I don’t remember the exact source, but I’ve done Web searches for relevant scientific literature, and today, when psychologists survey people (admittedly, mostly WEIRD people), they do indeed confirm the conventional wisdom: the statistically average man has more interest in sex than the statistically average woman.
The following is from Naisten seksuaalinen valta, Henry Laasanen’s Master’s thesis in Sociology. The translation is mine.
Among everyone, everywhere in the world, men are more likely to want sexual relationships with more partners than women do (Kinsey 1948; Rhoads 2004, 114). [...] According to Baumeister et al. (2001; see also Oliver & Hyde 1993), a meta-analysis of studies regarding sexual desire shows all the evidence to suggest that male sexual desire is stronger than female sexual desire. Not a single study has reported female sexual desire to be greater than male sexual desire. Men think about sex more frequently, have more sexual fantasies, are aroused more often, want more sex (both during the early and late stages of a relationship as well as outside a relationship), want a greater amount of sex partners, masturbate more often, are less interested in passing over a chance for sex, are worse at staying celibate, take more risks and use more resources to get sex, refuse sex less frequently, report a lack of desire less frequently, and are more tolerant towards most forms of sexuality than women and also estimate their sexual desire to be greater than that of women.
Reports from a multicultural study, covering 16 288 people around the world, show that gender differences in sexual desire are culturally universal. In the context of the dating market, men’s greater sexual desires are a result of three factors: (1) men have a greater interest in short-term sexual relationships (2) men want more sex partners than women do and (3) men want sex faster than women do. The results are statistically significant no matter what indicators used. (Schmitt et al. 2003). [...]
According to Miller ja Fiskin (1997) women on average want to have maybe two to three sex partners during the rest of their life, while the equivalent number for men is 64. Similar results have been reported in other studies (Buss & Schmitt 1993). [...]
Tests made by Clark and Hatfield (1989; Clark 1990) indicate that a moderately attractive woman can get sex from very attractive men simply by asking for it. When moderately attractive women asked to have sex with very attractive men previously unknown to them, 71 per cent of the men agreed. In other words, if the woman asked three men for sex, they would almost be guaranteed to get it (Baumeister & Tice 2001, 191). [...] When the same experiment was conducted the other way around, so that moderately attractive men asked very attractive women for sex, none of the women agreed. [...]
Among married heterosexual men, 7 per cent have had over 20 partners, while among homosexual male couples 43 per cent have had over 20 partners. Among lesbian couples only less than one per cent has had over 20 partners. (Rhoads 2004)
Baumeister et al. (2001). Is there a gender difference in strength of sex drive? Theoretical views, conceptual distinctions, and a review of relevant evidence. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5 (3), 242-273.
Baumeister & Tice (2001). The social dimension of sex. New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Buss & Schmitt (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100 (2), 204-232.
Clark & Hatfield (1989). Gender differences in receptivity to sexual offers. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 2, 39-55.
Clark (1990) The impact of AIDS on gender differences in willingness to engage in casual sex. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20, 771-782.
Kinsey (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders.
Oliver & Hyde (1993). Gender differences in sexuality: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 29-51.
Rhoads (2004). Taking sex differences seriously. San Fransisco: Encounter Books.
Schmitt et al. (2003) Universal differences in the desire for sexual variety: Tests from 52 nations, 6 continents, and 13 islands. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 85-104.
As for why, here’s the first headline: women rated sexual competence at 2.82 (1.25) and men at 3.83 (1.14). Men thought the proposer — knowing nothing about her — would be a middle-of-the-pack sex partner, while women thought the male proposers would be mediocre. Here’s the second headline: women rated danger at 4.19 (1.62) against 2.75 (1.52) for men. Women rated danger in the top half of the scale, men in much lower, when all they knew about the proposer was the gender and that they had made the offer described.
Beyond gender, however, only the perception that the proposer would be a good lover (consistent with pleasure theory) significantly influenced participants’ likelihood of agreeing to the sexual offer.
Neither status, nor tendency for gift giving, nor perceived faithfulness of the proposer (nor, more precisely, the interaction of any of these variables with gender) predicted whether a participant would agree to the sexual offer
One of the parts of this study involved quizzing men and women on their likelihood of accepting sex from a stranger using pictures of either an attractive or an unattractive person of the opposite sex to see if that affected the subject’s likelihood of accepting the proposition, and found:
For the proposition by the attractive person, women were at 4.09 [out of 7] to 4.16 for men — just about a tie.
Which seems to suggest that, in this particular domain—sex with an attractive partner—men and women are equally desirous. It’s the perceived danger (and lower sexual prowess) that the female subjects imagine come with the average proposer that makes them less likely to accept the offer than men.
This seems inconsistent with the notion that women are innately less desirous of sex than men; rather that they have more to lose from a casual encounter (as has been said) so are more guarded when accepting such a proposition.
Baumeister, R. F., Catanese, K. R., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Is there a gender difference in strength of sex drive? Theoretical views, conceptual distinctions, and a review of relevent evidence. Personality & Social Psychology Review, 5, 242-273. pdf
The sex drive refers to the strength of sexual motivation. Across many different studies and measures, men have been shown to have more frequent and more intense sexual desires than women, as reflected in spontaneous thoughts about sex, frequency and variety of sexual fantasies, desired frequency of intercourse, desired number of partners, masturbation, liking for various sexual practices, willingness to forego sex, initiating versus refusing sex, making sacrifices for sex, and other measures. No contrary findings (indicating stronger sexual motivation among women) were found. Hence we conclude that the male sex drive is stronger than the female sex drive. The gender difference in sex drive should not be generalized to other constructs such as sexual or orgasmic capacity, enjoyment of sex, or extrinsically motivated sex.
I believe that there are surveys of sex rates between gay, straight, and lesbian couples. While these are self-reported, at least the number they are attempting to measure is fairly objective.
I don’t remember the exact source, but I’ve done Web searches for relevant scientific literature, and today, when psychologists survey people (admittedly, mostly WEIRD people), they do indeed confirm the conventional wisdom: the statistically average man has more interest in sex than the statistically average woman.
The following is from Naisten seksuaalinen valta, Henry Laasanen’s Master’s thesis in Sociology. The translation is mine.
What type of sex? Women certainly show less interest in sex with strangers who propose it:
One of the parts of this study involved quizzing men and women on their likelihood of accepting sex from a stranger using pictures of either an attractive or an unattractive person of the opposite sex to see if that affected the subject’s likelihood of accepting the proposition, and found:
Which seems to suggest that, in this particular domain—sex with an attractive partner—men and women are equally desirous. It’s the perceived danger (and lower sexual prowess) that the female subjects imagine come with the average proposer that makes them less likely to accept the offer than men.
This seems inconsistent with the notion that women are innately less desirous of sex than men; rather that they have more to lose from a casual encounter (as has been said) so are more guarded when accepting such a proposition.
Baumeister, R. F., Catanese, K. R., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Is there a gender difference in strength of sex drive? Theoretical views, conceptual distinctions, and a review of relevent evidence. Personality & Social Psychology Review, 5, 242-273. pdf
Yes, I think this is the one that I found.
Do you remember whether these were surveys of what people said about their sex drives, or whether sex drives were measured in some other way?
I believe that there are surveys of sex rates between gay, straight, and lesbian couples. While these are self-reported, at least the number they are attempting to measure is fairly objective.