Womens' Libido Decreased by Guilt?

New research suggests that while men feel physically and mentally turned on at the same time, womens’ physical and mental responses were more likely to be misaligned.  The reason?  Guilt.

Researchers from Queen’s University in Canada discovered that some women didn’t realise they were aroused, even though their physical reactions suggested they most definitely were.

Researchers believe the best explanation for the phenomenon is many womens' feelings of guilt and shame around sex.  The study measured the physical and mental responses of more than 4,000 men and women.  Their reactions were tested after they were exposed to a series of erotic stimuli, e.g. being asked to think of a fantasy or looking at images or pornographic films.

Volunteers were asked to describe how aroused they felt during the experiments and a  variety of machines were used to measure blood flow around the body (to check physical sexual responses and see whether they reflected the participants’ perceptions).

The findings showed that men’s brains and bodies were almost always aligned, while women were much more likely to have an inconsistency between the two.   Women claimed they were not aroused when their bodily conditions suggested they were. Researchers suggest this  problem “may be the norm for many women” and can lead to a less satisfying sex life.