New Insights on Gender and Sexual Desire Variability

For years, conventional wisdom has suggested that women’s sexual desire is more variable than men’s, a belief reflected in both popular culture and scientific theories of desire. Women are often portrayed as more contextually sensitive, with fluctuations influenced by mood, relationship dynamics and hormonal changes. However, recent research challenges these assumptions, offering a more nuanced perspective.

Published in the May 2023 edition of Archives of Sexual Behavior, the research analyzed data from three longitudinal studies to explore sexual desire over different timeframes, ranging from years to short-term intervals of just seven days. The findings reveal complex patterns that call into question the traditional view.

The first study, conducted over 13 years and assessing desire at three distinct time points, confirmed that women exhibited more variability in their sexual desire compared to men. This supports the idea of greater long-term fluctuation in women’s desire. However, the second and third studies, which measured desire on a day-to-day basis over a single week, found no significant difference between women and men in terms of short-term variability.

Notably, both women’s and men’s sexual desires were similarly influenced by emotional and relationship factors, such as happiness, intimacy and partner closeness. Some distinctions did emerge, with women’s desire being more negatively impacted by tiredness and anger, particularly in the second study.

These findings suggest that while long-term patterns of desire may show more variability among women, the day-to-day fluctuations in desire are surprisingly consistent across genders. This research challenges outdated models of gendered desire variability, highlighting the role of context and individual differences in shaping sexual desire.  

Jerry Garcia is the medical director and Raymond Wohl is the business manager and patient care coordinator of Chicago Male Clinic, a holistic health and wellness center for men located at 4801 W. Peterson Ave., Ste. 506, in Chicago. For more information or to make an appointment, call 773-414-9900 or visit ChicagoMaleClinic.com.