KEY POINTS:
Men and women are more similar than previously thought when it comes to their reasons for wanting to have sex.
A study by researchers at the University of Texas in Austin has revealed that love and emotion don't rate too highly with either gender when they consider jumping into the sack, but physical attraction tops the bill for both sexes.
In fact, 20 of the 25 reasons given for having sex were the same for men and women.
"It's refuted a lot of gender stereotypes . . . that men only want sex for the physical pleasure and women want love,' University of Texas clinical psychology professor Cindy Meston, the study's co-author, told AP. "That's not what I came up with in my findings.'
In the study, published in the August issue of Archives of Sexual Behaviour, Meston and her co-researcher David Buss first uncovered 237 motivations for people to have sex by interviewing 444 men and women aged between 17 and 52.
These ranged from "It feels good", to "I wanted to enhance my reputation".
Meston and Buss then asked 1549 college students to rank the reasons on a one-to-five scale on how they applied to their experiences.
The researchers found that the reasons given for having sex were much the same across both genders, with both rating enjoyment of the act and expressing love for their sexual partner highly.
Similarly, men and women tended to agree on factors which would least motivate them to have sex.
These included being offered money, having sex to obtain a job and having sex as part of an initiation rite to a club.
TOP 10 REASONS TO HAVE SEX FOR MEN
1. I was attracted to the person.
2. It feels good.
3. I wanted to experience physical pleasure.
4. It's fun.
5. I wanted to show my affection to the person.
6. I was sexually aroused and wanted the release.
7. I was "horny.'
8. I wanted to express my love for the person.
9. I wanted to achieve an orgasm.
10. I wanted to please my partner.
TOP 10 REASONS TO HAVE SEX FOR WOMEN
1. I was attracted to the person.
2. I wanted to experience physical pleasure.
3. It feels good.
4. I wanted to show my affection to the person.
5. I wanted to express my love for the person.
6. I was sexually aroused and wanted the release.
7. I was "horny.'
8. It's fun.
9. I realized I was in love.
10. I was "in the heat of the moment.'
BOTTOM FIVE REASONS TO HAVE SEX FOR MEN
1. The person offered to give me drugs for doing it.
2. I wanted to give someone else a sexually transmitted disease.
3. I wanted to punish myself.
4. I wanted to break up my relationship.
5. I wanted to get a job.
BOTTOM FIVE REASONS TO HAVE SEX FOR WOMEN
1. I wanted to give someone else a sexually transmitted disease.
2. Someone offered me money to do it.
3. I wanted to get a raise.
4. It was an initiation rite to a club or organisation.
5. I wanted to get a job.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
