Emily Nagoski Consent Arousal Nonconcordance
Squint: surprise, embarrassment, disgust
Brain - reward center
Liking: opioid hotspot in emotional brain
Wanting: motivates to go toward/ away from stimulus
Learning: Pavlov’s dog
Wanting and liking are related but not identical
Arousal Non Concordance:
Non Concordance: lack of physiological response (salivating) & subjective experience (pleasure)
Ex: genital blood flow increases in response to sexual stimuli even if stimuli not related to liking
10% -50% predictive relationship
Listen-to-her-words
Recognized and articulate what they like
Important in judicial cases
Orgasm doesn’t mean there was pleasure/ consent
Ex: moldy fruit → mouth water - words tell what is/ isn’t liked
1 in 3 women, 1 in 6 men ½ transfolks are survivors
Prevalence & consequences of adult assault of men
87 empirical articles
Definition of sexual assault
Narrow vs broad intoxication, manipulation, unwanted
Acts: intercourse, unwanted contact
Variability affect prevalence rate & severity
Methodologies: impact findings
Specific to open interpretation
Convenience vs representative
Gender: gender of perpetrator can affect psychological impact on male victims (
Male - more confusing
Female - less negative
Timeframe: of reporting (lifetime vs specific period)
Vulnerable pop: gay & bisexual men
Veterans & inmates
Impact: psychological, sexual, physical consequences
Potential reporting bias, complex relationships, mental health issues
High level: distress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts
Impacts sexual functioning, emotional/social interactions, physical health, injuries STIs
Men are often overlooked
Non-Consent
Rape
Physically forced penetration
Physical assault unconscious, incapacitated
Coercions
Definition continued: At least one party doesn’t consent any experience, event, interaction that one or more parties did not consent
Legal Definition
History: a man having carnal knowledge of a woman not his wife through force & against her will
Still about women
Only covers penetration
2012
Still just about penetration - just sex organ
What type of activities associated
Rape is an act of sexual intercourse
Accomplished under any disorder/ disability to give consent AND not spouse
Ex: Alzhemiers
Active Impact
Negative psychological reactions
90% PTSD symptoms within first 2 weeks
Most show recovery within a year
7% will experience PTSD
Cis men & transgender usually don’t ask for help
Happens to sexual activity affects sexuality
No treatment to address sexuality
Improves sexual functioning
Doesn’t alleviate sexual problems
Most agree that nonconsent experience isn’t ideal
1 in 5 fairly more prevalent
Not everyone who is a victim speak up about
Only considering certain definitions
No operational definition
Operalization is not clear
Way it is defined it will affect people’s answer
Health Disparities
Column: category
Findings:
Prevalence
Adult non consent assult range
30% anything by women in most broad context
Men less likely to interpret force - not necessarily as rape
Negative psychological impact
Not upsetting when perpetrator is woman
Greater risk taking can result
sexual identity questioning
Women don’t seem to do that
Men are less likely to get help
Clinicians don’t know how to help them when they do get help
Laws aimed to help women
Unless penetrative or other
Women don’t rape unless statutory - by definition
Most perpetrators are men
40% of men report having a woman perpetrator
Victims-precipitated rape: rape is a result of “asking for it” clothes, flirting, etc
Increased knowledge of risky situations
Less likely to get raped
Psychopathology of rapist: rape is committed by a psychologically disturbed man
Dark Triad linked higher likelihood of perpetration
Feminist Theory:
Product of gender- role socialization
Eroticization of violence - emphasis on power
Malamuth’s Model
It's about both power & sex
Interviewed convicted people
All blamed the victim
Social cognition that women are objects and asking for it
Control & superiority men viewed
Men needed to control women
Lacking in empathy
Part of yours that support having sex
Detached feelings of sex
Uncontrollable high levels of sex drive
Hegemonic masculinity - negative aspects
Sexist beliefs + high sex drives
More likely to press on when aroused than when not
Non consent more likely when in aroused state
Not simply additive
You have to be high in both (multiplicative effect)
High sex drive & high sexual attitudes
Leading:
People who have experienced - one perpetrators
Sexual trauma at youth - high risk of lots of things
Miscommunication theory (doesn’t apply to most)
Consent cues: vague
Sexual script: men push, women are gatekeepers, if you push a woman enough they’ll agree
Alcohol helps reduce anxiety → more likely to interpret them
Perpetrators aren’t aware
People who endorse it know they are perpetrators
College men interacted with avatar
Avatar was to kiss person but no other sexual behavior
1 finding more aroused more likely to continue after soft refusals, louder men got continue on
Sociocultural Influence
Rape Culture: rape myths
Victims wanted to be rape
Men can’t control themselves
Perpetrators don’t believe they rape
More endorse rape supportive myths → more in grey rape behaviors
Hard because of social desirability
Field is hard
More funding into understanding victims not perpetrators
Sexual Orientation, Controversy & Science
