Archives of Sexual Behavior

Although distal (i.e., discrimination, victimization, rejection, and nonaffirmation) and proximal (i.e., internalized transphobia, negative expectations, and identity nondisclosure) gender minority stressors are associated with internalizing (i.e., depression, anxiety, suicidality) and externalizing (i.e., substance use) mental health outcomes of trans individuals, how they are related to two distinct types of outcomes differs. General psychological processes (i.e., hopelessness) could explain the mechanisms behind the minority stressors-mental health association. Accordingly, this study aimed to test the complete gender minority stress model and the direct and indirect effects of minority stressors via hopelessness on mental health outcomes in trans individuals. Data were collected online from a convenience sample of 205 trans adults (18–74 years; M = 29.49, SD = 10.24), 72 (35.1%) of whom were trans men, 52 (25.4%) were trans women, and 81 (39.5%) were non-binary individuals. Results from structural equation modeling showed that distal stressors directly predicted mental health outcomes, except for depression. Internalized transphobia and negative expectations had positive indirect effects on depression, anxiety, and past-year and lifetime suicidality via hopelessness. Identity nondisclosure had negative indirect effects on depression, anxiety, and past-year suicidality through hopelessness. For substance use, hopelessness was not a significant mediator. Still, identity nondisclosure mediated distal stressors-substance use link. Findings suggest that hopelessness is a significant contributor to internalizing symptoms of trans individuals, making it a target for interventions to improve the mental health of trans people. The ameliorative impact of identity nondisclosure on both types of mental health outcomes should be considered and examined in further studies.

Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) has been associated with trauma and neglect in childhood. There is evidence that CSB is related to child physical and sexual abuse. Sexual narcissism was linked with aggression, sex at a young age, and many partners for sex. This study examined the associations between childhood abuse and neglect, sexual narcissism, and hypersexual behavior among participants of a sex addiction support group and a group of control participants. Participants were 118 adults, including 72 men and 46 women, with a mean age of 32 years (SD = 9.32) and an age range of 18–59. The sample included 59 participants in the sex addiction group (sexaholics anonymous, SA), 36 men and 23 women with a mean age 31.41 years (SD = 8.13), and the control group from the general population included 36 men and 23 women with a mean age 32.47 years (SD = 10.42). Questionnaires included a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory, the Sexual Narcissism Scale, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Childhood trauma was associated with sexual narcissism and with hypersexual behavior. A mediation model showed that sexual narcissism and child trauma significantly contributed to ratings of hypersexual behavior, and explained 60.3% of the variance of hypersexual behavior ratings. In addition, using the Bootstrapping method, the indirect effects found in this model showed that sexual narcissism increased the likelihood of hypersexual behavior, and it was a significant mediating factor between trauma and hypersexual behavior. In summary, this study indicates that sexual narcissism mediated the relationships between childhood trauma and hypersexual behavior. These findings explain the role of sexual narcissism and CSA in hypersexual behavior and it may have clinical implications for the treatment of CSB disorder.

Oxytocin (OXT) has been linked to sexual behavior across several studies. However, scant work exists that investigates OXT concentrations across a sexual encounter and researchers have yet to examine OXT concentrations during partnered sexual activity in the home environment. In the present study, a non-clinical sample of 49 mixed-sex (i.e., 49 women, 49 men) young adult romantic partners were invited to engage in sexual activity within their home environments. Participants collected their own saliva samples before and after sex, which were then assayed for OXT. Dyadic analyses identified unique OXT trajectories for women and men and helped clarify mixed findings in prior work. Although time was not a significant predictor, the pattern of means indicated that women’s OXT concentrations were highest at the start and end of the sexual episode, whereas men’s OXT concentrations increased from the start to the end of the sexual episode. The findings also identified synchronous changes between women and men’s OXT, but only within the post-sex time interval (immediately post-sex, 20 min post-sex, and 40 min post-sex). Additionally, OXT concentrations pre- and post-sex were not associated with orgasm in ways that prior work would suggest. Implications for work on OXT, biological synchrony, and methodological comparison are discussed.

