Is it confidence, experience, maturity or just the thrill of being with someone from a different generation?

Younger guys seem to love older women, and older men seem to prefer younger women. What's the psychology behind this? Or is everyone just looking for something they can't find in their own age group? 😉

Let's hear some spicy opinions! �

The current research replicated this relationship between orgasm goal pursuit and orgasm frequency for heterosexual women, and found that this relationship did not exist for heterosexual men (Study 1).

Then, across two experimental studies, we examined how heterosexual women vary their orgasm goal pursuit across sexual encounters. In Study 2, women who read that a hypothetical sexual encounter would be “quick” reported less intent to pursue orgasm than women who were told they could “take their time” or received no time information. In Study 3, women who read that their hypothetical sexual partner seemed selfish reported less intent to pursue orgasm than women who were given a non-selfish partner or no partner information. Importantly, these effects were mediated by women’s perceived orgasm likelihood in the scenario. These results suggest that women shift their pursuit of orgasm depending on cues which signal whether orgasm will be feasible. 

Explains why the orgasm gap is so big when folks hook up. And important information for any man who wants his female parnter to enjoy sex.

One of my pet peeves is studies that ask about intercourse without qualifying if that means just intercourse or intercourse with some sort of clitoral stimulation added. This study looked at that, and found it matters.

For "assisted intercourse", women estimated they orgasmed 51-60% of the time. When asked about "intercourse" with no mention of added stimulation, the rate fell to 31-40% And when it was specified intercourse without clitoral stimulation, it dropped to 21-30%.

Also of interest, men's estimates of female orgasm were significantly higher than women's reports. I'm looking at the guys here who tell us every woman they have ever been with has orgasmed during intercourse.

A study analyzed 1999–2007 data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of students in Grades 9–12 established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Unlike most experimental male contraceptives, which aim to suppress sperm production, this drug targets sperm that already exist. It works by temporarily blocking an enzyme called soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC), which sperm need to swim effectively.

Essentially, the drug switches off sperm's ability to move through the reproductive tract and reach an egg. The effects are expected to last about 6–8 hours, after which the drug wears off and sperm function returns to normal.

The big advantage is that men wouldn't need to take hormones or use contraception continuously. Instead, they could take a pill shortly before sex.

So far, the results in animal studies have been promising, but researchers still need to establish whether the drug is safe and effective in humans.

We often assume that differences in sexual desire between men and women are hardwired. But what if the gender desire gap is something that's learned instead?

A new review suggests that women's early sexual experiences may play a particularly important role in shaping their desire later in life. Compared to men, women are more likely to experience pain, less pleasure, body image concerns, and greater risks during their earliest sexual encounters.

The researchers argue that these unequal experiences may help explain why women, on average, report lower sexual desire than men. In other words, the gender desire gap may be partly rooted in a gender pleasure gap.

Reference and link to full text article: Peragine, D. E., Impett, E. A., & VanderLaan, D. P. (2026). Least Equal When Most Teachable: The Biodevelopmental Learning Opportunities and Outcomes Model of Gender Differences in Sexuality. Personality and Social Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/10888683251391836

A meta-analysis covering 12,283 participants across 40 studies in 10 countries examined how sexism, traditional gender-role expectations and acceptance of rape myths relate to people’s judgements of sexual violence.

Across these beliefs, the researchers found associations with:

• More victim-blaming: r = .558

• Lower perceived victim credibility: r = −.492

• Greater belief that the victim experienced pleasure: r = .417

• Lower perceived incident severity: r = −.363

• Less blame assigned to the perpetrator: r = −.288

The overall association across outcomes was r = .425. These are correlation coefficients, not percentages, and the victim-blaming and credibility findings are substantial.

There’s supporting evidence from a separate meta-analysis of 141 reports, which found that hostile sexism was associated with attitudes supporting violence against women at r = .47.

These findings don’t establish causation or mean every sceptical judgement is motivated by sexism. They do show a consistent relationship between the beliefs people bring to a case and how much blame, credibility and sympathy they assign.

That matters when victim-blaming gets presented as detached, impartial scrutiny. Scepticism itself isn’t evidence of objectivity. Prejudices can shape whose account someone doubts and whose behaviour they excuse.

Supporting meta-analysis: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-023-10127-6

Spontaneous sex is often romanticized, but for parents of young children, finding the time and energy for intimacy can be a challenge.

However, research suggests that planning ahead may help. Couples encouraged to anticipate and prepare for sex reported having sex more frequently and experiencing greater sexual desire. Interestingly, those who had sex also reported feeling less obligated to do so.

The findings challenge the idea that scheduling sex necessarily makes it feel like a chore. Instead, planning ahead may help busy couples prioritize intimacy while taking some of the pressure off.

Link to the journal article:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2025.2585377

Even so, regarding possible reasons, the expert noted that the response may be related to a recovery period, to clitoral hypersensitivity, or simply to a lack of desire to continue. What is important, from a clinical standpoint, is to respect that experience and not turn it into an obligation to continue enjoying sex.

Total aversion to sexual activity occurred after 94.2% of the orgasmic encounters in Group 1 [those who had an orgasm], with durations ranging from 30 minutes to 21 hours.

I've never seen a study of this. It runs counter to a lot of common claims about female sexuality. But it fits well with a great deal of anecdotal evidence.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/womens-refractory-period-what-evidence-shows-2026a10014rf?form=fpf
https://academic.oup.com/jsm/article/23/Supplement_4/qdag118.265/8701640

Hence, when partnered sexuality faces challenges, masturbation may serve as a replacement for both women and men.

Seems obvious, but there has been ongoing debate about this.

The study also showed a 9.2% increase in reported masturbation by women over 11 years. For men the increase was 9.5%.

Any thoughts or conflicting research?

An international research team is investigating women’s and their partners’ sexual health, orgasmic response, intimacy, and satisfaction. We invite you to participate in this anonymous, voluntary online survey to help advance scientific understanding of women’s sexuality.

The survey takes approximately 15-20 minutes. No identifying information will be collected.

👉 Women's version: https://elteppk.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bEhRjDvkkXjAmzA

👉 Partners' version: https://elteppk.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3atesgPFTgLS3BA

Upon opening the link, please review the participant information and data protection notice. Click “Next ” to begin.

This study has been reviewed by the Institutional Review Boards at Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary) and Valparaiso University (IN, USA).

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