Controversy… biological, environmental & psychological functioning
Abstract
Implication of research, policy, society, individual rights
Method
Biological factors (genetics, prenatal hormone & brain structure)
Deeply rooted political/ ideological stances
No single “gay gene” complex play of nature vs nurture
Early life experiences → shaping sexual attraction
Complex measuring - variability in sexual behaviors & identity across individuals
Hard to distinguish correlation vs causation
Shift away from polarized debates
Beyond Binary Video
Fem vs masc isn’t universal - specific to the west
Femininity → male bodies
Euro American culture: male is feminine
Transexual: change sex transverse binary
A third gender: self identity
Samoa/ Oaxaca not considered women even with surgery
Fa'AFafine: recognized as member of third gender
Nothing to do with sexuality
Everything to do with presentation - behavior
Western culture would suggest they are bisexual
A Fa'AFafine can be with a straight man
Male bisexuality is very rare in the west
Samoa looks like majority of men are bisexual
High degree of acceptance in the community
Androphilia: male sexuality male same-sex attraction
Fa'AFafine don’t like being called gay
Separation anxiety - preference for female occupations, exhibit same sexual expectations look at guys
Lack of interest in modifying bodies - gays have bigger desire to change sex
TedTalk
Orientation - innate trait - most supportive of LGBTQ+
Not scientifically accurate distrust for late in life gays
Not legally necessary
Unjust
100 women with different sexualities
Gender & sexual development → changes over time
Fluidity
Genes don’t provide last word
Conversion therapy doesn’t work
No results & big psychological problems
Legal necessary
Prohibition of having certain traits - immutability
Converts have put more emphasis if it is just hard discrimination
Born this way → don’t care
Don’t want just
They want equality - exclusive gays don’t get to have more rights
More bisexuals than same sex choice of sexuality
How why when shouldn’t rule acceptance/ equality
Sexual Orientation
Environmental influences don’t mean choice
Identities: labels that people use to express internal characteristics
Homosexual: same sex sexual behaviors - same gender behavior
Not the same as homoerotic
Same gender
How does that relate to transgender
Self reference for masc/ fem
Males - smaller gamete females - larger gamete
Sexual orientation: complicated
Unclear about attraction - body parts or body as a whole
Facial features (jawline/ soft skin)
Personality traits
Dynamic between individuals
Components of sexual orientation
Describes general pattern
Constellation attractions, desire, behaviors, arousal
Theory of preference 1) monogamy 2) gender 3) value sex as part of relationship
Guides sexual behavior
Orients sexuality - what is it as we know it from gender
Binary gender system is problematic
Sexual behaviors - who are you having sexual interaction
Love of male-ness/ female-ness
Behavior is same/ different gender as individual
PDA have different meanings than same gender
Way seen by others is different based on company and difference of who they’re interacting with
Sexual orientation labels can be messy
How to disclose who you ae to another person
Compass Model
Tends to gravitate towards a certain sex same/ different
Sexual orientation guides attraction/ decisions
Implies stability
Alignment of Attraction Behavior usually don’t align
Most have same gender attraction
Bisexuality is pathway to becoming gay/ lesbian
More common than exclusive homosexuality
Endorsement of same gender attraction
Doesn’t rise to the level of more
Why eliminate a potential sex partner
Behavior → erotic sex with just same gender
How likely it is added to identity
Measuring Sexual Orientation
Domains: attraction, arousal, desire
Identity is one sense of sexual orientation
No cause yet of sexuality
Happen since birth doesn’t mean a cause
Want factor to proceed it
Correlate vs cause
Higher gay than not ( higher in identical twins vs fraternal)
Multiple genes likely involved
Genome studies are correlational
Bivariate outcomes
Organizational Hypothesis
Differences caused by circulating hormones
early effects are irreversible (organizational)
Later effects are reversible (activational)
Hormones stress → gay
Gay men have more older brothers
Epigenetic factors make fetus more/ less sensitive to androgens
Gender Atypicality
Identifying as gay/ lesbian
meaningful/ precise geng/environment
Asking questions about choice make sense to gay choice is about desire
Why ask about choice to begin with
Doesn’t make sense to say how the way argument
Sexual Fluidity
Not tied to one orientation - change overtime
Sexual orientation: pattern of attraction, desires, fantasies, & behaviors toward specific ()
Context specific change might counter previous experience
Historical change
Political lesbians vs born lesbians
Other classic examples
Heterosexual women fall in love with female best friend
Emotional relationship
Most common context
Overlap between desire & love manifests
Variability in Attractions, Desires, Behaviors
Birth control → more sexual partners
Sexual revolution
Women’s desire change over time
Function of relationship
Women partnered → more sexual behavior
longer/ older → more willing
More focused around women
Men sexual fluidity - made more common than hypothesized
What did people do?
