WOMENS SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO MALE-PRODUCED AND FEMALE-PRODUCED EROTICA

Whether erotic films made by women are more arousing for women than er otic films made by men was studied. Forty-seven subjects were exposed to both a woman-made, female-initiated, and female-centered, erotic fi lm excerpt and a man-made, male-initiated, and male-centered erotic fi lm excerpt. Photoplethysmographic vaginal pulse amplitude was recorded continuously. Self-report ratings of sexual arousal and affective rea ctions were collected after each stimulus presentation. Contrary to ex pectation, genital arousal did not differ between films, although geni tal response to both films was substantial. Subjective experience of s exual arousal was significantly higher during the woman-made film. The man-made film evoked more feelings of shame, guilt, and aversion. Cor relations between subjective experience of sexual arousal and photople thysmographic measures of sexual arousal were nonsignificant. The larg est contribution to female sexual excitement might result from the pro cessing of stimulus-content and stimulus-meaning and not from peripher al vasocongestive feedback