Lust: What We Know about Human Sexual Desire

185 Pages·1999·9.46 MB·English

by  Pamela C. Regan

Lust
SAGE SERIES ON
CLOSE RE·LATIONSHIPS
Series Editors
Clyde Hendrick, Ph.D., and
Susan S.Hendrick, Ph.D.
In this series...
ROMANTIC LOVE
by SusanS.HendrickandClydeHendrick
COURTSHIP
by RodneyM.CateandSallyA.Lloyd
ADULT FRIENDSHIP
by RosemaryBliesznerandRebeccaG.Adams
TWO CAREERS/ONE FAMILY
by Lucia AlbinoGilbert
SELF-DISCLOSURE
by ValerianJ.Derlega,SandraMetts,
SandraPetronio,andStephenT.Margulis
SEXUALITY
by SusanSprecherandKathleenMcKinney
FACEWORK
by WilliamR.CupachandSandraMetts
MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
by Steve Duck
REMARRIED FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
by LawrenceH.GanongandMarilynColeman
RELATIONSHIP CONFLICT
by DanielJ.Canary,William R.Cupach,andSusanJ.Messman
RELATIONSHIPS IN CHRONIC ILLNESS AND DISABILITY
by Renee F.Lyons,Michael J.L.Sullivan,andPaulG.Ritvo
withJames C.Coyne
FRIENDSHIP PROCESSES
by Beverley Fehr
SOCIAL SUPPORT IN COUPLES
by CarolynE.Cutrona
ADULT ATTACHMENT
by JudithFeeneyandPatriciaNoller
GENDER AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS
by BarbaraA.Winstead,ValarianJ.Derlega,andSuzannaRose
MARITAL EQUALITY
by Janice M.Steil
LUST
by PamelaC.Regan andEllenBerscheid
Lust
What We Know About
Human Sexual Desire
Pamela C. Regan
Ellen Berscheid
IiRsage
--1
•
Series
• onClose
Relationships
@
sage Publications, Inc.
~~ InternationalEducationalandProfessionalPublisher
Thousand Oaks • London • NewDelhi
Copyright©1999bySagePublications,Inc.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Mainentryundertitle:
Regan,PamelaC.
Lust:Whatwe knowabouthumansexualdesire/ byPamelaC.
ReganandEllenBerscheid.
p. em.- (Sageseries oncloserelationships)
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN0-7619-1792-6(alk.paper)
ISBN0-7619-1793-4(alk.paper)
1.Sex.2.Desire. 3.Lust. I. Berscheid,Ellen.II.Title.III.
Series.
HQ21 .R31999
306.7-dc21 99-6175
99 00 01 02 03 04 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
AcquiringEditor: C.TerryHendrix/JimBrace-Thompson
Typesetter/Designer: DanielleDillahunt
Contents
Preface vii
1. Sexual Desire: Historical Perspectives 1
2. Sexual Desire: The Phenomenon 12
3. Sexual Desire: The Body (Part I) 32
4. Sexual Desire:The Body (Part II) 53
5. Sexual Desire: The Mind 69
6. Sexual Desire: The Partnerand the Relationship 88
7. Sexual Desire and Romantic Love 110
8. Sexual Desire: Future Directions 137
References 141
Index 169
About the Authors 173