Longitudinal study % of transition in 10 years
# not generalizable ( New York sample)
Women adopting lots of different titles
Patterns from results change is happening
Changing to unlabeled → fluidity
Bisexual is a label
Unlabeled category people gravitate towards
Want to adopt more inclusive labels
Wide variability in the sample
Discrepancies across domains of sexual orientation
Category crisis: what category to be in
Might be put into unlabeled
Switch labels to try/ explore - change behavior
Ignore crisis
Pattern of desire → relatively stable over time
Behaviors can change
Romantic partners can change
Labels can change
Change over time & across situations
Heightened sensitivity to context
Operates alongside sexual orientation
Variability in attractions, behavior, identity over time
Variables
Overall sexual orientation
Fluidity as a heightened eroic
Want to know what way its more accurate to measure
Polarized directed to one gender
Heightened erotic response to one of less gender
How evenly is attraction spread out
Proof of concept
Those attracted to both → greater responsiveness to less preferred gender
How nonexclusive are a person’s attractions
Average day-day attraction
Subjective arousal in laboratory
Daily diary: degree subjective arousal → average day to day period
Greater variability
Higher value less correlated daily life - lab
Instability
Watch for shifts over time
2 week pattern
Stable
Insatiable
Erotic responsiveness less P Gender → more dynamic fluctuations
Temporal instability → fluidity
Lack of associations
Proximal “drivers” of both temporal changes
How we define and measure concepts depends on a lot of things
Week 9 Class 1
What role might oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine play in pair bonding?
What are the costs and benefits of responding to a partner’s sexual needs? What is the role of emotional reciprocity, attention, and sexual communal strength in sexual and relationship satisfaction?
Relationship Structures
Monogamous & non-monogamous
Normativity / discrimination
Bonding
Voles (Prairie Vole & Montane Vole)
When able to be in a chamber with a partner/ neutral/ stranger
Prairie prefer Partner - less in Stranger, even less in Neutral
Preference to be next to vole they just copulated with
Montane prefer Neutral, - equal time in Partner & Stranger chamber
No partner preference
Thus Montane voles are solitary, prairie voles show partner preference
OT - Oxytocin - neurohormones: in brain, can cross blood brain barrier
1 receptor type
Ventromedial Hypothalamus- regulating circadian rhythm
Nucleus accumbens- reward part of the brain
Other places
Well know for pregnant people giving birth
Sociosexual behaviors
Intercourse
Childbirth
Lactation
Maternal pair bonding
Labor contractions
Released in dose dependent fashion in women, released in men but not in dose dependent fashion
Implication
AVP/ Arg-VP - Arginine Vasopressin
3 receptor types - where a neurotransmitter attaches to something
Ventral forebrain (Ventral pallidum), etc
Fluid retention, help body get rid of excess fluid
Sociosexual Behaviors
Erection
Ejaculation
Aggression
Territoriality
Pair bonding
More male oriented/ associated
Voles
Stronger ventral forebrain vasopressin receptor in Prairie Voles, but not meadow coles
Implication
OT vs VP after copulation
Oxytocin blocked - female not interested
Vasopressin blocked - male not interested
Injection of hormones before mating increased pair bonding
Monogamy
Prairie voles is oxytocin & vasopressin necessary for behavior
If you block then what happens?
Control - blank injection
Same as if you had done nothing → partner preference
Blocker
Oxytocin - Lower rates of partner preference in females
Vasopressin - lower rates of partner preference in males
Dopamine
partner preference must be getting pleasure from partner
Learning about reward process
Sufficient - blocking dopamine - prevents partner preference from being induced with vasopressin injection
Need both dopamine and vasopressin to get pair bonding in males
Unique about vasopressin in ventral pallidum?
