{"id":36612,"date":"2017-12-11T10:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T18:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=36612"},"modified":"2017-12-11T10:02:30","modified_gmt":"2017-12-11T18:02:30","slug":"cultural-factors-affect-womens-sexuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/cultural-factors-affect-womens-sexuality-1211171","title":{"rendered":"Cultural Factors Affect Women’s Sexuality"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ACultural issues<\/a> can heavily affect women\u2019s sexuality<\/a>, according to a study published in Sexuality & Culture. <\/em>They are particularly salient for women who are lesbian and bisexual<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prior Research<\/h2>\n

Previous research focused on the way individual factors affect sexuality. For instance, a 2016 study<\/a> showed women who endorse benevolent sexism<\/a> are less likely to assert their sexual needs. They are also more likely to tolerate sexual selfishness from their partners.<\/p>\n

A 2017 study<\/a> found relationship issues<\/a> often prompt women to feign orgasms. They may be prioritizing their partner\u2019s ego or avoiding an argument. Sometimes women fake orgasms to end sex sooner.<\/p>\n

Despite the breadth of research on female sexuality, the Sexuality & Culture<\/em> study is one of the first to compare desire in heterosexual and non-heterosexual women.<\/p>\n

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Cultural Factors in Women\u2019s Sexuality<\/h2>\n

This study involved interviews with 31 women ages 20-69. The researchers interviewed women identifying as bisexual<\/a>, heterosexual<\/a>, and lesbian. Questions focused on the relationships between women\u2019s sexual desire, their identity, and their experiences.<\/p>\n

Cultural themes played a key role in women\u2019s sexual experiences. The most prominent themes included:<\/p>\n

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  1. Gender roles: The gender binary<\/a>, relationship dynamics, and body image<\/a> concerns<\/li>\n
  2. Religion: Spiritual beliefs<\/a> regarding sex and gender<\/li>\n
  3. Cultural shifts: Changes in sexual taboos<\/a> and expectations<\/li>\n
  4. Minority stress: Heteronormativity, stigma<\/a>, and coming out<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These cultural themes affected a diverse group of women. However, their role was most prominent among women who identified as non-heterosexual. The researchers suggest this disparity occurs because non-heterosexual women must face challenges related to both sexism and heteronormativity<\/a>. Compounded stigmas seem to increase their sensitivity to cultural expectations.<\/p>\n

    To empower women\u2019s sexual expression, advocates should be mindful of how systems of privilege<\/a> affect sexual desire. Individuals experiencing distress or difficulty relating to these issues may find it beneficial to discuss them with a counselor or therapist.<\/p>\n

    References:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. LGBQ* women’s sexual desire particularly impacted by social and cultural pressures. (2017, December 06). University of Kentucky News<\/em>. Retrieved from https:\/\/uknow.uky.edu\/research\/lgbq-women-s-sexual-desire-particularly-impacted-social-and-cultural-pressures<\/li>\n
    2. Rosenkrantz, D. E., & Mark, K. P. (2017). The sociocultural context of sexually diverse women’s sexual desire.\u00a0Sexuality & Culture<\/em>. doi:10.1007\/s12119-017-9462-6<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Cultural issues like sexism, heteronormativity, and body image can impact women’s sexuality. These factors may affect non-heterosexual women in particular.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2555,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[623,159],"tags":[967,788,715,712,1004,244],"class_list":["post-36612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issues-treated","category-therapy-news","tag-culture","tag-gender","tag-lgbtq-issues","tag-sexism","tag-sexuality","tag-womens-issues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2555"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36612\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}