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Here in the 14th installment of the “Ask a Mormon Sex Therapist” series I discuss a fascinating research article about sexual arousal with Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife (title and abstract below) and Jennifer fields a question about the frustration a couple is experiencing derived from not being able to experience orgasms through intercourse alone.
Here is the title and the abstract from the article we discussed.
Gender and Sexual Orientation Differences in Sexual Response to Sexual Activities Versus Gender of Actors in Sexual Films
In this study, the authors investigated the hypothesis that women’s sexual orientation and sexual responses in the laboratory correlate less highly than do men’s because women respond primarily to the sexual activities performed by actors, whereas men respond primarily to the gender of the actors. The participants were 20 homosexual women, 27 heterosexual women, 17 homosexual men, and 27 heterosexual men. The videotaped stimuli included men and women engaging in same-sex intercourse, solitary masturbation, or nude exercise (no sexual activity); human male–female copulation; and animal (bonobo chimpanzee or Pan paniscus) copulation. Genital and subjective sexual arousal were continuously recorded. The genital responses of both sexes were weakest to nude exercise and strongest to intercourse. As predicted, however, actor gender was more important for men than for women, and the level of sexual activity was more important for women than for men. Consistent with this result, women responded genitally to bonobo copulation, whereas men did not. An unexpected result was that homosexual women responded more to nude female targets exercising and masturbating than to nude male targets, whereas heterosexual women responded about the same to both sexes at each activity level.
Also I mentioned the 13th part in this series wherein the controversy over oral sex and prophetic counsel are both discussed and articulated in writing. Lastly here is a link to the Ian Kerner book that was mentioned, She Comes First.
Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife is a psychotherapist who focuses on issues surrounding female sexuality and feminism within the LDS framework. She holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Boston College where she wrote her dissertation on LDS women and sexuality. She has taught college-level classes on human sexuality and currently has a private therapy practice in Chicago. In her private practice, she primarily works with LDS couples on sexuality and relationship issues. She also teaches online courses to LDS couples on these issues. She is married, has three kids, and is an active member of the LDS church.
If you have a question for the good doctor you can comment below OR send an email to askdrfife@rationalfaiths.com
Music: Sugar Blues (Pubic Domain)
So, I’m still confused.
Break down the results again for me. What did straight men and women respond to and what did homosexual men and women respond to?
Why have there been no podcast episodes in the “Ask a Mormon Sex Therapist” series since episode 102 on Jul 30, 2016?
One is coming very soon!
I’m glad to hear it. It’s been 4 months.
What is your view on a married couple going to a nude beach on vacation? Not for excitement reasons but to relax and enjoy the beach fully.
My wife and I are mormon and nudist/naturists and are very comfortable with going to nudist resorts, clubs and beaches. Chaste social nudity with a belief in body acceptance and the understanding that nudity does not have have to be sexual can allow a person to fully appreciate nature and relax and be comfortable with their body. http://www.ldssdf.org/v2/
To the person who asked the question in the podcast: I get rather grossed out by oral so I understand where your husband might be coming from. I also have a hard time reaching orgasm during intercourse so I understand where you are coming from as well. One suggestion I might have is using your hands and or his hands to help stimulate your clitoris during intercourse. One way to do this is for you to grab onto his penis and or testicles during intercourse and use the sides of your hands at the same time to stimulate your clitoris. This provides a sort of double stimuli both from grabbing “his” and rubbing “yours” if you are both comfortable with it. Again it’s often easiest to do this if you are on top. I hope you see this post and that it helps if you haven’t already figured out something that helps.