Society & Culture - Posted by A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State on Thursday, March 24, 2011 14:09 - 10 Comments 
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(11 votes, average: 2.82 out of 5) Loading ...First sex boosts guys’ body image
Having sex for the first time can improve or degrade your self-image depending on whether you are male or female. Researchers say the finding has implications for sex education and issues surrounding body image. (Credit: iStockphoto)
PENN STATE (US) — After having sex for the first time, college-age males report they felt more satisfied with their appearance. Females, on the other hand, felt less satisfied.
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“We’re not talking about 12-year-old girls having sex, so it’s striking that even among these young women—who are 17 or older when they first had sex—their images of themselves went down,” says Eva Lefkowitz, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State. “If on average they’re feeling worse about themselves, it says something about their development of healthy sexuality and healthy sense of self and being.”
Overall, however, the researchers found that women became happier with their physical appearance from first to fourth year in college, and men became less satisfied with their appearance over the same time period. The findings are reported in the Journal of Adolescence.
Previous studies have suggested that positive body image can reinforce risky sexual behavior in male college students, says Sara Vasilenko, graduate student in human development and family studies.
Based on the findings, Vasilenko says sexuality education programs should try to foster positive body image in both girls and boys. Sexuality education for males should focus on feelings of masculinity and how to achieve those feelings without engaging in risky sexual behaviors. Sexuality education for females could focus on promoting positive body image, Vasilenko adds.
“There has been a lot of research on what predicts risky sexual behavior, but not a lot about how adolescents and young adults experience their sexual behavior and what might be some of the mental health and well-being outcomes,” Vasilenko says.
“Most of the research in that area looks at mental health outcomes of early sexual behavior relative to peers, finding that adolescents who have sex early, particularly females, might have more depression symptoms. I was interested in whether it would be more positive if individuals transition to sexual behavior when they were college-age, because that’s a more normative time, when most people are sexually active.”
The researchers surveyed 434 students asking them about their “attitudes and experiences in relationships with other people.” All students were traditional freshmen—age 17 to 19 years—at the start of the project. The researchers administered the same survey to these students four times over the course of their college careers. Of the students surveyed, 100 engaged in sexual intercourse for the first time during the four-year study period.
The questionnaires asked participants to evaluate their appearance by rating their agreement with statements about their overall satisfaction with their appearance. The students also reported whether or not they had engaged in penetrative sex and if they had, to provide the month and year of their first time.
Women’s satisfaction with their appearance decreased after first intercourse, while men’s satisfaction with appearance increased.
Vasilenko notes that a possible next step is to look at what factors make the first sexual intercourse experience positive or negative for different people. Future research might lead to a better understanding of what contributes to a more positive experience for females.
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development funded the work.
More news from Penn State: http://live.psu.edu/
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10 Comments
Jake
I find it really interesting that males and females react so differently, and how the timing is so very reversed: males feel better when females feel worse, and vice versa. The idea that it relates to relative levels of objectification increasing once a female’s had intercourse is a possibility, but I have to wonder if that’s all there is to it.
@Jake: perhaps the reason that some people HAVE body image problems is because they are constantly being told that their bodies are not ideal and that they have no right to feel good about them? Just a thought. I don’t share your opinions. Here are mine: one does not have to be ideal weight (whatever that ‘ideal’ is this week) in order to be happy. Feeling good about yourself is not a “privilege” you have to earn. Everyone has a RIGHT to be happy with their bodies, no matter what it looks like.
Every marketplace has a bid/offer structure. Until a security is priced via a printed ticket, you don’t know where it will trade in the market. For men, until they have had sex, there is no benchmark and they are starting from zero with low expectations. Woman tend to have more idealized view of their place in the pecking order and think they will trade like a triple “A”. After they print the first ticket, they get….us…we don’t meet their view of their obtainable “market price”. For the young man expecting nothing but hoping for everything, something looks like everything; for woman, something that is not everything looks like nothing. For a man, the option trades with no regret; for women, who wish they had the look-back or Mulligan option, that option always trades with regret.
To quote Woody Allen’s counseling scene, the man says they almost never have sex…3 times a week; the woman says they have sex all of the time…3 times a week.
Marcos - Brazil
It is obviously a question of power. Girls use sexual attraction as a way to influence and manipulate the reactions of boys, they are still the gatekeepers. Once they give in, much of this power is lost. Like R.Will said, they realize they’ve got the best guy her sexual power could attract, and he is always less than what she is made to expect by the media.
Hmmmm interesting. Its funny how women can take any opportunity to conjure up insecure feelings about themselves. Great post!
David
It seems that culture was left out of the questions. Having a good or bad self-image after a particular act is intricately woven into the reasons one acted. There is wide acceptance of the double standard that creates the “Date a slut, marry a virgin.” mentality. Until men view women as human beings of equal worth, there will continue to be power discrepancies which lead to oppression and abuse.
This principle can be seen in every part of life all over the globe. Our inability so see those different from us as persons of equal worth keeps us from living together in peace.
Maybe I missed the part that showed the direct link between having sex and lower self image in female students. All I see here is correlation, not causality.
Friendship
Image
Roy
interesting…would like to know more about what those 1st time experiences were like. Was it a hook-up, long time boyfriend/girlfriend, cohabitation, etc. I know this will sound “old school” but maybe the first time should happen on their marriage night…not that marriage solves everything, but there is definitely something said for a woman and committment and their view of themselves and life.
“In fact, virtually every study of happiness that has ever been done has found that married men and women are happier than singles. The happiness advantage of married people is very large and quite similar for men and women and appears in every country on which we have information.” – p.168 The Case for Marriage: Why Married People are Happier, Healthier and Better Off Financially
Want to improve body image? Eliminate obesity. Feeling good about one’s body is a privilege reserved for those with a healthy physique.