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Sexologies (2009) 18, 44—50
ORIGINAL ARTICLE / ARTICLE ORIGINAL
An exploratory study on male homosexual
erotic imagery
Une étude exploratoire de l’imagerie
érotique des homosexuels
Un estudio exploratorio del imaginaroio
erótico del varón homosexual
M. Cacioppo (PhD) a,∗, V. Vizzari b, F. Corica b,
V. Maestri b, C. Simonelli (PhD) a
a
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, University of Rome ‘‘Sapienza’’,
Via dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Roma, Italy
b
Istituto di Sessuologia Clinica, Via Savoia, 78, 00198, Rome, Italy
Available online 10 March 2008
KEYWORDS
Sexual;
Fantasies;
Gay man;
Differences
∗
Summary Having sexual fantasies is considered functional to sexual health. The literature
focuses mainly on heterosexual subjects and studies of the erotic imagery of homosexuals are
rather scarce. This study aims at investigating the erotic imagery of male homosexuals today.
Fifty male homosexuals were interviewed; mean age of the subjects is 26.36 years (range 20 to
36). Their level of education is quite high. By means of a questionnaire we studied the following
aspects: number of actual and imaginary partners, motivations for sexual intercourse, situations that trigger erotic fantasies, incidence of erotic fantasies during sexual activity, during
nonsexual activity and during masturbation. Finally, we discussed the content of sexual imagery
by listing the top five fantasies in order of frequency of occurrence. Main results show that the
erotic fantasies in male homosexuals are principally triggered by visual stimuli. Compared to
past results, we found more recognition of physical, emotional and relational aspects. In comparison with the past, there is a large use of erotic imaginary, especially during masturbation.
We note the absence in our sample of fantasies referring to the opposite sex and of fantasies
of forced intercourse, which, on the contrary, were found in previous studies. We discuss our
results to describe the differences with previous research and we try to provide a picture that
takes into account sociocultural changes.
© 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés.
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: marco.cacioppo@uniroma1.it (M. Cacioppo).
1158-1360/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés.
doi:10.1016/j.sexol.2007.12.007
Author's personal copy
An exploratory study on male homosexual erotic imagery
MOTS CLÉS
Sexuel ;
Fantaisies ;
Homosexuel ;
Différences
PALABRAS CLAVE
Sexual;
Fantasías;
Varón homosexual;
Diferencias
45
Résumé. — On considère que la présence de fantaisies sexuelles imaginatives est un indicateur
fonctionnel de la santé sexuelle. La littérature est principalement focalisée sur la population
hétérosexuelle et les études sur l’imaginaire érotique de l’homosexualité sont insuffisantes.
L’objectif de ce travail est d’investiguer l’imaginaire érotique des homosexuels masculins
d’aujourd’hui. Cinquante personnes ont été interrogées ; l’age moyen est de 26,36 ans (de 20
à 36) ; le niveau scolaire est assez élevé. Nous avons utilisé un questionnaire pour étudier ces
aspects : le nombre de partenaires réels ou imaginaires ; les motivations aux rapports sexuels ;
les situations qui suscitent les fantaisies érotiques ; la fréquence de l’imaginaire érotique pendant l’activité sexuelle ; la fréquence de l’imaginaire érotique en dehors de l’activité sexuelle ;
la fréquence de l’imaginaire érotique pendant la masturbation. À la fin, nous avons dressé une
liste des cinq fantaisies sexuelles les plus courantes par ordre de fréquence. Les principaux
résultats montrent que les situations qui suscitent principalement les fantaisies érotiques chez
l’homme homosexuel concernent principalement les stimuli visuels. Par rapport au passé, il
y a une forte utilisation de l’imaginaire érotique, particulièrement pendant la masturbation
et une plus grande prise en compte des aspects physiques, émotionnels et relationnels. Nous
avons noté dans notre échantillon, l’absence de fantaisies imaginatives portant sur le sexe
opposé ou sur des rapports sexuels imposés par la force, fantaisies qu’on avait retrouvé dans
des recherches précédentes. Ces résultats ont été discutés pour décrire les différences trouvées par rapport aux recherches précédentes, en cherchant à donner un tableau qui prenne en
compte les changements socioculturels.
© 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés.