Virtual agents (VA) are animated characters with human-like appearances or behaviors, which are designed based on artificial intelligence-powered software programs to interact with people in various circumstances (e.g., nonplayer characters in video games, and virtual assistants like Siri). With more and more people turning to VA to fulfill their romantic needs, this study examined how this phenomenon was linked with people’s intention to marry someone in real life. We propose that romantic relationships with VA may be both positively and negatively related to marriage intention through three mediation mechanisms: the fulfillment of relatedness, romantic anthropomorphism, and the theory of planned behavior. Based on a survey of 503 Chinese participants, we found that the fulfillment of relatedness in romantic relationships with VA, relationship authenticity, and the desire for real-life relationships with VA were all negatively related to marriage intention. Nevertheless, the experiences of positive affect and competence with VA were positively related to marriage attitudes and perceived control, which were further positively related to marriage intention. Contrary to our expectation, immersion with VA was also positively rather than negatively associated with compliance with social norms and marriage intention. Furthermore, significant gender differences were found among the mediation paths with effect sizes larger among men. By identifying and exploring these mediation mechanisms, this study provides practical suggestions for treating romantic relationships with VA and designing virtual agent-based interventions.

Black women are disproportionately impacted by HIV, such that they are diagnosed at eight times the rate of White women and three times that of Latinas. Given that HIV transmission among Black women is primarily attributed to heterosexual sex, it is imperative to better understand factors that influence Black women’s sexual health decision-making. Previous studies have highlighted the influence of trust on sexual decision-making; however, scant literature focuses on trust in the relationships of Black women, for whom it may differentially impact their sexual health. Nine focus groups were conducted to examine how trust affects sexual health decision-making among Black women who have sex with men (N = 56). Qualitative analyses revealed three themes that highlight how trust can influence sexual behavior: (1) Trust Buffers Risk of Physical and Emotional Harm; (2) Broken Trust Encourages Safer Sex Behavior; (3) Trust Dynamics Influence Sexual Communication Anxiety. This analysis expands on extant literature by identifying how differing forms of trust can be understood and leveraged in the context of HIV/STI prevention and sexual health for women engaging in heterosexual sex. Implications of the study indicate that concepts of trust should be addressed in interventions seeking to improve the sexual health of Black women.

This study aimed to examine the effect of the association between body image and self-esteem levels on attitudes toward sexuality in older adults with chronic illnesses. The research was descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational. The study sample comprised 1,004 people over the age of 65 who visited family health centers in a province in the east of Türkiye. The Older Person’s Description Form, the Body–Cathexis Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale Short Form, and the Sexual Attitude Scale for Elderly People were used for data collection. For the data analysis, Pearson’s r correlation test, simultaneous multiple linear regression, and binary logistic regression were employed. The mean age of the participants was 69.97 ± 5.74 years, and 66.9% were between 65 and 74 years of age. Furthermore, 53.8% of the participants were male and 56.2% had two chronic illnesses. It was found that the participants’ age, body image, and self-esteem explained 84% of the total variance in their permissive attitudes toward sexuality. Furthermore, as the age of the older adults with chronic illnesses increased, there were negative effects on their permissive attitudes toward sexuality. However, as their body image and self-esteem levels improved, there was a positive effect on their permissive attitudes toward sexuality. These findings will be of benefit in encouraging and developing sexual health in older adults with chronic illnesses.

Identifying risk factors associated with non-consensual intimate image dissemination (NCIID) perpetration is an important step in the development of effective intervention programming with the goal of reducing this behavior. Using the motivation–facilitation model of sexual offending as a framework, the current study explored the extent to which theoretically relevant correlates of sexual offending contributed to the perpetration of NCIID. A sample of 1200 adults residing in Canada recruited from a Qualtrics panel reported their prior engagement in NCIID and completed a battery of questionnaires encompassing sexual motivators (e.g., paraphilias, hypersexuality) and facilitators (e.g., antagonistic personality traits, misogynistic attitudes toward sex and women, and alcohol use). The findings highlight NCIID as a relevant problem with 1 in 20 respondents reporting sharing or forwarding an intimate image without permission in the previous 12 months. When controlling for other risk factors, beliefs of sexual entitlement, hypersexuality, the antisocial facet of psychopathy, hostility toward women, and problematic alcohol use were associated with greater odds of self-reported NCIID perpetration. Overall, findings suggested an overlap between risk factors associated with in-person sexual offending and NCIID. Existing sexual offending interventions may therefore be applicable to the prevention and management of NCIID.

Same-sex attracted individuals report greater levels of sex-atypical childhood behaviors and adulthood occupational preferences when compared with their heterosexual counterparts. While these sexual orientation differences are well established, the extent to which gender-role presentation relates to such differences is unclear. The present study examined recalled childhood sex-(a)typical behaviors (CSAB) and adulthood occupational preferences in a diverse Thai sample (N = 1294) of cisgender heterosexual men (n = 270) and women (n = 280), gay men (n = 199), lesbian women (n = 56), and unique Thai sexual orientation/gender categories: sao praphet song (i.e., feminine-presenting same-sex attracted males; n = 166), toms (i.e., masculine-presenting same-sex attracted females; n = 174), and dees (i.e., feminine-presenting females sexually attracted to toms; n = 149). Gay men and sao praphet song reported more CSAB and sex-atypical adulthood occupational preferences than heterosexual men, and sao praphet song were more sex-atypical than gay men. Toms reported more CSAB and sex-atypical adulthood occupational preferences than heterosexual women, lesbian women, and dees, whereas lesbian women were more sex-atypical than heterosexual women and dees in childhood but not adulthood. CSAB was associated with sex-atypical adulthood occupational preferences among heterosexual men and all same-sex attracted groups, indicating continuity in gender-role expression development. Overall, this study replicates previous findings indicating greater sex-atypical behaviors and interests during childhood and adulthood among same-sex attracted individuals. It also expands upon prior literature by showing how gender-role presentation relates to these sexual orientation differences among males and females.

Individual differences in the strength of human sexual conditioning in the context of excitatory (CE) as well as inhibitory (CI) learning were explored in the present study. Consistent with as reported by Gray (1972), I hypothesized a positive correlation between sexual excitability scores (SES) and the strength of excitatory appetitive sexual conditioning and impaired inhibitory appetitive sexual conditioning as well as a positive correlation between sexual inhibition (SIS1 and/or 2) and the strength of inhibitory appetitive sexual conditioning and impaired excitatory appetitive sexual conditioning. A total of 26 female-bodied and 27 male-bodied people served as participants. Sexual conditioning occurred outside of the laboratory. Specifically, over a two-week period, participants masturbated to orgasm after smelling either a vial with geranium or basil essential oil (CS+/CE odor). They also engaged in a comparable nonsexual behavior after smelling the other (CS−/CI) odor. Subjects provided baseline and post conditioning measures of odor affect, subjective and genital arousal to the odors, motivational approach toward the CSs, and unconditioned stimulus (US) expectancy along with SIS/SES scores, a measure of compulsive sexual behavior, and a measure of masturbatory guilt. Medium to large effect size CE and CI learning occurred when assessing affective ratings and subjective arousal but only for females, although there were similar trends for males. Medium to large effect size CE but not CI learning occurred in terms of genital arousal for both males and females. For female-bodied participants, the present study found individual differences in sexual conditioning consistent with Gray’s predictions. SES scores negatively predicted CI learning and SIS1 scores negatively predicted CE learning, at least for some measures. Conditioned responses seemed stronger in this study compared to previous human sexual conditioning research. The present results support the use of a sexual conditioning framework for understanding sexual response patterns.

Black transgender women (TW) have disproportionately low uptake and use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), despite high vulnerability to HIV. Community and peer support may be important intervention targets to improve PrEP use among Black TW. We conducted qualitative interviews with 42 Black TW in the midwestern United States to understand Black TW’s experiences with PrEP and explore barriers to PrEP use and the ways peers and Black trans communities may support PrEP use. Using inductive thematic analysis, we identified three primary themes. First, many Black TW see themselves as PrEP advocates and look out for other Black TW. Second, participants described a desire to support the broader Black trans community thrive. Finally, participants described the importance of supporting Black TW involved in sex work, including by supporting the use of PrEP. Data from this study show that, despite numerous health care and structural-level barriers, Black TW play a vital role in supporting PrEP use among other Black TW and supporting their communities. Our results highlight the promise of community-driven interventions among Black TW in supporting PrEP use.

Recent research has shown that sex-related drinking motives—motivations to drink to cope with sex-related distress or enhance sex—are associated with increased risk for negative sexual consequences. Limited research suggests that difficulties with emotion regulation and distress tolerance as well as self-objectification are associated with increased drinking motives. However, it remains unclear how emotion regulation and distress tolerance influence the relationship between sexual self-objectification (a subset of self-objectification) and sex-related drinking motives in college women. The current study examined main and interactive effects of sexual self-objectification, emotion regulation difficulties, and distress tolerance abilities on both coping and enhancement sex-related drinking motives. College women (N = 351) recruited from four US universities completed a one-time online survey. Results demonstrated that women with greater sexual self-objectification tendencies were more motivated to drink to cope with sex-related distress and to drink to enhance sex. Moreover, the positive association between sexual self-objectification and drinking to cope with sex-related distress motives was strongest for women with high levels of distress tolerance compared to women with low levels of distress tolerance. These findings may help inform the design and implementation of programs on college campuses where alcohol use and risky sexual behavior are prevalent.

Prior studies suggested that children’s appraisals of gender-nonconforming, compared with gender-conforming, peers are less positive, particularly for gender-nonconforming boys. To gauge appraisals, most prior studies used verbal reports, which provide explicit measures. In contrast, the current study explored facial emotional expressions, which can potentially be an objective and implicit measure to inform the emotional component of appraisals. We examined 4-, 5-, 8-, and 9-year-olds in Hong Kong (n = 309) and Canada (n = 296) (N = 605; 303 boys, 302 girls). Children’s faces were video-recorded while viewing four vignettes of hypothetical gender-conforming and gender-nonconforming boy and girl targets in random order. Targets were shown as having gendered preferences in the domains of toys, activities, clothing and hairstyle, and playmates. FaceReader software was used to perform automated coding of six basic facial emotional expressions: angry, disgusted, happy, sad, scared, and surprised. Children showed more scared emotion toward the hypothetical gender-nonconforming boy target when compared with the gender-conforming boy target. Also, this elevation in scared emotion was correlated with children verbally reporting that they perceived the gender-nonconforming boy as being less happy relative to the gender-conforming boy. These results suggest that, during a brief initial exposure to a target peer, gender nonconformity in boy peers was related to a relatively heightened fear response in early and middle childhood. Further, facial emotional expressions can be used to gain insights regarding the emotional component of children’s appraisals of varying peer gender presentations, and these emotional responses can be associated with certain other aspects of their appraisals.

Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) refers to a range of unwanted sexually related behaviors communicated and transmitted through digital technologies, including digital sexual harassment, image-based sexual abuse, sexual aggression and/or coercion, and gender and/or sexuality-based harassment. This study, based on a sample of 1246 undergraduate students (688 women, 558 men) aged 17–25 years in China, investigated the incidence of TFSV victimization and perpetration and their associations with mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) and alcohol use. Participants completed the TFSV 21-item scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and Alcohol Use Scale. Results showed that the overall victimization incidence was 69.2% (69.6% for women and 68.6% for men) and the overall perpetration incidence was 31.7% (26.6% for women and 38.0% for men). The perpetration incidence was significantly higher for men than for women; for victimization, a sex difference was not observed. Furthermore, participants who self-reported as TFSV victims tended to have higher levels of depression, stress, anxiety, and more alcohol use compared to non-victims. Victims who were also perpetrators exhibited the highest levels of mental health issues and alcohol use compared to victim only, perpetrator only, and neither (non-victim and non-perpetration). These results contributed new data on the prevalence of TFSV victimization and perpetration as well as their relationship with mental health conditions. Moreover, the high prevalence of TFSV and its association with negative mental health condition indicate the need for interventions aimed at reducing both perpetration and victimization rates in China.

