GENDER DIFFERENCES IN BELIEFS ABOUT THE CAUSES OF MALE AND FEMALE SEXUAL DESIRE

Little is known about the beliefs men and women have about the causes of sexual desire, despite the interpersonal and individual significanc e of those beliefs. Participants in this study received a definition o f sexual desire and answered a set of free-response questions explorin g their beliefs about the causal antecedents of male and female sexual desire. The results indicated that more women than men view female (a nd male) sexual desire as caused by external factors. In addition, bot h men and women believe that male and female sexual desire have differ ent causes: intraindividual and erotic environmental factors are belie ved to cause male sexual desire, but interpersonal and romantic enviro nmental factors are believed to cause female sexual desire. Although b oth men and women view physical attractiveness and overall personality as sexually desirable male and female characteristics, women, but not men, view femininity as a sexually desirable female characteristic, a nd men, but not women, view social and financial power or status as a sexually desirable male attribute.