Men and women have different emotional responses when viewing non-consensual sex depictions, according to a new study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
In the past, researchers have investigated people’s responses to depictions of consensual sex. However, there appears to be more interest in “non-normative” sexual behavior and content nowadays, researchers say. This study is believed to be the first to focus on reactions to depictions of non-consensual sex.
Seventy-four people (29 men and 45 women) took part in the study. In a laboratory setting, each participant watched two video clips of non-consensual heterosexual sex. In one video, the woman was subjected to forced sex. In the second, the man was the recipient.
After each video, the participants were asked about their emotional responses to the clip and their degree of subjective sexual arousal. In addition, each participant completed the SSS (sexual self-schema) scale, a tool designed to assess perceptions of one’s own sexual aspects.
The researchers used an eye-tracking system to measure pupil dilation for each participant. Pupil dilation reflects “emotional activation toward emotionally arousing stimuli,” the authors explained, adding that “negative stimuli trigger larger pupil dilation.” They noted that participants cannot control their pupil dilation.
Men reported more positive emotions in response to the video clip depicting a woman receiving non-consensual sex. Because there is no previous research in this area, the authors could not provide a definitive explanation for this result. However, past studies on consensual depictions of sex have shown that men respond more to genitalia than romantic situations.
No differences were reported for the video in which the man was the recipient. There were also no differences in subjective arousal or pupil dilation for either video clip. However, among all participants, pupil dilation was greatest during the beginning segments of each presentation.
SSS scale themes of aggression and power were associated with men’s emotional responses, but no associations were found for the women.
The authors noted several limitations. Because this was a preliminary study, there is no previous research to help interpret the data. As such, the results should be considered with caution, the researchers said.
Another limitation was the low number of participants. However, recruiting a large sample could be a challenge, as prospective participants might not want to view potentially disturbing subject matter.
Still, the study may provide background for future investigations involving non-consensual sexual content.
Resources
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Carvalho, Joana, PhD and Pedro J. Rosa, PhD
“Gender Differences in the Emotional Response and Subjective Sexual Arousal Toward Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse: A Pupillometric Study”
(Full-text. Published: July 25, 2020)
https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(20)30721-9/abstract