Resumen Se considera que la presencia de fantasías sexuales es un indicador de funcionalidad
de la salud sexual. La literatura se ha focalizado principalmente sobre la población heterosexual
y los estudios sobre el imaginario erótico de la homexualidad son insuficientes. El objetivo de
este trabajo es investigar el imaginario erótico de los homosexuales masculinos en la actualidad. Cincuenta personas han sido interrogadas ; la edad media es de 26,36 años (de 20 a 36) ;
el nivel medio de estudios es bastante elevado. Hemos utilizado un cuestionario para estudiar
los siguientes aspectos : el número de parejas reales o imaginaries ; las motivaciones en las
relaciones sexuales ; la frecuencia del imaginario erótico fuera de la actividad sexual ; la frecuencia del imaginario erótico durante la masturbación. Al final hemos propuesto una lista de
las cinco fantasías sexuales más corrientes por orden de frecuencia. Los principales resultados muestran que las situaciones que suscitan la mayoría de las fantasías eróticas en el varón
homosexual están actualmente dirigidas sobre estímulos visuales. Hay una fuerte utilización del
imaginario erótico con respecto al pasado, particularmente durante la masturbación y mayor
reconocimiento de las emociones físicas y de los aspectos relacionales. Hemos observado en
nuestra muestra, la ausencia de fantasías imaginativas sobre el otro sexo o sobre relaciones
sexuales impuestas por la fuerza, fantasías que se habían encontrado en investigaciones precedentes. Estos resultados han sido comentados para describir diferencias encontradas en nuestras
investigaciones precedentes, buscando dar una explicación que tenga en cuenta los cambios
socioculturales.
© 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés.
Version abrégée
On considère qu’une fantaisie érotique est une représentation mentale plus ou moins organisée des désirs sexuels.
Elle peut se réaliser soit pendant les rapports sexuels, soit
pendant l’activité masturbatoire, soit en dehors de toute
sexualité. On considère que c’est un indicateur de santé
sexuelle et les études les plus récentes montrent que la
majeure partie des personnes affirme en avoir. Crépault,
1981 faisait remarquer que les sujets homosexuels ont plus
de fantaisies érotiques que les hétérosexuels soit durant les
rapports sexuels, soit durant la masturbation et qu’ils ont
une activité fantasmatique majeure surtout dans la phase
préorgasmique.
La littérature sur l’imaginaire érotique homosexuel,
toutefois, est aujourd’hui plutôt limitée et pas toujours
systématique et le but de cette étude est d’examiner
l’imaginaire érotique d’un groupe d’hommes homosexuels
italiens et de comparer les résultats avec ceux de recherches
précédentes.
À cet effet on a utilisé un questionnaire de Crépault,
1981 dont on a analysé les questions relatives aux domaines
suivants : informations sociodémographiques ; nombre de
partenaires réels et imagines ; motivations poussant à avoir
des rapports sexuels ; situations provoquant les fantaisies
érotiques ; importance de l’imaginaire érotique en dehors
de l’activité sexuelle ; importance de l’imaginaire érotique
à l’extérieur de l’activité sexuelle ; imaginaire érotique à
l’intérieur de la masturbation.
Nous avons analysé 50 questionnaires distribués dans
des cercles gay des alentours de Rome et remplis par des
hommes qui se déclarent homosexuels d’âge moyen de 26,
36 ans. Les résultats ont été comparés aux données obtenues en 1993 par la même méthodologie sur un échantillon
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46
similaire, pour fournir une description qui tient compte de
la relation entre imaginaire érotique et changements socioculturels avérés dans le cours des années. On a en outre listé
les cinq premières fantaisies classées en ordre de fréquence
de survenue.
Les premiers résultats concernent le nombre de partenaires réels et imaginaires : le nombre de partenaires
imaginés est très grand par rapport aux études précédentes tandis que le nombre de partenaires réels semble
extraordinairement réduit. Concernant les facteurs qui
motivent les rapports sexuels on observe une augmentation,
comparativement au passé, des valeurs relatives aux aspects
corporels par rapport aux aspects émotionnels, bien que
ceux-ci augmentent aussi. Concernant les situations qui
favorisent les fantaisies érotiques, on observe que le canal
qui a la majeure influence est le canal visuel ; un résultat similaire avait déjà été trouvé dans le passé bien que
les valeurs en pourcentage étaient inférieures aux valeurs
actuelles. Cette donnée pourrait indiquer une moindre inhibition, par rapport au passé, à déclarer une préférence
pour les fantaisies de voyeurisme. Quant à l’importance
des fantaisies on assiste à leur augmentation comparativement aux données de 1993 par rapport aux quelles, on
fait un grand usage de l’imaginaire érotique durant la masturbation. Si on considère les cinq premières fantaisies on
observe l’absence dans notre échantillon de fantaisies qui
font référence au sexe opposé et de fantaisies de rapports
forcés, qui, au contraire, avaient été trouvées par les études
précédentes.
