Gender-Specificity of Genital Response and Self-Reported Sexual Arousal in Women Endorsing Facets of Bisexuality

Abstract

Gender-specific sexual arousal has been examined in women with sexual attractions toward predominantly women or men, but not in women reporting sexual attractions to both genders. In this study, women who endorsed one or more facets of bisexuality—sexual orientation, sexual identity, romantic attraction, sexual fantasy, sexual behavior—listened to narratives describing sexual and nonsexual interactions with female and male partners while their genital response and self-reported sexual arousal were assessed. Contrary to expectations, across the bisexuality facets, female gender cues produced a greater degree of genital response and self-reported sexual arousal than male gender cues, regardless of the number of facets of bisexuality that were endorsed. This pattern of results replicates those obtained by Timmers, Bouchard, and Chivers (2015) using audiovisual stimuli. Implications for our understanding of women's sexual attractions and response are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• bisexuality
• sexual psychophysiology
• sexual arousal
• sexual orientation

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katrina N. Bouchard

Katrina N. Bouchard, MSc, is a doctoral student in clinical psychology under the supervision of Dr. Caroline F. Pukall at Queen's University. She received her MSc in clinical psychology from Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario in 2014.

Amanda D. Timmers

Amanda D. Timmers, MSc, is a doctoral student in clinical psychology under the supervision of Dr. Meredith L. Chivers at Queen's University. She received her MSc in clinical psychology from Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario in 2013.

Meredith L. Chivers

Meredith L. Chivers, PhD, CPsych, is a clinical psychologist and associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Queen's University. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, in 2003 and completed her clinical residency at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada. Between 2003 and 2007, Dr. Chivers completed postdoctoral fellowships at CAMH. Dr. Chivers joined the Psychology faculty at Queen's University in the spring of 2009 as a Queen's National Scholar. She serves on the editorial boards for the Archives of Sexual Behavior, Journal of Sex Research, and the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality.