engleski

Gender roles and sexual functioining in people of different sexual orientations

Introduction. Sexual disorders are prevalent disorders that affect up to one third of women and one fourth of men, and can be assessed according to the sexual cycle phase they affect the most. Different aspects of sexuality can be influenced by gender roles and/or sexual orientation. In the literature the direction of the influence of gender roles (masculinity and femininity) on sexual functioning has not been univocally determined. Therefore, we wanted to study the possible correlation between gender roles and sexual functioning in men and women of different sexual orientations. Subjects and methods. The participants were 654 people, 557 women and 97 men. Among the women, 46 said they were bisexual, while 22 men identified themselves as homosexual, the rest was heterosexual. The subjects were collected by means of social networks. They applied the on-line questionnaire that consisted of demographic data, Sexual functioning scale and Bem's gender role inventory. For the measurement of correlations between gender roles and different dimensions of sexual functioning, Spearman's correlation coefficient was used. Results. In heterosexual women significant positive correlation between masculinity and dimensions of sexual desire, lubrication and orgasm were found. In heterosexual men, masculinity was significantly correlated only with the dimension of sexual desire, also in positive direction. Correlations between femininity and dimensions of sexual functioning were insignificant both in men and women. Furthermore, in men, masculinity was significantly correlated with the sexual intercourse satisfaction and the total satisfaction with sexual life, while there was no correlation in women. In bisexual women and homosexual men there was no correlation between gender roles and sexual functioning. Conclusion. The result of our study show that in heterosexual men and women, masculinity (but not femininity) is an important factor for sexual functioning in women (and to a lesser extent in men), and for the total satisfaction with sexual life in men (but not in women). In bisexual women and homosexual men, there was no correlation between gender roles and sexual functioning.

gender roles, sexual functioning, sexual orientation

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