A new study sets the record straight about the reasons why men and women jump in bed together. Historically, men have a reputation of luring women into bed for a good time, while women want to “feel a connection.” This new study says those characteristics are bogus.
The proof
Researchers at the University of Texas came up with an extensive list of more than 200 reasons why people have sex, and it turns out men and women agree on the number one reason: they are attracted to the person. In fact, twenty of the top 25 reasons given for having sex were the same for men and women.
The reaction
“It blows the old misconceptions about men and women out of the water,” Lauren Smith said after reading about the study. “Honestly, I’m shocked.” For Lester Hickle the results were also surprising. “How could that be?” he said. “It’s actually refreshing to know that it’s not just guys trying to get girls to bed that they are doing the same.”
“It’s refuted a lot of gender stereotypes … that men only want sex for the physical pleasure and women want love,” said University of Texas clinical psychology professor Cindy Meston, the study’s co-author. “That’s not what I came up with in my findings.”
Top answers
- Attraction
- To feel pleasure
- To please each other
The group studied
Critics of these findings point out the group that was studied: college students. Meston admits that sex among college-aged men and women would be different than a study conducted with older married couples. Still Meston says it points to a concept that men and women might not be as opposite as once thought.
Forget thinking that men are from Mars and women from Venus, “the more we look, the more we find similarity,” said Dr. Irwin Goldstein, director of sexual medicine at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego.
