How Well Do People Understand the Sexuality of the "Other Sex"?

[Sunstone]

To keep this thread simple, I'm going to word it mainly for heterosexuals and bisexuals, but anyone else is welcome to post, too.

How well do you think the average post-pubescent teenager understands the sexuality of the "other sex"?

How well do you think the average twenties-something understands the sexuality of the "other sex"?

How well do you think the average thirties-something understands the sexuality of the "other sex"?

Forties somethings?

Fifties somethings?

Sixties somethings?

etc.

Overall, how well do people understand the sexuality of the "other sex"?

 

[HonestJoe]

I'm not convinced there is any shared "other sexuality". Everyone is unique.

I'm not sure I understand my own sexuality and that's as a fairly vanilla heterosexual male so I don't think I stand a chance understanding anyone else's.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

To keep this thread simple, I'm going to word it mainly for heterosexuals and bisexuals, but anyone else is welcome to post, too.

How well do you think the average post-pubescent teenager understands the sexuality of the "other sex"?

How well do you think the average twenties-something understands the sexuality of the "other sex"?

How well do you think the average thirties-something understands the sexuality of the "other sex"?

Forties somethings?

Fifties somethings?

Sixties somethings?

etc.

Overall, how well do people understand the sexuality of the "other sex"?

My cynical side is surfacing here...

Our understanding of human sexuality overall is abysmal. Right now the academics have been talking, but radio hits, mainstream porn, and culturally conditioned gender roles has us stuck in thinking that sex is the default process of kiss, caress, disrobe, suck, thrust, squirt, and snore.

 

[LuisDantas]

What passes for understanding of sexuality in most contexts is just mutually reinforced prejudice, I think.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Most people, regardless of age, it seems they do not understand anything about sexuality that well, let alone the sexuality of the other sex.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

I do not believe people even understand the sexuality of their own gender, let alone that of the oposite sex.

However some do seem to be especially successful and even sought out for their sexual and social prowess by the oposite sex. As these are rarely the obvious Lookers or money bags, they must have something to offer that the rest of us do not.

 

[Laika]

Speaking as a virgin (dam!) my impression is that sex remains an area of deep ignorance, denial repression, guilt, prejudice and mis-understanding. I think the Kinsey reports demonstrate the gulf between what we think is normal sexual behaviour and what actually is normal for our society. As a bisexual, I'm kind of drawn to more radical understandings of sex as I wouldn't fit in the "norm" anyway.

 

[Drolefille]

It's entirely possible to understand the "other's" sex or sexuality, but it requires empathy. And we're not so good at empathy for people not in our "group."

 

[columbus]

Overall, how well do people understand the sexuality of the "other sex"?

To me, sex is like the weather.
Everybody talks about it, but nobody does anything about it.

We humans are born with a very irrational instinct to have sex. We are the product of billions of years of evolutionary pressure to reproduce. But it isn't simple, because we never needed to reproduce every time we had sex, at least not for all of recorded history which is where our morals come from.

So we have a batch of reasons for indulging in sex that have nothing to do with survival of the species. They are better reasons than the ancient reasons of propagating the species. Bring people together is the main thing.
The problem is that the old problems still exist. Children are born to parents who don't really want them, or are unable to provide for them. People still have old-fashioned sex, commonly called rape.

Tom

 

[Skwim]

As a male, it wasn't until I was in my late forties that I realized women wanted sex just as much as men do, and could be just as randy. I met one woman wh . . . . . .err never mind, this is a family accessible web site.

 

[Penumbra]

To keep this thread simple, I'm going to word it mainly for heterosexuals and bisexuals, but anyone else is welcome to post, too.

How well do you think the average post-pubescent teenager understands the sexuality of the "other sex"?

How well do you think the average twenties-something understands the sexuality of the "other sex"?

How well do you think the average thirties-something understands the sexuality of the "other sex"?

Forties somethings?

Fifties somethings?

Sixties somethings?

etc.

Overall, how well do people understand the sexuality of the "other sex"?

I think like just about any subject, a large percentage of people don't know much about it.

Personally I can't claim to know a ton about male sexuality, but instead just try to focus on the sexuality of the one I care about.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Personally I can't claim to know a ton about male sexuality, but instead just try to focus on the sexuality of the one I care about.

Here is all there really is to understand:

 

[Penumbra]

Here is all there really is to understand:

I'm not really a fan of that stereotype about men.

 

[suncowiam]

Sex and, by association, sexuality are intimate concepts.

I don't think I need to understand the sexuality of the other sex. To point out the other sex would suggest a link to procreation and survival of the species.

Beyond that, the only sexuality I need to know inside and out are my own and my partner's. I don't think I need it labeled by sex, age, culture, orientation or anything else out of our own individual perspective. My partner and I define our own sexuality at our own pace.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I think I understand it fairly well. It's not that difficult.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I think I understand it fairly well. It's not that difficult.

On a more serious tone, being trans does kinda give us abit of a deeper understanding that what most could ever hope to achieve. There are so many stereotypes and so much misunderstandings that being trans may be one of the best ways to cut through all the confusion and see just how wild and wacky (to put it lightly) our views on sexuality are.