Montane Voles - No indication of partner preference
Partner preference when you inject into the ventral pallidum
In prairie voles
Wildtype prairie voles & inject OT or Arg-VP before mating and you see pair bonding
You can prevent pair bonding with injection of OT or Arg-VP antagonists just after mating
In montane voles
If you inject vasopressin into the ventral palidum, you get pair bonding, like you see in prairie voles
Non-monogamy
Unmitigated communion
Prioritizing the needs excessively of others above themselves (in terms of own psychological & physical well-being) neglect their own
Devoid of agency for one’s own needs - more negative & less positive affect in situations of interpersonal conflict
Higher reports of distress, depression, anxiety, disappointment
Sexual communal strength
A person’s motivation to meet their partner’s sexual needs
Motivation to meet partner’s sexual needs without expecting direct reciprocation
Having high communal strength: More likely to engage in sexual activity when not in the mood
Having high communal strength: More responsive to partner during sexual activity
Relationship Functioning
Higher response to needs → higher satisfaction & commitment
Higher satisfaction - sexual, relationship, commitment
Higher well-being in partners & romantic relationships (personal & interpersonal well- being)
Sustained desire & connection - even during low sexual desire
Does Not dissipate over time
Costs & benefits of responding to partner’s sexual needs - Study
Higher sexual communal → greater feeling of connection & responsiveness → higher satisfaction in experience & relationship
Higher unmitigated sexual communion → negative aspects of sex → less enjoyment of daily sexual experiences
Impett
Want to know
Find
Do
Attention/ Sexual Responsiveness
Sexual desire
Arousal
Pleasure
Sexual & relationship satisfaction
Results
Relationship satisfaction
When person motivated to meet partner’s sexual needs, report higher sexual and relationship satisfaction
When you’re higher in sexual communal strength you attend more to your partner
Higher in sexual unmitigated communion → not as focused on positive cues
Higher sexual communal strength → more sexually satisfied→ more focused on partners cues
Responsiveness & reciprocity
ATTENTION matters
Paying attention to itch → it gets strong
Subtle sensations → more attention → more impact → more intense → accessing as arousal → more genital experience (positive loop unfolds)
Experiencer rather than observer
Week 10 Day 1
Non-monogamy
Not solely with one person (sexually or romantically)
Nonconsensual: cheating 1.2-85% of a sample secretive affairs
In college student 1 in 2 or 3
Married couples 1 in 4 or 5
Varied and complex reasons
Impact on marriage varies widely by couple
Suggests: monogamy doesn’t provide universal benefits
Not engaging in monogamous relationships even though they are saying it
Arousal needs challenge → challenge attainable is arousing
Consensual:
Swinging
Open relationships
Polyamory = many loves
Relationships, not just sex
Some have primary lovers and others do not
Monogamish
May be consensual or not
Have an unspoken thing were you can have other people on the side but don’t tell partner bc they don’t want to know
No such thing as the right frequency
Sex 1-3 times per week
Varies based on age, relationship duration, kids, stressful life events, desire frequency, etc
Finding the “right” frequency for your relationship
Want to increase novelty
Ability to explore self sexually
At least short term benefit on sexual relationship
Who is happy?
people/ relationship who
Want to grow/ improve in sexual communication/ skills
Accepts sexuality of themselves/ partner
High sexual communal strength
Listens to their partner and aware of quirks moods, like and dislikes
Talks both in and out of bedroom
Sexual Communication
Talking about what happened in sexual community and what happened
Communication during sex
Beforehand talking about likes/dislikes or exploration
Frequency of sexual communication
Quality was larger than frequency of sexual communication
Talking about sex a lot is good
Quality of sexual communication is more important than frequency of sexual communication
Sexual self disclosure
Identifying i like this and don’t like
Sexual communication content and process
Want to know whether or not just talking about sex was about satisfaction
Sexual and relationship satisfaction
Sexual communication predicts sexual satisfaction
Path analysis
Communication process: how well you think that when you have a sexual problem how does your partner respond to your complaints
Communication content: if you are actually talking about sex
General communication is not associated with female general communication
Is with overall relationship
Not sexual satisfaction
Communicator in general has no impact on sex life in general
Female general communication process is relate to male relationship satisfaction
Disclosing how you feel about sex life makes more sexual satisfaction but doesn’t help partner
How talking about sex → higher sexual relationship satisfaction no impact on relationship satisfaction
General communication → more satisfaction general
Talk about sex → better sexual satisfaction
Non-monogamous relationships
NEO-FFI-SF
Stable over time
Neuroticism:
Extraversion : every from others
Agreeableness: people pleasing abilities
Conscientiousness: wiping up messes?