Preface
"WhatMakesaWomanBedable?" (Cosmopolitan)
"60 Wild, EroticWays to Excite Your Lover"
(Woman'sOwn)
"Lovevs. Lust: HowYou'll KnowtheDifference"
(Woman'sOwn)
"Howto SparkHisDesire(Again&Again&Again)" (Red
book)
"GuyExpectations: How to GetWhatYouWant" (Teen)
"Sex MadeEasy" (Men'sHealth)
"Hot,FastSex:The Quickand theBed" (Men'sFitness)
"SuperchargedSex:How to Find aLike-MindedPartner"
(Exercise& Health)
"Sex-cess! Get Lucky...Tonight!" (Exercise &Health)
"WhatWomenReallyWant" (Men'sFitness)
T
hese quotations, takenfrom the headlines ofseveralcontempo
rarymen's and women's magazines,underscorethealmostob
sessive fascination with which the media and the reading public
approach the topic of sexual desire. Popular music, television, and
vii
viii LUST
filmprovidecountlessdepictionsofsexuallypassionaterelationships,
alternatelyglorifyingandvilifyingthe desiresofthe flesh. Onadaily
basis, talkshowhosts and their invited guests tell us how to behave
in a sexually desirable manner, what to say to communicate sexual
desireto an attractiveother, andwhatclothestoweartoignitesexual
desire in our current flames. Should this advice fail, we can always
tum to the countless self-help books that promise to teach us in 10
easy stepshow to rekindle the sexualashes of ourfading romances,
once-torrid love affairs, or weatherbeaten marriages. All of these
eventsconspiretoteachus thatsexualdesireisanecessaryingredient
inourromanticrelationshipsandthatsexualdesirabilityissomething
we eachshouldstriveto attain.
That sexual desire is associated with and has implications for
severalmeaningfulexperiencesinhumanlifewillcomeasno surprise
to ourreaders. Whatwillcomeas asurprise,perhaps,isthefact that
sexualdesirehasonlyrecentlyemergedasatopicconsideredworthy
of rigorous scientific investigation. As a result, although as private
citizens we may think a lot (and think we know a lot) about sexual
desire, there is a dearth of research and theory on this topic in the
professionalliterature.Inaddition,whatlittleinformationthereiscan
be foundburiedhereandtherewithinavarietyofdisciplines,includ
ingbiologyandmedicine,psychologyandphilosophy,sexandmari
taltherapy,sociologyandanthropology,andethology(tonameafew).
Becausetraditionallytherehasbeenverylittlecommunicationamong
thesedisciplines,the interestedstudentofthis aspectofhumanexpe
riencefinds himselfor herselffaced withan unorganizedmishmash
ofcontradictorytheoreticalstatementsandconfusingempiricaldata.
Our goal in writing this monograph is to dispel some of this
confusionbyreviewingandbringingtogetherinonevolumepastand
presenttheory, supposition, and knowledge aboutsexualdesire. Al
though we write primarily from a social psychological perspective,
ourgeneralapproachisinterdisciplinaryin thatwe incorporatema
terialfromamultitudeoffields. Theeightchaptersencompassawide
range of theoretical and empiricalwork. Chapter 1sets the stageby
considering the study of sexualdesire from a historical perspective.
In particular, we discuss how the emphasis placed by early sex re
searchers on abnormal sexuality, on animal sexuality, and on overt
physiological and behavioral sexual responses contributed to the
Preface ix
neglect of such subjective, psychological sexualphenomena such as
sexualdesire. Wethenreviewworkin clinical andsocialpsychology
thatledtotheemergenceofsexualdesireasatopicworthyofscientific
scrutiny.
Of course, any discussion of sexual desire must first specify the
characteristic manifestations of this experience. Thus, Chapter 2 fo
cusesonthephenomenonofsexualdesire-whatitisandwhatevents
serveto indicateits occurrence. Wedescribecharacteristics ofa state
of(general)desire,distinguishsexualdesirefrom bothsexualarousal
andsexualactivity, andpresentthe varioustheoreticalapproachesto
sexualdesireandits measurement.
Weareparticularlyinterestedinreviewingresearchpertinenttothe
causal dynamics of sexual desire. Chapters 3 and 4 consider the
"body" of desire-that is, all the hormonal,biological, and physical
factorsthatcontributetoandinfluencetheexperienceofsexualdesire.
We examine how people's feelings of sexual desire are related to
hormonelevelsandhormonallymediatedlifeevents(e.g.,menstrua
tion),chronologicalage,biologicalsex,physicalhealth,anddruguse.
InChapter5,we tumfromthephysicaltothe mental.Inparticular,
we explorehowsocialnorms, affectiveexpectancies, previous expe
riences, personality variables, mood, and emotional state may con
tributetotheexperienceofsexualdesire.Becausewhatpeoplebelieve
aboutsexualdesiremayinfluencetheirbehavior,we alsopresentdata
from our own descriptive research on men's and women's beliefs
aboutthenatureandcausesofsexualdesire.
Emotions,expectancies,andbeliefsoftenareexperiencedaboutand
within a specific relationship with a particular partner. Chapter 6
considersvariouspartnercharacteristicsthatmayincitesexualdesire,
including physical attractiveness, physique and physique display,
social status and dominance, novelty, and pheromones. In addition,
we review research on the association between sexual desire and
relationalevents(e.g.,communication,satisfaction,adjustment).
Chapter7continuesourexplorationofthe interpersonalaspectsof
sexual desire by focusing on the relationship between sexual desire
andpassionatelove.Thefirstpartofthischapterexaminestheoretical
statements aboutthe link, ifan~betweenthese two experiences;the
second reviews indirectand directempiricalevidencethatspeaks to
this question.