Researchers have discovered that although many women assume they know exactly what turns them on, their brains and their lady bits often disagree.
Scientists
at Indiana University's Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender,
and Reproduction, used a 'vaginal photoplethysmograph'- a small glass
tampon-shaped instrument that measures sexual arousal by blood flow -
to demonstrate this mind-body disconnect.
Writer Melanie Berliet,
33, based in New York City, underwent the test herself and discovered
some surprising discrepancies between what she believed she found sexy,
and what her nether regions responded to.
'I've always thought of myself as self-aware sexually,' Miss Berliet writes for Cosmopolitan.
'I consider myself a non-judgmental heterosexual woman who enjoys various positions and toys and is open to the possibility of a threesome if the urge strikes.'
In the interests of the experiment, Miss Berliet was required to insert the probe into her vagina and seat herself on a leather chair while various erotic and non-erotic video clips were played before her.
Erick Janssen, PhD - whose work in sexual pleasure has reportedly earned him the monkier Dr. Feel Good - and evolutionary biologist Justin R. Garcia, PhD, both leading the study, were controlling the videos from a separate room.
'The probe looked and felt like a glass tampon, so it was easy to forget that it was inside me,' Miss Berliet tells MailOnline.
The device, she explains, measures blood flow to the surrounding tissue, or the 'pulse' of the vagina, which indicates arousal.
'It was definitely a challenge to stay still, but overall I was comfortable. Since I was focused on watching porn, any discomfort I might have felt was probably eclipsed by the graphic imagery inches from my face.'
Quite the experience: Writer Melanie Berliet (right) underwent the test, and although she assumed that footage of a threesome would turn her on and bondage would not, her nether regions responded in the opposite fashion. Pictured (left) Erick Janssen, PhD, who conducted the study
As Dr Janssen explains, arousal is made up from a balance between two brain systems; sexual excitation, 'your gas pedal', and sexual inhibition, 'your breaks'.
Miss Berliet was exposed to wide range of visual stimuli; from 'neutralizing' kitten videos and scenes from uplifting films, to hard-core porn and a disturbing clip from The Silence of the Lambs.
For each video, she was asked to rate her emotional responses - excitement, relaxation, fright, sadness, guilt and shame, for example - on a five-point scale.
Miss Berliet then told researchers, off the top of her head, that she was generally aroused by concepts including lesbian sex, a threesome and female masturbation.
Our guilt, shame, and social pressures can interrupt our ability to decipher our real sexual desires
She also declared some concepts that she didn't consider arousing; homosexual male sex, foot fetishism and bonobo monkeys mating, for example.
After sourcing video clips relevant to Miss Berliet's preferences, she was invited to view them and rate how aroused each clip made her feel on a scale of one to ten.
This created some mental conflicts.
'As a proponent of gay rights, for instance, I wanted to be turned on by sex between men, but I found the sight of two erect penises off-putting.
'And as much as I wanted to believe that neither animals nor feet could excite me, I had to concede a minimal level of attraction to both.'
The lab: Miss Berliet was required to insert the vaginal probe (right) and recline on a leather chair (left) where she was exposed to a wide variety of visual stimuli via video
A few days later, the results were in, and the researchers told Miss Berliet that her 'vaginal pulse' was strongest when she watched lesbian sex, bondage, foot fetishism, and female masturbation.
This was contradictory to how she recorded feeling at the time, when she said the bondage footage had turned her off.
According to the probe's results, Miss Berliet was least turned on while watching the bonobos clip - as expected - but also the threesome footage, which she had rated as turning her on to a degree of seven out of ten.
This was 'alarming' she notes.
In regards to the bondage footage, which she had claimed didn't arouse her but according to the probe, did, she writes: 'Perhaps I've been conditioned to associate domination by a man as anti-feminist, so my conscious mind couldn't embrace BDSM as eagerly as my vagina.
'Our guilt, shame, and social pressures can interrupt our ability to decipher our real sexual desires.'
Another surprising finding was that Miss Berliet had a stronger sexual response to the clip from The Silence of the Lambs than she did when watching rom-com footage.
This is not uncommon, according to Dr Janssen. Miss Berliet notes that watching scary movies does make her crave 'cuddling and protection' from her boyfriend.
A few weeks later, she and her boyfriend watched a thriller together and sure enough, 'it did the trick.'
In summary, Miss Berliet remarks, her adventure with the 'magical glass tampon' opened up her mind and led her to challenge previous assumptions she had regarding her turn-ons.
'I was surprised to learn that it's important to pay equal attention to what turns you off as what turns you on,' she tells MailOnline.
Perhaps I've been conditioned to associate domination by a man as anti-feminist, so my conscious mind couldn't embrace BDSM as eagerly as my vagina
'People tend to think about arousal as purely a matter of what excites them, but sexual inhibitors are just as relevant as excitation factors.'
She adds: 'I learned that it can take a lot of introspection and experimentation to figure these out, even for those of us who consider ourselves open-minded from a sexual standpoint.'
This particular experiment was conducted only on women, so we can only guess to what degree men might be subconsciously repressing or openly embracing their sexual preferences.
Miss Berliet doubts that gender is a factor.
'I think it's time to debunk the popular narrative that men are naturally more sexual than women,' she says. 'And I don't imagine that women are more likely to repress their turn-ons.
'I think sexual tastes depend less upon our biologically assigned gender and more upon who we are as individuals.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2830708/Think-know-turns-Think-Internal-probe-demonstrates-women-repress-certain-sexual-desires.html#ixzz3Iy0yo2BJ
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