Study Shows that Men and Women Have the Same Sexual Fantasies

A study conducted at the University of Granada have demonstrated that there are not significant differences between men’s and women’s sexual fantasies. The fact is that both sexes have intimate and romantic sexual fantaies involving their partner or loved one. In addition, men have more sexual fantasies (positive and negative) than women, which would confirm the old believe that men think more frequently about sex than women.To carry out this study, the researchers took a sample of 2250 Spanish people (49.6% mend and 0.4% women) aged between 18 and 73 years, who had maintained a heterosexual relationship for at least 6 months. The information was collected by an Incidental and Planned Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). A number of provincial ongoing training centers, adult education centers, Granada local library and several University of Granada and Universidad Complutense schools collaborated in this study.

The results obtained suggest that near 100% of men and women have experienced a pleasant sexual fantasy in their life, while about 80% of the interviewees have experienced a negative or unpleasant sexual fantasy sometime in life.

Differences by Sex

However, men and women do not fantasize with the same frequency. Specifically, the study showed that women have pleasant romantic fantasies more frequently than men –a few times a month. Men, however, fantasize more frequently about exploratory sexual activities as group sex and seek new sensations as “being promiscuous”, “being a swinger”,“participating in an orgy”. The frequency of these fantasies is “sometime in life” or “once a year.The most unpleasant sexual fantasies are those associated with sexual submission. Women were found to think more frequently than men in “being forced to have sex”–they fantasize about it at least once in life. However, the most frequent negative fantasies in men are associated with homosexual sex.The authors of this study are Nieves Moyano Muñoz and Juan Carlos Sierra Freire at the University of Granada department of Personality, Psychological Evaluation and Treatment. This is the first study to approach sexual fantasies as positive and negative thoughts in Spain. The results will be published in the Spanish journal Anales de Psicología.

Currently, these researchers intent to elucidate whether negative or unpleasant sexual fantasies are dysfunctional for the development of a number of sexual behaviors. On such purpose, they are looking for adult people (over 18 years of age) that have had a relationship of at least 6 months.To participate in this study, you only have to anonymously answer a set of questions which confidentiality is guaranteed. The survey is available at http://encuestasexualidad.ugr.me/

The University of Granada researchers point out that having sexual fantasies “favors some aspects as sexual desire and arousal”. In therapeutic terms, researchers think that it is not only the presence of lack of sexual fantasies what should be considered, but also the patient’s attitude towards them.