On the Concept of Category-Specificity

Victim Sexual Arousal During Nonconsensual Sex: A Scoping Review

Sexual arousal in male and female victims during nonconsensual sex is an understudied phenomenon with many potential psychological, clinical, and legal implications for survivors. The aim of this scoping review was to assess the literature to determine whether we could estimate the frequency and circumstances of physiological sexual arousal (e.g., erection, lubrication, ejaculation, orgasm) among victims during nonconsensual sex. Six reference database and hand searches led to the screening of 13,894 articles and other reports. Eight articles and one book published between 1977 and 2019 included relevant data from 136 male survivors and 250 female survivors. Results confirmed that physiological sexual arousal (only genital responses were mentioned) can occur in both male and female victims during nonconsensual sex. The frequency of these responses could not be determined because of the widely different methodologies used. In addition, it was not possible to determine the circumstances in which victim sexual arousal was more likely to occur although some were inferred. The results of the scoping review highlight that physiological sexual arousal during nonconsensual sex does occur for victims but has not been studied systematically. There is a clear need to properly assess the type, circumstances, consequences, and frequency of sexual arousal during nonconsensual sex in large and diverse populations of male and female survivors.

The Empirical Status of the Preparation Hypothesis: Explicating Women's Genital Responses to Sexual Stimuli in the Laboratory

Research conducted in our laboratory and in other laboratories has revealed that (1) women's genital responses to visual and auditory stimuli are strongly affected by the presence of sexual cues, but that (2) specific sexual cues (e.g., gender of actors, the presence of sexual violence) often have little impact on the magnitude of the responses-that is, similar genital responses are observed to very different sexual stimuli. In addition, (3) women's genital responses do not strongly correspond with self-reported sexual partner and activity preferences, or (4) with self-reported sexual arousal during the presentation of sexual stimuli. Taken together, these facts represent a puzzle, especially considering that men's genital responses are highly affected by specific sexual cues and strongly correspond to stated preferences and self-reported sexual arousal. One hypothesis to explain female low cue-specificity and low concordance (relative to men) is the preparation hypothesis: Women's indiscriminate genital responses serve a protective function. That is, they do not indicate or necessarily promote sexual interest and motivation, but rather prepare the vaginal lumen for possible sexual activity and therefore prevent injuries that may occur as a result of penetration. We review evidence for and against this hypothesis. We conclude that the evidence is favorable but not entirely convincing, and more work is required to reach a firm conclusion. We offer directions for future research.

Can the Vaginal Photoplethysmograph and Its Associated Methodology Be Used to Assess Anal Vasocongestion in Women and Men?

Forty years ago, researchers documented changes in vascular and muscular activity within the anal canal of women and men who engaged in sexual self-stimulation. Vascular changes were assessed using a photoplethysmograph that aimed to detect changes in pelvic vasocongestion. An important advantage of detecting sexual response within the anal canal is that the device, its anatomical placement, and the data output are identical for women and men, therefore facilitating gender comparisons of response patterns. In this study, the vaginal photoplethysmograph (VPP), the most common measure of genital response in women, was administered intra-anally as an anal photoplethysmograph (APG) to examine its validity and sensitivity as an indicator of sexual response. The final sample comprised 20 women and 20 men who were exposed to 12, 90-s sexual and nonsexual film clips while their APG responses were recorded. Participants also rated their sexual arousal and affective responses to the stimuli. There was evidence that APG responses were specific to sexual stimuli and were sensitive to erotic intensity in women. The degree of discrimination between sexual and nonsexual stimuli was lower in men. Unlike most sexual psychophysiological studies, the positive correlation between physiological and self-reported sexual arousal was stronger in women than in men. There was a relatively high number of data artifacts and the waveform morphology was uncharacteristic of that typically observed with VPP. The potential role of anal musculature interference on the APG signal is discussed, as well as avenues for future research.

Assessing Paraphilic Interests Among Women Who Sexually Offend

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We examine the state of scientific research on the assessment of paraphilic interests among women who have committed sexual offences.

RECENT FINDINGS

Research on the assessment of sexual interests in women using genital measures shows little evidence, overall, that women's genital responses are indicative of sexual interests. Some non-genital measures of sexual interest may be a valid indicator of age interests. Very few studies have focused on women who sexually offend. At this time, there is no validated measure that can be used to assess paraphilic interests among women who sexually offend. Much research is needed to determine if some measures (other than self-report) could validly assess a variety of sexual interests in women in general, and women who sexually offend in particular (e.g. interest in children, interest in sexual violence). This research is needed to determine if paraphilic interests are involved in women's motivation for sexual offending, and to determine if such interests are predictive of sexual recidivism.

Is Pelvic Floor sEMG a Measure of Women's Sexual Response?

INTRODUCTION

Pelvic floor surface electromyography (sEMG) is often used in the assessment and treatment of individuals with pelvic floor abnormalities to measure muscle tone and neural control of the pelvic floor muscles (PFM); however, little is known about the role of the PFM in sexual arousal.

AIM

The aim of this pilot study was to examine whether changes in deep and superficial PFM activity-assessed with sEMG-can be observed during the presentation of sexual stimuli.

METHODS

Deep PFM sEMG activity was assessed with a vaginal probe. Superficial PFM activity was assessed with sEMG electrodes placed over the bulbocavernosus and perianal muscles. 15 sexually healthy women (mean age 27 years) watched a series of neutral, anxiety-evoking, and sexually explicit films. Continuous subjective sexual arousal was measured using a handheld arousometer.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Changes in microvolts were measured by sEMG sensors, from neutral to anxiety-evoking and neutral to sexually explicit films.

RESULTS

There was an increase in intravaginal and perianal sEMG for both the erotic and anxiety films. Bulbocavernosus sEMG responses did not differ among the 3 films. Concordance between self-reported continuous sexual arousal for the erotic film and bulbocavernosus sEMG (r = 0.349) was not significantly different than concordance using intravaginal sEMG (r = 0.293) or perianal sEMG (r = 0.236).

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Understanding more about which parts of the PFM respond specifically to sexual stimuli may have implications for measuring the effects of treatments aimed at improving sexual response in women.

STRENGTH & LIMITATIONS

The results of this pilot study provide a preliminary understanding of which pelvic floor muscles respond to sexual stimuli. A limitation of this study was the small sample size.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, these findings suggest that intravaginal and perianal sEMG respond to erotic stimuli, whereas bulbocavernosal sEMG responses do not. Hannan-Leith MN, Dayan M, Hatfield G, et al. Is Pelvic Floor Surface Electromyography a Measure of Women's Sexual Response? A Pilot Study. J Sex Med 2019;16:70-82.