What types of sexual fantasies are considered unusual? A group of Canadian researchers set out to answer this question in a recent Journal of Sexual Medicine study.
While sexual fantasies may be assessed in both clinical and legal settings, the definition of “unusual” in these contexts has been difficult to define. Much of the past research on the subject has focused on college students and not the general population.
In this study, the researchers determined which sexual fantasies were statistically rare (occurring among 2.3% of study subjects or less), unusual (occurring in 15.9% of subjects or less), common (occurring in over half the sample), and typical (reported by 84.1% or more).
They conducted an online survey of 1,516 people in Canada with a mean age of 30. While the sample ranged in age from 18 to 77, only 10% of the participants were age 55 or older. About 53% of the participants were women. Eighty-five percent were heterosexual, with 4% identifying as homosexual and the rest identifying as bisexual.
The survey was a modified version of the Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire. The respondents also rated the intensity of 55 different sexual fantasy themes and were given the option to explain their favorite sexual fantasy, if it was not included on the questionnaire. Almost 400 respondents chose to do this, but most of the responses aligned with the fantasies listed.
Only two of the 55 sexual fantasies were considered rare: sex with a child under age 12 and sex with an animal.
Nine fantasies were rated as unusual. These included sex with a prostitute, urinating on a partner, and forcing someone to have sex.
Five themes were defined as typical, including having romantic feelings during sex and having sex in a romantic location.
The remaining 39 fantasies fell in the “common” category.
Almost 65% of the women fantasized about being sexually dominated and over half fantasized about being tied up for sexual pleasure. Almost 29% said they fantasized about being forced to have sex. Significant amounts of men also had these fantasies.
Women rated fantasies about romance more highly than men did. Men were more likely to fantasize about receiving oral sex and having sex with someone other than a current partner. Two-thirds of the men fantasized about anal sex; only one-third of the women did.
The number of men and women who had homosexual fantasies was higher than the number of homosexuals and bisexuals in the study sample.
“Overall, many sexual fantasies are typical or common. Clinicians and researchers should not rely solely on the theme of a sexual fantasy to determine if it is either pathological or unusual,” the authors wrote. They added that people who have “unusual” fantasies might be sexually satisfied and those with “common” fantasies might be distressed by them.
“It is suggested that the focus should be on the effect of a sexual fantasy rather than its content,” they explained.
Resources
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Joyal, Christian C., PhD, et al.
“What Exactly Is an Unusual Sexual Fantasy?”
(Full-text. First published online: October 30, 2014)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsm.12734/full