Sexual Fantasy of Cisgender and Nonbinary Individuals: A Quantitative Study

Abstract

Sexual fantasies typically represent sexually arousing mental imagery and, thus, are thought to play a role in sexual activation and sexual desire. They are also related to sexual and personal satisfaction. Differences between cisgender men and women’s imagery are widely reported in the literature. In contrast, research on sexual fantasies among the trans community is scarce, especially when it comes to nonbinary identified people. The aim of the present study is to explore similarities and differences in the sexual imagery of cisgender women and men and nonbinary individuals, through a checklist of sexual fantasies, the Italian version of the Sexual Fantasy Questionnaire (SFQ). Results highlight that nonbinary individuals rate almost all categories of SFQ fantasies as sexually non-exciting, unlike cisgender men and women. The differences between cisgender men and women only partially confirm the results reported in the literature. In particular, the higher tendency to fantasize about dominance in men and passivity in women is not found in the present sample. Results are discussed in the light of the sexual script theory.