In Islamic jurisprudence, intersex people are known as khuntha—those who have both male and female multiplicative organs. Taking into account the fragmented evidence on the role of science in the treatment of the khuntha, the socioethical demands, and expectations of people depending on their gender, this study aims to better understand the existing literature on the khuntha people in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA)—the perception, acceptance, and treatment from families, communities, and health care providers. This study used a scoping review framework and was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA). The included studies are presented as a narrative account, which gradually achieves the aim of the study. Findings were synthesized thematically. Three themes emerged from the data: Islamic jurisprudence and khuntha people, biomedical ethics and khuntha people, and social construct. These themes highlight the fact that, despite advances in scientific and social interest in equal rights and opportunities for everyone, in the MENA region, people with sexual and gender diversity continue to be stigmatized within their families, society, and, most thought-provokingly, by health care providers. These findings highlight the need for health care providers to be knowledgeable and skilled communicators, in order to provide age-appropriate information and support, and ensure individual choice in gender identity for khuntha people.

The visibility and presence of people who have detransitioned following a gender transition is growing, with an increase in research on the needs and experiences of this group. This study presents a thematic narrative analysis of interviews from six females (M = 25.5 yrs; range = 21–32 yrs). All detransitioned after having at least one gender-affirming medical or surgical treatment as part of a gender transition in the UK. Four narrative themes were developed to capture how they made sense of their detransition: (1) the limits of medical transition, (2) the longer-term health implications, (3) the social limits of transition, and (4) detransition as an ongoing process. Participants discussed a range of emotional, practical, and other support needs, largely unmet by healthcare or other services. These findings highlight the importance of ensuring that people have realistic expectations of transition as part of a holistic assessment process. Long-term health outcome research is also needed, addressing the impact of testosterone on female anatomy and health specifically. Further clinical implications with those considering transition or detransition are discussed.

First sexual experiences represent a central aspect of adolescents’ lives and have been suggested to affect their personal development in various ways. However, whether sexual debut plays a role in the development of self-esteem is yet unknown. The present study investigated whether first sexual intercourse was associated with subsequent changes in self-esteem. Data from a large, nationwide randomly sampled longitudinal study of adolescents and emerging adults in Germany (N = 1678, 53% female) of whom 39% experienced sexual debut during the study period were used. Fixed-effects regression models were applied to estimate the effect of sexual debut on self-esteem. Findings indicated a significant positive effect of sexual debut on subsequent self-esteem. This effect was not moderated by age at sexual debut or gender. Together, the results emphasize the developmental significance of sexual experiences for personal growth in adolescents and emerging adults.

Pornography use is common but stigmatized. In this study, we present a qualitative analysis of the patterns of, and motivations for, using pornography and how the stigma of using pornography manifests in participants’ accounts. We draw on Meisenbach’s (2010) theory of stigma management communication (SMC) to deepen our understanding of how participants managed potential stigma. Data come from 40 semistructured interviews with a diverse sample of adults from across Britain (aged 18–64 years) on the role of digital technologies in their sexual lives. Despite not being a criterion for recruitment, all participants except six women had used pornography and 18 were regular users at time of interview. Pornography was used primarily to facilitate arousal during solo masturbation, and also for mood control, “me time,” or exploration of one’s sexual identity. Some participants also used pornography with a partner to facilitate arousal and experimentation. An understanding of pornography use as stigmatized was evident in participants’ accounts. In terms of SMC theory, “avoiding” strategies were most commonly employed including: hiding pornography use from others; distancing oneself from the stigma of pornography use; and making favorable comparisons between oneself and other users. Other less frequently employed strategies included: “denying” the existence of stigma, reducing the stigma’s offensiveness through “minimization” (emphasizing that one’s pornography use does not harm others), and “transcendence” (highlighting that pornography use can be a means to a valuable end). The stigma surrounding pornography use may act as a barrier to education interventions addressing pornography and seeking help for problematic use.

