[lit-ideas] 237 reasons? just do it
- From: "Andreas Ramos" <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Lit-Ideas" <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 10:23:23 -0700
237 different reasons to make love...
yrs,
andreas
www.andreas.com
The Whys of Mating: 237 Reasons and Counting
(July 31) -- Scholars in antiquity began counting the ways that humans have
sex, but they weren't so diligent in cataloging the reasons humans wanted to
get into all those positions. Darwin and his successors offered a few
explanations of mating strategies -- to find better genes, to gain status
and resources -- but they neglected to produce a Kama Sutra of sexual
motivations.
For now, thanks to psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin, we
can at last count the whys. After asking nearly 2,000 people why they'd had
sex, the researchers have assembled and categorized a total of 237
reasons -- everything from "I wanted to feel closer to God" to "I was
drunk." They even found a few people who claimed to have been motivated by
the desire to have a child.
The researchers, Cindy M. Meston and David M. Buss, believe their list,
published in the August issue of Archives of Sexual Behavior, is the most
thorough taxonomy of sexual motivation ever compiled. This seems entirely
plausible.
Who knew, for instance, that a headache had any erotic significance except
as an excuse for saying no? But some respondents of both sexes explained
that they'd had sex "to get rid of a headache." It's No. 173 on the list.
Others said they did it to "help me fall asleep," "make my partner feel
powerful," "burn calories," "return a favor," "keep warm," "hurt an enemy"
or "change the topic of conversation." The lamest may have been, "It seemed
like good exercise," although there is also this: "Someone dared me."
The researchers collected the data by first asking more than 400 people to
list their reasons for having sex, and then asking more than 1,500 others to
rate how important each reason was to them. Although it was a fairly
homogenous sample of students at the University of Texas, nearly every one
of the 237 reasons was rated by at least some people as their most important
motive for having sex.
The results contradicted another stereotype about women: their supposed
tendency to use sex to gain status or resources.
"Our findings suggest that men do these things more than women," Dr. Buss
said, alluding to the respondents who said they'd had sex to get things,
like a promotion, a raise or a favor. Men were much more likely than women
to say they'd had sex to "boost my social status" or because the partner was
famous or "usually 'out of my league.' "
Dr. Buss said, "Although I knew that having sex has consequences for
reputation, it surprised me that people, notably men, would be motivated to
have sex solely for social status and reputation enhancement."
To make sense of the 237 reasons, Dr. Buss and Dr. Meston created a taxonomy
with four general categories:
Physical: "The person had beautiful eyes" or "a desirable body," or "was
good kisser" or "too physically attractive to resist." Or "I wanted to
achieve an orgasm."
Goal Attainment: "I wanted to even the score with a cheating partner" or
"break up a rival's relationship" or "make money" or "be popular." Or
"because of a bet."
Emotional: "I wanted to communicate at a deeper level" or "lift my partner's
spirits" or "say 'Thank you.' " Or just because "the person was
intelligent."
Insecurity: "I felt like it was my duty" or "I wanted to boost my
self-esteem" or "It was the only way my partner would spend time with me."
Having sex out of a sense of duty, Dr. Buss said, showed up in a separate
study as being especially frequent among older women. But both sexes seem to
practice a strategy that he calls mate-guarding, as illustrated in one of
the reasons given by survey respondents: "I was afraid my partner would have
an affair if I didn't."
You can nominate your own reasons at TierneyLab. You can also submit
nominations for a brand new taxonomy: reasons for just saying "No way!"
Somehow, though, I don't think this list will be as long.
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