To understand how human beings are evolving, we need to look at their sexual fantasies. Exactly, not what he does in bed, but what he would dream of doing with one or more partners. A recent revision, published in February 2023 in the scientific journal Elseviershe proposed to examine the most important studies conducted on the topicwho from 1995 to today have used different methodologies to collect data.
Among these, the Sex Fantasy Questionnaire by Wilson it is the most used and translated questionnaire for the study of sexual fantasies, although so far there is not yet a standard questionnaire that can serve as a point of reference for studying the importance and impact of sexuality on psychophysical health.
Let's start with the basics: what is a sexual fantasy?
According to the scientific definition, a sexual fantasy is “a sexually arousing or erotic mental image for an individual.” Necessarily, it is a definition free from any judgment and which differs from what is meant by paraphiliaor any sexual interest other than that for genital stimulation (or foreplay of such stimulation) with phenotypically normal, physically mature and consenting partners.
Sexual fantasies: how they change based on gender
Based on the aforementioned and widely used Sex Fantasy Questionnaire of Wilson, the first results regarding sexual fantasies represented only a slice of the population, that is, the young, white, heterosexual male North American college students. Over time, there has been aopenness towards the female gender, noting that women who have sexual fantasies, also putting them into practice, report a significant increase in testosterone and also finding one Similarity of sexual fantasies in cisgender, queer, and heterosexual adults.
Regarding the non-binary peoplethe review highlights which are more likely to include subjects with non-normative genitalia and refer less to the self as an object of desire. Not only that, homosexual and bisexual individuals are more likely to have engaging fantasies episodes of non-monogamy, sex with multiple partners and BDSM. The authors indicate that it would be interesting to conduct other studies on LGBTQ+ people, over 70s and from different cultures. Meanwhile, current studies highlight that i asexual subjects are more likely to report than have no sexual fantasies or that their fantasies do not involve any person.
How many take action?
Early research on the topic paid relatively little attention to the link between what people fantasized about, what they wanted, and what they actually did sexually. However, it has since been learned that fantasy, desire, and behavior are distinct but overlapping constructs. Today the research focused on the favorite fantasy or more recurrent than people (known in Freudian terms as «central fantasy of masturbation”) suggests that About 4 in 5 people report a desire to act on that fantasy, but then only 1 in 5 people actually act out their sexual fantasies.
How do fantasies change based on age?
According to studies, the frequency of fantasies seems to decrease with age, but be careful: a third of mature age respondents would still have more sexual thoughts than young adults. The latter would have more BDSM type fantasies or those involving emotional satisfactionadults in their 50s and 60s would have more fantasies about sex with multiple partners, non-monogamy and new sexual experiences, possibly breaking taboos, while seniors report fewer sexual fantasies in each category.
Sexual Fantasies and Pornography: Is There a Link?
Pornography has always been a privileged channel for fueling one's fantasies or seeing them “realized”, even without taking action. But the question scientists have been asking is: is pornography an extension of fantasy, or are interests in fantasy and porn distinct? Research suggests that this varies from individual to individual, with some people who see porn as “food for the imagination” and others who report “an active fantasy life, which does not rely on porn.”
The seven most widespread sexual fantasies today
But What are the most widespread sexual fantasies today? Here it is 7, revealed by this summary review.
Threesome, foursome or even more, up to the so-called orgies: this is one of the most recurring fantasies.
Cleared from the trilogy of Fifty Shades of…, these practices involve role-playing games based on the exchange of power, which involve the sexual, but above all psychological, aspect. Participants must consent.
Not better specified, but they involve the introduction of an element of novelty into ordinary sexual life.
Transgression has always been part of the most titillating sexual fantasy. Which? It depends on the “rules” one gives himself in bed. For some, transgressing could mean having sex in a public place, but also just having sex in a position you've never tried before.
For some, cheating on your partner or having a parallel life is the exciting element of a relationship.
According to studies, it is mainly Asians who talk about sexual fantasies in terms of kissing and cuddling.
Dreaming of doing it with people of the same sex, when you have always “believed” you are cisgender, can be a very exciting sexual fantasy.
Source: Vanity Fair
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