The current set of two studies examined the presence and effects of the sexual double standard regarding condom use in China. Study 1 (between-subjects experiment) examined the existence of traditional sexual double standard in people’s attitudes toward men’s and women’s condom use behaviors. Participants (197 women and 157 men; M age 29.8 ± 6.77 years) were randomly assigned to one of three scenarios that described a sexual encounter in which either a woman or a man provided condoms, or no condoms were used. Participants needed to rate the woman and man in terms of their behavior and maturity. The results showed that people evaluated the woman more positively when she provided condoms during the sexual encounter, compared with a man providing condoms and a no-condom-use situation. Second, when no condoms were used (vs. a woman or a man providing condoms), the man’s behavior was rated as the most negative. Moreover, the man’s behavior was rated as more negative than that of the woman in the no-condom-use condition. Study 2 (cross-sectional study) examined how individuals’ endorsement of the traditional sexual double standard was associated with their condom use frequency and whether their perceived power in condom use in a sexual relationship moderated this association. A total of 1457 participants (859 women and 598 men; M age 30.2 ± 6.12 years) completed an online survey. Results showed that, for both men and women, endorsement of the traditional sexual double standard was negatively associated with their condom use frequency. Furthermore, when people perceived power in condom use in a sexual relationship increased, their traditional sexual double standard endorsement was more strongly associated with a decrease in condom use frequency. The findings also showed that women who perceived themselves as more empowered in using condoms reported a higher frequency of condom use. Sexuality education in China should stress gender equality and the regular use of condoms.

Niles Newton, a prolific reproductive biologist, described physical, psychological, and hormonal similarities between female sexual response and childbirth. Such phenotypic overlap indicates shared mechanisms, which led Newton to suggest that dysfunction in one process could interfere with the other process. There currently exists very little research on how pre-birth female sexuality impacts subsequent parturition. We address this knowledge gap and extend Newton’s work by proposing that sexual activity provides opportunities for women to physically and psychologically prepare for childbirth, a process that we call “practice for parturition.” To introduce and describe the practice for parturition framework, we provide a detailed review of salient reflexes of the female genito-pelvis, as well as psychological states that facilitate both sexual pleasure and parturition. These physical and psychological mechanisms represent putative links between sex and birth that underpin our prediction that sexual activity provides birth preparation for women. We demonstrate the utility of the practice for parturition framework through three systematic reviews, evaluating the following hypotheses: (1) Pelvic floor interventions jointly improve sexual function and birth outcomes; (2) the presence of pre-birth sexual activity and/or sexual function predicts improved labor and birth; and (3) the presence of sexual dysfunction impairs birth outcomes. Results from our review provide notable evidence supporting the three hypotheses, although there are little to no data directly linking female orgasm or arousal with parturition. We describe specific ideas for further tests of the practice for parturition hypothesis, its practical implications, and the relevance of sex-birth interrelationships to informing ongoing debates concerning the evolutionary biology of female orgasm and sexuality more broadly. The practice for parturition hypothesis provides an organizing and testable framework through which to investigate potential benefits of female sexuality on birth.

Compulsive sexual behavior (CSB) is common among people with substance use disorders (SUDs) and these behaviors may mutually reinforce each other. Thus, research into risk factors for CSB in this population could inform interventions that reduce CSB and stifle this reinforcement pattern. People with SUDs report high rates of childhood abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, which are also empirically supported risk factors for CSB. We examined the moderating effect of PTSD symptoms on the associations between forms of childhood abuse (i.e., physical, sexual, emotional) and CSB among 707 patients in residential treatment for SUDs (Mage = 40.8 years, SD = 12.1; 73.6% men). PTSD symptoms moderated the association between childhood sexual abuse, but not other forms of childhood abuse, and CSB. Childhood sexual abuse was positively related to CSB at high, but not low or mean levels of PTSD symptoms. Childhood emotional abuse was also related to CSB, whereas childhood physical abuse was not significantly related to CSB. Findings indicate that PTSD symptoms could exacerbate the association between childhood sexual abuse and CSB. Future applied studies might consider exploring whether trauma-focused interventions can reduce CSB in patients with SUDs who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Research has found a substantial gender gap in orgasm, with men reporting reaching an orgasm at significantly higher rates than women. This orgasm gap is mirrored in the visual pornography industry, where women are much less likely than men to be shown reaching orgasm. Some scholars have argued that the male orgasm (the “money shot”) is prioritized by producers, directors, and viewers alike, taking precedence over all other elements of the pornographic video. We examine this claim and the relative importance of both the female and male orgasms to viewers using a large and diverse sample of more than 300 men and women who regularly watch pornography. Our findings show that both male and female viewers believe that depictions of female orgasms are the most important feature of pornographic videos, while male orgasms are not as important.