Ces différences dérivent des changements culturels qui,
grâce aussi à une majeure diffusion par la presse, ont contribué à l’émergence d’une sexualité plus libre et accessible
et qui ont probablement offert aux hommes comme aux
femmes de plus larges possibilités d’explorer ce qu’ils préfèrent et ce qu’ils ne préfèrent pas, dépassant ainsi les
stéréotypes sexuels.
Full version
Introduction
At least occasionally, most people engage in erotic fantasies (Hsu et al., 1994) and this is considered functional
to sexual health (Person et al., 1992). It is now considered a sign of pathology not to have sexual fantasies rather
than to have them. For example, infrequent sexual fantasy is one of the defining criteria for the sexual disorder
‘‘inhibited sexual desire’’ described in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric
Association, 2000). ‘‘Erotic imagery can be defined as the
faculty that humans have to produce mental representations
of their erotic desires, through the fantasies. The erotic
fantasy is a mental picture, sometimes structured, sometimes less so’’ (Crépault and Couture, 1980, p. 565). Erotic
fantasies, which can occur both with and without sexual
intercourse, as well as during masturbation, contribute to
the arousal and maintenance of sexual excitement and
represent an indispensable element for the diagnosis and
often for the therapeutic strategy of many sexual disorders
(Crépault, 1981). Hicks and Leitenberg (2001) observe that
most people claim to have sexual fantasies, specifying that
M. Cacioppo et al.
for members of married or de facto couples, a large amount
of fantasies are about extramarital intercourse. Crépault
(1981) highlights the fact that compared to heterosexuals,
homosexuals engage in erotic fantasies more frequently,
both during sexual intercourse and during masturbation, and
they have a higher fantasmatic activity, especially during
the preorgasmic phase. Masters and Johnson (1979) state
that the most frequently reported erotic fantasy in a group
of male homosexuals was the representation of male body
parts, but that the real partner was rarely the object of
desire. In spite of Leitenberg and Henning’s (1995) review
of erotic imaginary highlighting that studies on homosexual
fantasies are rather scarce and not systematic, we can state
that research carried out so far has shown that all individuals have a tendency to produce erotic mental images
that are used during both sexual and nonsexual activities
(Allen et al., 2005). The present study aims at studying
the erotic imagery of a group of Italian male homosexuals
and at discussing the differences found compared to the
results of previous studies, thus providing a picture that
takes into account the relationship between erotic imagery
and sociocultural changes, which have occurred over the
years.
Method
The present study used Crépault’s questionnaire (1981),
which had already been utilized in an exploratory study
on male homosexual erotic imagery (Palaia and Petruccelli,
1993). The instrument designed by Crépault consists of 49
questions, some open-ended and some closed that inquire
into sexual behaviour and the erotic imagery of subjects
during sexual intercourse, during masturbation and during
nonerotic activities. This study analyses only items pertaining to the following: sociodemographic data, number
of actual and imaginary partners, motivations for sexual
intercourse, situations that trigger erotic fantasies, incidence of erotic imagery during sexual and nonsexual activity,
incidence of sexual imagery during masturbation. Comparisons with the results of previous studies also utilising
this same questionnaire are made descriptively. Finally, we
chose to discuss the content of sexual imagery by listing
the top five fantasies and comparing them with the ones
described by Masters and Johnson (1979) and Price et al.
(1985).
Procedure and subjects
Participants in the present study were chosen by distributing
100 questionnaires at homosexual clubs and meeting-points
in Rome; in order to guarantee anonymity, each questionnaire was supplied with a stamped addressed envelope; so,
after filling out the questionnaire, the subject could seal it
and post it to the Rome Istituto di Sessuologia Clinica. The
institute received 50 correctly completed questionnaires
from subjects declaring to be homosexual and whose mean
age was 26 (age range 20 to 36 years). The 50 subjects of the
previous study by Palaia and Petruccelli (1993) were recruited in the same way and had a similar mean age (mean age
27; age range 18 to 39 years). Subjects’ characteristics are
shown in Table 1.
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An exploratory study on male homosexual erotic imagery
Table 1 Characteristics of subjects interviewed.
Caractéristiques des sujets interviewés.
Year of the study
1993
Number of subjects
Mean age (years)
Age range (years)
2006
50
27
18—39
50
26,36
20—36
Table 2 Number of sexual partners.
Nombre de partenaires sexuels.
