Jezebel: sex studies

Sex Studies, 1950s-Style!

Sadie — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:40:00 EDT

"Female volunteers entered the exam room naked except for a terrycloth robe, wearing pillowcases over their head with two holes cut around the eyes." [Daily Beast]

Study Shows Men Attracted To Women Who Look Like Their Mothers

Jessica — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:30:00 EDT

The media has long noted Lance Armstrong's preference for wiry, long-faced blondes, and a new study shows he might have a hard-wired reason for his sexual predilection: these women look like his mother. (Pictured, from left: Lance's mom, Linda, his ex-wife Kristin, and ex-girlfriend Sheryl Crow). According to a new study, "men were more likely to pair up with women whose bone structure was similar to their own mothers, with a similar effect holding for womens' choice of men," the Guardian reports. Psychologists call this "sexual imprinting" and the study leader, Tamas Bereczkei at the University of Pecs in Hungary, says that this imprinting isn't just due to familiarity alone. "If that were the case, women would be drawn to men whose faces were similar to their mothers as well as their fathers," the Guardian points out.

Professor Bereczkei and his team measured the facial proportions of 52 families during the course of the study, and found " significant correlations between the young men and their fathers-in-law, especially on facial proportions belonging to the central area of face - nose and eyes," the BBC notes, while "Women also showed resemblance to their mothers-in-law in the facial characteristics of their lower face - lips and jaw." Somehow, hearing from a guy that you have a mouth just like his mother's doesn't exactly endear. Science is creepy!

Psychology: Parental Link Found In Attraction [Guardian]
Women Pick Men Who Look Like Dad [BBC]

Researchers: Spanking Can Lead To Sexual Deviancy

Jessica — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:20:00 EST

Are you sexually deviant? If you're reading this blog, the answer is probably yes. Well it's possible us freaks have an excuse for it. A new study shows that people who were spanked as children are more likely to engage in "risky sexual behavior...[and] masochistic sex, including sexual arousal by spanking," according to USA Today. The study seems vaguely worded and within the USA Today article there are numerous disclaimers from experts. Even the leader of the study, Murray Straus, co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire-Durham says "[Spanking] increases the chances of sexual problems, [though] it's not a one-to-one causation." Another expert, Robert Larzelere of Oklahoma State University, says of spanking, "Like any discipline tactic, it depends on how it's used."

The biggest problem with this study is that it doesn't differentiate between three light spanks in a lifetime and actual physical and mental abuse. A more in depth U.S. News & World Report article about the spank study notes that "There is a 'dose response' at work here. 'The more parents spank, the higher the probability of harmful side effects.'"

Study: Spanking May Lead To Sexual Problems Later [USA Today]
Spanking Raises Chances Of Risky, Deviant Sexual Behavior [U.S. News & World Report]