Openness to experience: being able to be open to new experiences (artsy)
New Sexual satisfaction scale
Dominance and jealousy
People talk more about jealousy
Jealousy becomes excitement for the partner
Sexual need fulfillment (sexual communal strength)
Satisfied with way partner takes care of needs
Spillover effect between relationship with primary partner and those needs impacts feelings about primary partner and secondary partner - not true in verse
Verbal communication is super important
“I” language
Not engage in mind-reading
Don’t want to assume that you know what is in there person’s head
Don’t say I know what you feel
Listen actively
Stating thoughts clearly, simply, and honestly
Listening
Validating
Drawing your partner out - “tell me more about that”
Accentuate the positive - feedback
Attention is everything
What you attend to during ssez matters
Relishing in partner’s pleasure
Nonverbal communication and signaling
Reciprocity & responsiveness
Partner responding to moves you make
Sex is like a dance
Understanding Adolescent Sexuality
Adolescents are relatively conservative
Sexuality is a place where larger insistence that the issues of the experience of sex is important regardless of who they experience it with and how
Sex is as it has always been
A part of young people’s lives - generation after generation
Different kinds of roles sex might play in their lives
Pleasure might be
Masterbation
Healthy and important way to experience sexuality
Pleasure or adverse experiences (pain)
sharing/ communication - or lack of
Sexually healthy nation
Allows people to experience sexuality
Each have sexual rights
Intertwined with human rights to pursue
Legislative and human health approaches
Services educational and health wise
Sexual Wellbeing
Memorable
External sensory experiences - sight, smell, taste, touch
Paper:
We learn from both kisses that are amazing and memorable because they weren’t good
Pleasantly memorable experiences from the kiss
Thinking the kiss was ok but you still like the person so you're not going to quit
You don’t like the person & you don’t like the kiss so you’re out
Four pillars of sexuality
People are inherently sexual and pursue experiences for enjoyment, freedom, and self expression
Sexual health
Based on things that are pretty standard - comprehensive sex ed
STIs & preventing getting pregnant
Maybes: non-consent, family planning, birth control methods
Fertility management
Sexual violence prevention
Sexual functioning concerns
Might have disorder of arousal or desire etc
Sexual justice
Sexual rights
Ultimately socially situated
Sexual citizenship
Children don’t have rights in our culture
Decider about own sexuality, have agency about sexual rights to be upheld
Sex positive practice
Children don’t have the right to bodily autonomy
Can be limited by position in society
If you need to be in violent situations to keep roof over head
Own sexuality can still be positive and good
Sexual citizenship can influence sexual wellbeing
Sexual pleasure
Person-related
Type of person achieves more pleasure in sexual life or wants to achieve more pleasure
Event-related
This moment sex is good, pleasurable sex
Sexual well-being
Impaired overall sexual pleasure
If you constantly get STI’s and things like that
Feeling safe, secure, respected
Sense of self esteem and resilience, forgive others for transgressions
Learn to forgive others for transgressions tend to have better sexual well-being overall
Ability to be able to freely make choices about sexuality and sexual experiences
All things contribute to overall sense & evaluation of sexual life
Is sexual life where you want it to be
Well being with regard to sexuality
Can have sexual well-being without pleasure or having rights be upheld
More likely to have higher levels of sexual well being if you feel like you have higher levels of autonomy and respect
Esteem & self - efficacy
Sexual literary perceptive start shifting fundamental questions we are asking
Is this relationship good for me and what I want?
How satisfied are you with this interaction
Optimizes both safety and pleasure
They don’t have to be opposite constructs
Big question to improve sexual wellbeing and health
Interventions are only as effective as they speak to people
Fear based message isn't as helpful as pleasure message
Condom use
Talking about pleasurable experiences → increase sexual pleasure
More likely to use condoms more consistently
Fact sheets
Environmental doesn’t mean you can chose it change it or it is your responsibility
Quality communication affect sexual satisfaction
Positive thing that beliefs change to be to real facts
Orientation may not stay the same throughout life
Attention to present moment to pay attention to sensations
Sexual experiences shape future
Explicit communication vs implicit communication (non verbal cues) difference but important in both of them (dance metaphor)
Mentality shift → talking about sex is ok
More information about sexuality than most americans
Much of what we implicitly learned about sex is inaccurate or more nuanced at best
There is a more systematic way of understanding sex
Allows us to evaluate if cultural beliefs are valid
Disseminate sexual knowledge, take what you have learned and spread it