Abstract
Female sexual arousal can be elicited in laboratory setting by exposure to different kind of sexual stimuli (pictures, videostimuli, imaginery) and measured by vaginal photopletysmography (VPA). Sexual videostimuli have a great potential to elicit female sexual arousal regardless of content, e.g. heterosexual and homosexual intercourse or bonobos engaging in sexual activity (Chivers et al., 2005, 2007).
However, videostimuli are very complex, therefore it is not clear, which aspect of the stimuli is responsible for the increase of genital arousal. Some theorists assume, that female genital response is an automatic response to any sexual stimuli as a preparation for a possible sexual intercourse (Laan, 1994).
This was supported by Spape et al. (2014) findings, female sexual arousal was greater to exposition to a stimuli depicting male erect penises compered to flaccid penises. It is also assumed, that female will be more sexually aroused while exposed to attractive men (Chivers et al., 2010).
These assumptions were not directly tested with use of standardized stimuli yet. In our study, we hypothesized that female sexual arousal will be influenced by the attractiveness of men depicted in the stimuli, his level of arousal and preparedness for sexual contact.
Sexual arousal of 32 heterosexual women, aged 22-45 (M = 31.6, SD = 6.7) was measured by VPA (BIOPAC system) in reaction to 18 standardized photos of men in 6 conditions: 2 attractiveness (attractive/non-attractive) x 3 level of preparedness for sexual contact (underwear/naked with flaccid penis/naked with erected penis). Mean VPA per category was counted.
Using repeated measures ANOVA, we found significant difference in sexual response between conditions, F (3.671, 155) = 4.403, p =.003. Women showed significant increase of genital arousal to attractive naked male stimuli with flaccid (p =. 026), and erected penis (p =. 033) compared to attractive men in underwear.
Reaction to attractive naked men was in general greater compared to unattractive men in underwear (p=. 012) and unattractive naked men with flaccid penis (p=. 017). VPA reaction to attractive men with erect penis was greater compered to all categories of unattractive men (p=. 006, p=. 005, p=. 024 respectively).
In case of unattractive male stimuli, women showed similar level of genital arousal to men in underwear and naked men with flaccid penis, but genital arousal increased in reaction to men with erect penis but the effect was not significant. Preliminary results indicate that attractiveness of the men have an impact on female sexual arousal.
Female sexual arousal for unattractive male stimuli increased only when erected penis was displayed. The results suggest that erected penis itself could be a sexual attractant regardless of model's attractiveness.