| Description |
Previous research found that women tend to exhibit sexual fluidity more than men (Diamond, 2008). This conclusion has led to the desire for research to unde rstand sexuality and the possible life events that impact ideas, behaviors, and sexual identity. The main research question being explored in this context is whether positive or negative life experiences have an effect on positive or negative perceptions of personal sexuality or sexuality in general. Another question being explored is how desire, attraction, and arousal function with or against the participant's chosen sexual identity. The participants for this study were women of all sexual identities recruited from the community. All participants were under the age of 35, with a regular menstrual cycle, and were not taking birth control or medications such as anti-depressants that are associated with sexual desire. The materials that were used to assess the questions of interest were an initial questionnaire, a daily diary where the participant recorded desire, arousal, attractions, behaviors, and identities experienced on a daily basis for 28 days, a daily saliva sample to test hormone levels, and a follow-up interview that further investigated sexuality. We hypothesized that identity labels would not dictate actual sexual behavior or attraction towards other individuals. We found that sex with men was statistically significant within this study, and overall that identity and sex did not predict each other. |