Year of the study
1993
Partners
Real (%)
Over 100
23,71
From 50 to 100
8
From 20 to 50 19,56
From 10 to 20 13,04
From 5 to 10
27
Fewer than 5
8,69
2006
Imaginary
(%)
Real
Imaginary
(%)
46
18
16
10
6
4
0
0
8
44
46
2
48
30
2
16
2
2
Results
The percentages of answer scores to questionnaires were
analysed using SPSS base 8.0 in order to compare the results
of the two studies. First results shown refer to numbers of
real and imaginary partners (Table 2); as in the previous
study, the number of imaginary partners is very high (48%
of the sample of the present study and 46% of the previous study claimed to have had more than 100 imaginary
partners) while the number of real partners is dramatically
reduced: in the past study 23.71% of the sample declared
to have had more than 100, while at present no subject
declared to have had sex with more than 50 partners.
As to the motivations for sexual intercourse (Fig. 1), we
note that subjects of the present study stated that a factor
that ‘‘often’’ leads to sexuality was mostly the physical one
Figure 1 Motivations for sexual intercourse.
Motivations des rapports sexuels.
47
(73.4%), as well as the need for affection (65.6%), need for
communication (14.2%), need for reassurance (46.4%) and
the desire to satisfy one’s partner (31.5%). On the other
hand, the Palaia and Petruccelli’s (1993) sample stated that
sexuality was mainly sought for affective needs (58.8%) and,
to a lesser extent, for physical needs (49%); furthermore, in
the past, the ‘‘need for reassurance’’ and ‘‘to satisfy one’s
partner’’ were indicated as a motivation for sexual intercourse by only about half the percentage of our study; with
regard to the need for communication, the percentage was
17.6%. The main difference with the previous study is the
increase of values concerning physical aspects compared to
values regarding emotional aspects; however, even the latter increased (except for the ‘‘need for communication’’
which showed a slight decrease).
Considering those situations which favour the emergence
of erotic fantasies (Fig. 2) we find that the visual channel is the most influential: the most stimulating situations
are ‘‘watching an erotic movie’’ (77.6%) and ‘‘watching an
attractive man’’ (73.2%), followed by ‘‘reading an erotic
book’’ (51.4%). Values of the previous study were much
lower: ‘‘watching an erotic movie’’ (39%), ‘‘watching an
attractive man’’ (45.1%), and ‘‘reading an erotic book’’
(35.3%). This finding might indicate less inhibition than in the
past in revealing one’s preference for voyeuristic fantasies.
As to the incidence of fantasies (Fig. 3), we find
that 11.7% of subjects interviewed claim ‘‘always’’ to
have sexual fantasies during sexual intercourse, 39.6%
‘‘almost always’’, 18.6% ‘‘very often’’, 23.3% ‘‘often’’ and
‘‘sometimes’’ 6.8%. It is noteworthy that no subject states
‘‘never’’ having erotic fantasies during intercourse. In this
set of results we find an increase in fantasies compared to
the previous study by Palaia and Petruccelli (1993), where
5.9% of sample stated ‘‘always’’ engaging in fantasies during
intercourse, 3.9% ‘‘almost always’’, 5.9% ‘‘very often’’,
13.7% ‘‘often’’, 55% ‘‘sometimes’’ and 15.6% ‘‘never’’.
As to fantasies during masturbation (Fig. 4), we find that
61.4% of subjects declare ‘‘always’’ engaging in fantasies
while masturbating and 36.6% ‘‘almost always’’. Only 2%
of subjects state they fantasize ‘‘very often’’ and none
stated they engaged in fantasies ‘‘often’’, ‘‘sometimes’’
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48
or ‘‘never’’. Again we note an important difference with
the previous study, when results were: ‘‘always’’ 31.2%,
‘‘almost always’’ 18.7%, ‘‘very often’’ 4.2%, ‘‘often’’ 12.5%;
‘‘sometimes’’ 29.2% and ‘‘never’’ 4.2%.
M. Cacioppo et al.
Results regarding the incidence of erotic fantasies outside sexual intercourse (Fig. 5) show that they are not at
all marginal in the life of the homosexuals interviewed.
In fact, no subject declares ‘‘never’’ or ‘‘a few times a
Figure 2 Situations that favour the emergence of erotic fantasies.
Situations favorisant l’émergence de l’imaginaire érotique.
Figure 3 Incidence of erotic fantasies during sexual intercourse .
Incidence des imageries érotiques pendant les rapports sexuels.
Figure 4 Incidence of erotic fantasies during masturbation.