Based on evidence of the cuneiform documents and studies in prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire of the seventh century BCE, it can be demonstrated that the last great king of the Sargonid dynasty, Assurbanipal (669–631 BCE), was the fourth son of his mother Ešarra-hammat. This information can be combined with later accounts in the Classical sources, in which the same Assyrian king, called Sardanapal(l)os in Greek, is depicted as effeminate and bisexual. The fact that the king Assurbanipal was the fourth son of his mother lends additional support to the later materials through the hypothesis that the fraternal birth order effect altered his gender identity and sexual orientation through maternal immune response. His father Esarhaddon was a sufferer of the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus, susceptibility to which is often connected to androgen deficiency, a condition that Assurbanipal may have inherited from his father. There are some indications that the effeminacy of the king’s character became the source of moral resentment among the political allies of Assyria and its native elites already during his lifetime.

Childhood trauma alters both emotional and relational processes, and thus could make it more difficult for couples to navigate relationship challenges such as sexual disagreements. Given the potential threat they involve, sexual conflicts may elicit more negative emotions for both partners. They can also trigger attachment insecurities—relational vulnerabilities that are particularly heightened during periods of stress, especially following childhood trauma. Hence, attachment anxiety and avoidance might be mechanisms through which childhood trauma influences couples’ emotion dynamics during sexual conflicts. However, we know very little concerning how emotions unfold moment to moment in the context of couples’ sexual disagreements, and the roles of childhood trauma and attachment insecurities therein. Same- and mixed-gender/sex couples (N = 151) completed online surveys and took part in a laboratory-based filmed discussion about their most important sexual problem. Following the discussion, participants completed self-reported measures of their positive and negative emotions. Then, partners independently viewed their filmed discussion to continuously report on their emotional experience during the conflict and, lastly, trained raters coded the valence of participants’ expression of emotions during the task. Actor–partner interdependence models showed that a person’s greater childhood trauma was associated with fewer positive emotions post-discussion and shorter experienced and expressed positive emotions during the conflict, as well as more negative emotions post-discussion and longer experienced and expressed negative emotions, both directly and indirectly via attachment anxiety (but not attachment avoidance). Results underscore the need to better understand sexuality-related positive and negative emotions in couple interactions, and the role of distal factors such as childhood trauma and attachment.

Female breasts elicit sexual arousal in men, but there is much speculation about the underlying cause of this phenomenon. Some argue that breast size and shape are cues of a woman’s age, sexual maturity, fecundity, fertility, and/or nutritional status, whereas others espouse a cultural rationale, such that social norms biding women to cover their upper bodies lead men to desire what is hidden. To address this issue, we asked 80 men from the Dani people (Papua, Indonesia) about their sex-related behaviors and attitudes regarding their partners’ breasts. The older participants (N = 40; aged 40–70 years, M, 50.2) were raised in times when toplessness was a norm among Dani women, while the younger ones (N = 40; 17–32 years, M, 24.0) were raised when customs had changed such that Dani women covered their breasts in public. We found that the two groups of men did not differ in terms of (1) the sexual arousal they experience when seeing naked female breasts, (2) the frequency of touching their partners’ breasts during sexual intercourse, and (3) the significance of a woman’s breasts for her perceived attractiveness among men. These findings indicate that the degree of exposure to breasts did not influence men’s responses about them, suggesting that attraction to breasts may be driven by deep-seated desires that are not overridden by cultural practices regarding exposure or covering up. Our study thus provides preliminary evidence that men’s sexualization of female breasts might have cross-cultural, evolutionary grounds.