Feelings of Masculinity and Accomplishment in Response to Penetrative versus Non-Penetrative Orgasms

Research indicates that men view their women partner’s orgasms as reflections of their masculinity and sexual esteem. The purpose of this study was to examine this phenomenon in more detail by exploring whether men’s feelings of masculinity and sexual esteem, as well as their feelings of accomplishm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives of sexual behavior 2022, Vol.51 (1), p.611-620
Main Authors: Savoury, Milan C., Mahar, Elizabeth A., Mintz, Laurie B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Couples
Emotions
Female
Humans
Intimacy
Male
Masculinity
Men
Mens health
Orgasm
Orgasm - physiology
Original Paper
Psychology
Public Health
Self esteem
Sexual Behavior
Sexual intercourse
Sexual Partners
Social Sciences
Womens health
Young Adult
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Summary:Research indicates that men view their women partner’s orgasms as reflections of their masculinity and sexual esteem. The purpose of this study was to examine this phenomenon in more detail by exploring whether men’s feelings of masculinity and sexual esteem, as well as their feelings of accomplishment, were influenced by the method by which their woman partner experienced orgasm. Specifically, 193 young adult men (primarily between the ages of 18 and 24) read one of three vignettes (a partner orgasming from intercourse, from manual/oral stimulation, or from vibrator use) and then rated their imagined feelings of masculinity, accomplishment, and sexual esteem. Findings indicated that men who imagined their partner orgasmed from intercourse or manual/oral stimulation had higher feelings of masculinity and accomplishment than those who imagined their partner orgasmed from a vibrator. We found a significant interaction between clitoral knowledge and vignette condition in predicting masculinity, with clitoral knowledge only predicting masculinity for men in the manual/oral stimulation condition. The results of this study have important implications for sex education and the prevention of sexual problems, as well as for the future study of positive sexual functioning in women and men.
ISSN:0004-0002
1573-2800
DOI:10.1007/s10508-021-02070-0