Incidence des imageries érotiques pendant la masturbation.
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An exploratory study on male homosexual erotic imagery
49
Figure 5 Incidence of erotic fantasies outside sexual intercourse.
Incidence des imageries érotiques en dehors des rapports sexuels.
year’’ engaging in fantasies, whereas Palaia and Petruccelli
(1993) found that 4% did not have any erotic imagery outside
intercourse. In the present sample, 52.6 and 31.5% declared
they engaged in fantasies outside intercourse ‘‘a few times
a day’’ and ‘‘a few times a week’’ respectively, whereas
‘‘several times a day’’ 9.7% and only 6.2% ‘‘a few times a
month’’. Formerly, instead, values obtained from the subjects interviewed were as follows: ‘‘several times a day’’
3.9%, ‘‘a few times a day’’ 33.3%, ‘‘a few times a week’’
29.4%, ‘‘a few times a month’’ 13.7%, ‘‘a few times a year’’
15.7%.
On the whole, these data seem to indicate that today’s
male homosexual is less embarrassed in expressing his sexuality, probably also thanks to a wider social acceptance of sex
in general and of homosexuality in particular.
Qualitative data
Some information regarding the content of sexual imagery
can be obtained by listing the top five fantasies ranked in
order of frequency of occurrence (Leitenberg and Henning,
1995). Sometimes these data are obtained from studies in
which checklists of different fantasies are provided to participants but unfortunately, the lists are usually not the same
across studies. In other instances, participants are asked to
write down their favourite, most arousing or most frequently
recurring fantasies. Despite the different methodologies and
samples used in these studies, some findings are in common,
apparent and consistent among them. Masters and Johnson
(1979) reported a list with: imagery of sexual anatomy; forced sexual encounters with men and women (forcing or being
forced or both), sexual encounters with a woman, idyllic
sexual encounters with unknown men and group sexual activities. For Price et al. (1985) the top five fantasies for male
homosexuals were: unspecified sexual activity with another
man, performing oral sex, having a partner perform oral sex,
participating in anal sex, having sex with another man the
subject had not been previously involved with. Palaia and
Petruccelli (1993) reported a list with: a scene from an erotic
film, performing oral sex, caressing a man’s genitals, performing anal sex and watching a man take off his clothes.
Our results show that the five most common fantasies in
order of frequency of occurrence for men are: group sexual
activities, a scene from an erotic film, caressing a man’s
genitals, imagery of sexual anatomy and having a partner
perform oral sex. We note that the main differences refer to
encounters with the opposite sex and forced sexual encounters which were not found in our sample. In our results
there is a striking similarity between the fantasies of male
heterosexuals (Price et al., 1985) and those of male homosexuals, apart from the prevalence of sex of the imaginary
partner.
Discussion and conclusion
In recent research there is a growing interest in gender differences in erotic fantasies (Mussweiler and Förster, 2000;
Zurbriggen and Yost, 2004). In this regard, an interesting
point emerging from our results is the tendency towards
psychological androgyny: on the one hand, today situations
that stimulate erotic fantasies in the male homosexual are
mainly visual and therefore more bound to male gender stereotypes as already demonstrated by several studies (Gold
and Gold, 1991; Leitenberg and Henning, 1995; Ellis and
Symons, 1990; Kelley, 1984; Follingstad and Kimbrell, 1986;
Gil, 1990). On the other hand, some needs traditionally
ascribed to complementary gender identity are now present,
in that male homosexuals apparently let themselves express
and recognize purely physical aspects and emotional and
relational ones, reaching a greater balance than in the past.
Furthermore, feeling freer to express their sexual orientation both to themselves and to others, male homosexuals
participating in our study use their erotic imagery much
more frequently than in the past, mainly during masturbation, which, moreover, is more frequent in the present
sample. Another interesting finding is the total absence in
our sample of erotic fantasies referring to the opposite sex
and of fantasies of forced intercourse as found by Masters
and Johnson (1979); in such fantasies the homosexual individual often played an active or passive role in a rape and
victims were generally immobilized and forced into engaging
in sexual activity. Such differences are the consequences of
cultural changes which, also thanks to an increasing media
coverage, have contributed to making sexuality freer and
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50
more accessible and that have probably given both men
and women wider possibilities of exploring their own likes
and dislikes, thus overcoming gender stereotypes. However,
due to the small number of protocols, which were identical
and comparable between the two Roman studies but however not validated, considering also the specific geographical
location, our explanatory hypotheses are to be verified on
larger populations and in different contexts.
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