Abstract
Recent research suggests profound sex and sexual orientation differences in sexual response. These results, however, are based on measures of genital arousal, which have potential limitations such as volunteer bias and differential measures for the sexes. The present study introduces a measure less affected by these limitations. We assessed the pupil dilation of 325 men and women of various sexual orientations to male and female erotic stimuli. Results supported hypotheses. In general, self-reported sexual orientation corresponded with pupil dilation to men and women. Among men, substantial dilation to both sexes was most common in bisexual-identified men. In contrast, among women, substantial dilation to both sexes was most common in heterosexual-identified women. Possible reasons for these differences are discussed. Because the measure of pupil dilation is less invasive than previous measures of sexual response, it allows for studying diverse age and cultural populations, usually not included in sexuality research.
Highlights
Recent research suggests that self-reported sexual orientation more strongly corresponds with sexual arousal to male or female sexual stimuli in men than in women [1]
Sex Differences in Sexual Orientation and Pupil Dilation Our first hypothesis stated that the relation of pupil dilation to male and female stimuli with self-reported sexual orientation would be stronger in men than women
Related reasons have been discussed regarding how and why mate choice [51] and sexual arousal [1] differ between the sexes. When proposing these evolutionary hypotheses for sex differences in sexual arousal, we focus on heterosexual men and women
Summary
Recent research suggests that self-reported sexual orientation more strongly corresponds with sexual arousal to male or female sexual stimuli in men than in women [1]. There is conflicting evidence regarding whether bisexual-identified men have a bisexual arousal pattern, but among women, a bisexual arousal pattern is most common among those who self-identify as heterosexual [2,3,4]. These findings, are based on measures of genital responses, which have potential limitations such as volunteer bias and different measurement devices for men and women. The present study introduces a measure that is less affected by these limitations: pupil dilation We use this measure to examine previously suggested sex and sexual orientation differences in sexual response
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