Human Sexuality: Scholarly vs Pop Culture
A scholarly article “Sexual Desire and Relationship Duration in Young Men and Women”, written by Sarah H. Murray and Robin R. Milhausen, suggests that experiences in sexual desire may differ between men and woman as a relationship progresses. The article also theorizes that different factors, based on gender, may also affect sexual desire.
The study was conducted using 170 participants, 79 males and 91 females, recruited from a college campus. All of the men and women researched were between the ages of 18 and 25 years old and were required to be in a sexual relationship. Another controlling factor was that the participants had to be free from the use of antidepressant medications due to their affect on sexual function. Lastly, because of sexual orientation influencing satisfaction, only those identifying themselves heterosexual were included in the study.
Once the participants met the study’s criteria, they gathered at a university campus where a research assistant explained the study in detail. Data for the article was compiled through the use of surveys. Half of the participants completed paper questionnaires while the remaining half completed their questionnaires online using lab computers.
After filtering multiple relationship variables, sexual desire and relationship length were evaluated for each man and woman. The study concluded that men and women were generally satisfied in their current relationship and sexual interactions. However, the study also indicated that, while a man’s sexual desire does not decrease over time, a woman’s desire for sex does decrease as the relationship duration increases (Murray & Milhausen, 2012).
Published by The New York Times, contributing writer Daniel Bergner wrote an article titled “Unexcited? There May Be a Pill for That”. In this online magazine article, the drugs Lybrido and Lybridos are highlighted as the possible cure for women’s low sexual desire. Rather than a simple female version of the popular drug
The study was conducted using 170 participants, 79 males and 91 females, recruited from a college campus. All of the men and women researched were between the ages of 18 and 25 years old and were required to be in a sexual relationship. Another controlling factor was that the participants had to be free from the use of antidepressant medications due to their affect on sexual function. Lastly, because of sexual orientation influencing satisfaction, only those identifying themselves heterosexual were included in the study.
Once the participants met the study’s criteria, they gathered at a university campus where a research assistant explained the study in detail. Data for the article was compiled through the use of surveys. Half of the participants completed paper questionnaires while the remaining half completed their questionnaires online using lab computers.
After filtering multiple relationship variables, sexual desire and relationship length were evaluated for each man and woman. The study concluded that men and women were generally satisfied in their current relationship and sexual interactions. However, the study also indicated that, while a man’s sexual desire does not decrease over time, a woman’s desire for sex does decrease as the relationship duration increases (Murray & Milhausen, 2012).
Published by The New York Times, contributing writer Daniel Bergner wrote an article titled “Unexcited? There May Be a Pill for That”. In this online magazine article, the drugs Lybrido and Lybridos are highlighted as the possible cure for women’s low sexual desire. Rather than a simple female version of the popular drug
References: Bergner, D. (2013). Unexcited? There May Be a Pill for That. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/magazine/unexcited-there-may-be-a-pill-for-that.html?pagewanted=all Greenberg (2010). Exploring the Dimensions of Human Sexuality, Sexuality Research. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?url=http://ebooks.apus.edu/ CHFD220/Greenberg_2010_Ch2.pdf Murray, S H. & Milhausen, R R. (2012). Sexual Desire and Relationship Duration in Young Men and Women. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 38, 28-40. doi: 10.1080/0092623X.2011.569637