ones committing most of the rapes and sexual assaults, and also constitute the bulk of the clientele of the porn industry. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/6 "2018-02-17T17:52:24Z")
[These people](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGwv22CnKcM) may wonder too. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/7 "2018-02-17T18:05:39Z")
Basically, I’m “from that planet”. > [@Lasciel](#): > > … why do you think anything at all would be noticeably different? > > Unless you’re talking about culture instead, in which case it would still be pretty much the same except with the overarching gender categories reversed. ^^^ There are a lot of people (especially well-represented on this board) who believe that there _are no genuine_ differences, regardless of cultural attitudes and beliefs to the contrary. They could be both right \*and \* wrong: there may in fact be no built-in “genuine” differences and yet at the same time the web of shared cultural expectations and interpretations could mean that most people _behave as if_ there were, even people who do not believe there are any built-in “genuine” ones. Meanwhile, there are certainly a great many people in our society who do _not_ share their belief that there are no such differences, and since they are part of our world, their existence “flavors” our expectations of how people will most likely behave: some of the humans we encounter, because they do believe in such differences, will be particularly likely to have internalized the social myths and stereotypes as the identity that they “should have”. Example A: [Luciano700’s current thread about his own masculinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=20793997). We know such people inhabit our world, so our expectations of male folks includes both males who do not believe there are any intrinsic differences and also people like **Luciano700** , who _do_, and it sort of averages out in our minds so that we expect a somewhat more “masculine” set of priorities and behaviors and personality traits from a male than from a female, and that includes dating flirting and courting and other related sexual behaviors, for sure. I don’t know why I have found it so difficult this year to express that thought coherently. Was it done any better this time? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/8 "2018-02-17T18:30:49Z")
Some feminist commentator whose name escapes me said that in such a scenario, menstruation would become a boastful event, with men bragging about how long and how heavy. I find some women do the same, only about how much suffering it causes them. “No one’s period is as bad as mine!” ---
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/9 "2018-02-17T18:34:51Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Some feminist commentator whose name escapes me said that in such a scenario, menstruation would become a boastful event, with men bragging about how long and how heavy. > > I find some women do the same, only about how much suffering it causes them. “No one’s period is as bad as mine!” I said **everything** except sex drives would remain the same. So females, not males, would still be the ones doing the menstruating. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/10 "2018-02-17T18:48:28Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Some feminist commentator whose name escapes me said that in such a scenario, menstruation would become a boastful event, with men bragging about how long and how heavy. I think it was Gloria Steinhem who said “If men had babies, abortion would be a _sacrament_.” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/11 "2018-02-17T18:54:04Z")
You’re assuming that women have a different sex drive from men? ---
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/12 "2018-02-17T19:01:58Z")
> [@susan](#): > > You’re assuming that women have a different sex drive from men? Uh… yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/13 "2018-02-17T19:02:52Z")
There’s a simple logical reason for why the sex that gets pregnant to be more choosy about their partners, and for the sex that does not get pregnant to be more promiscuous. If we’re positing that the sex that does not get pregnant is the one that’s now more choosy, then we have to come up with some reason for why that logic doesn’t hold. What is that reason? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/14 "2018-02-17T19:03:40Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > I said **everything** except sex drives would remain the same. So females, not males, would still be the ones doing the menstruating. That doesn’t make sense, given how one of the things affected by mentruation is sex drive. Might as well posit that women will be having erections, only without getting a penis. ---
**Author:** ![Marcus\_Flavius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@Marcus\_Flavius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marcus_Flavius)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/15 "2018-02-17T19:09:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There’s a simple logical reason for why the sex that gets pregnant to be more choosy about their partners, and for the sex that does not get pregnant to be more promiscuous. If we’re positing that the sex that does not get pregnant is the one that’s now more choosy, then we have to come up with some reason for why that logic doesn’t hold. What is that reason? Don’t worry about the logistics, it’s just a thought experiment. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/16 "2018-02-17T19:10:57Z")
> [@susan](#): > > You’re assuming that women have a different sex drive from men? Yes. Gay men have more sex partners than lesbian women or heterosexual couples because men crave sex and strange more than women do. > **[an unequal distribution of partners: gays versus straights - Contexts](https://contexts.org/blog/an-unequal-distribution-of-partners-gays-versus-straights/)** > > Contexts is a quarterly magazine that makes cutting-edge social research accessible to general readers. > **[It’s the Mode for Men to Have More Sex Partners](https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-imprinted-brain/201703/it-s-the-mode-men-have-more-sex-partners)** > > A common fallacy mistakes the mean for the mode, where the number of sex partners distinguished by sex is concerned. Whatever gender invests the most (time, energy, health, money, etc) in offspring tends to be the more reserved gender regarding sex. In some bird species where the male invests more in offspring than the females, the males are the sought after gender . I don’t know what this thought experiment would be like. If women both invested more in offspring, but acted like the gender that invested less (as OP theorizes), that would be strange. I guess in a way, it’d be like pimp culture of 80 years ago. Women were nymphomaniacs and they wanted their pimps to sleep with them, but the pimp wouldn’t sleep with them unless the prostitutes offered the pimp money first. Men demand financial contribution before having sex with nympho women. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/17 "2018-02-17T19:28:25Z")
> [@Marcus\_Flavius](#): > > I said **everything** except sex drives would remain the same. So females, not males, would still be the ones doing the menstruating. I think the scenario of men dealing with menstruation is more interesting than mere flipped sex drives. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/18 "2018-02-17T20:24:20Z")
> [@susan](#): > > You’re assuming that women have a different sex drive from men? Exactly. We’d all find that we’re more alike than different and that a lot of the qualities ascribed to being sexual are actually societal constructs. ETA: Evolutionary psychology tends to be a lot of woo. Psychology Today isn’t the best source. That guy is referencing a 1979 study. I’d look at a credible more recent study. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/19 "2018-02-17T20:41:43Z")
Interesting question. I’ve often thought sex is psychologically different between the sexes. Forget about worries of pregnancy, or STDs, etc… Psychologically speaking, is seems a way more vulnerable position to be the person allowing somebody to be _inside_ of you, rather then the person entering someone else. So it only makes sense that the person in the most vulnerable position would be more choosy. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001/20 "2018-02-17T20:48:01Z")
There are a lot of petite gay bottoms attracted to men bigger than them, and I don’t think they are as choosy as women are, as a general rule. Yes I speak for all gay people. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-males-and-females-traded-sexualities/809001.md?page=2)