Sociosexuality: What This Type Of Sexual Orientation Consists Of
Sexuality stopped being taboo a long time ago. In these times, it is a topic that can be talked about openly.
In this dynamic, not only are we talking about the most classic or well-known orientations, but new ones are proposed or, rather, certain practices that already existed are given names. This is the case of sociosexuality, a concept that we are going to explore in depth below
When we talk about sociosexuality, we are referring to a form of sexual behavior pattern whose main characteristic is the preference for maintaining casual sexual relations for mere physical pleasure without there being an emotional bond between the participants and without there being a commitment between both.
In this sense, An individual who identifies himself as sociosexual will prefer to maintain intimate relationships with a large number of sexual partners, without establishing any commitment with any of them. On the contrary, someone who does not fit within the concept of sociosexuality will have a preference for sexual relations with a person with whom they have a bond and have established a commitment.
Another way to say it is to talk in terms of restrictions. Thus, people who are mostly restricted in terms of sociosexuality will feel less attracted to the possibility of having sexual practices with new individuals just for the pleasure of doing so. At the other extreme, subjects with a low restriction in sociosexuality will choose to expand the number of sporadic relationships as much as possible.
The term, as such, would have been coined by the biologist and sexologist Alfred Kinsey, in the first half of the 20th century. Other authors, such as Simpson or Gangestad, regained interest in this field in the early 90s, creating a sociosexual orientation test, which consisted of only five items. Already in the 21st century, Penke picked up the baton to create the SOI-R, which we will see in detail later.
As we see, It is not exactly a new sexual orientation, but a new term for a sexual behavior that has always existed and that many individuals choose The point is that, in the past, such behavior was usually kept secret, since the rigid social norms of the time were incompatible with such behaviors. However, today it does not pose a problem or a stigma for the person.
In fact, there are even tremendously popular applications that connect these individuals so that they can enjoy these encounters, if that is what they are both looking for, without any type of impediment.
How sociosexuality is measured
Some readers are probably wondering how this sociosexuality thing is measured. Is someone sociosexual or not? Is it a categorical concept or can it occur in different degrees? In order to measure this factor, author Lars Penke created a tool called the Sociosexuality Orientation Inventory, or SOI-R
This test consists of a questionnaire where the subject to be evaluated must answer nine questions. These items are grouped into three different categories.
The first of them is behavior, which indicates the number of people with whom you have had sex without an emotional relationship or bond. To do this, select the numerical option that matches the answer you want to give, among nine different ranges.
The second category is attitude, which will inform us about the opinion that the individual has about sociosexuality, that is, towards casual sex. There will be three items that will allow this data to be extracted, presenting some statements about which the subject will have to indicate their agreement with them, on a scale that goes from strongly disagree to strongly agree, that is, with a Likert scale.
Finally, we would find the category of desire, that is, the desire that the person would have to maintain sociosexual relationships. This field is represented by the last three items of the SOI-R test, where questions are asked that the person must answer with one of the nine available options, ranging from never to at least once a day.
With the information provided by the nine items, grouped in the three categories that we have explained, a profile of the subject’s compatibility with sociosexuality would be obtained.
Differentiation factors between people
An interesting question the researchers asked is whether factors such as gender or sexual orientation made a significant difference in a person’s sociosexuality. The studies carried out in this regard showed that, indeed, these and other variables represent different results in the measurement of this quality in the subjects evaluated.
It was observed that men tended to achieve higher scores when performing the SOI-R test, compared to women. However, it is important to indicate that this difference is on average, since within the group of men, as well as within the group of women, there is great variability, with subjects who score high, others who score medium, and others who score low.
By introducing the variable of sexual orientation, the segmentation of the results is increased. In the case of women, it was those who declared themselves bisexual who denoted a higher level of sociosexuality, with those who identified as heterosexual or lesbian being below. In the case of men, no differences were observed in the field of attitude, but there were differences in behavior.
In that case, homosexual men were the ones who showed a higher rate of sociosexuality. In second place were bisexual men. Lastly, there would be heterosexual men.
But those are not the only variables that have been studied. Likewise, individual differences associated with sociosexuality have been measured. Studies seem to indicate that People who score high on this measure also tend to do so on others such as openness to experience, extraversion or impulsivity At the same time, they score low, on average, in variables such as kindness, humility or honesty.
Sociosexual people tend to have fewer problems assuming risky situations and are more erotophilic. Regarding attachment style, it is observed that avoidant attachment predominates in these individuals, with the development of a secure attachment being less likely. In women, uniformity in circadian rhythms and masculinity also correlate with sociosexuality.
But the list of individual differences does not end there. A higher score has also been observed in what is known as the dark triad, which is made up of the variables of psychopathy, Machiavellianism and narcissism, in those people with a high level of the condition at hand. Self-control would also be one of them.
Finally, when considering the variables related to the religion of the people studied, it was observed that an intrinsic religious orientation, that is, one in which religion is the end in itself, would correlate with low sociosexuality. On the contrary, people who orient themselves to religion in an extrinsic way, or what is the same, to achieve other objectives, will tend to score higher on that characteristic.
Motivations of sociosexuality
Now we will focus on exploring some of the motivations behind high sociosexuality. Regarding women, it seems that those with a high score in this orientation perceive certain short-term benefits Some could be the obtaining of certain resources and others would simply refer to the sexual gratification obtained during the act.
In men, on the contrary, this search for short-term benefit is not observed. Men with low sociosexuality would pay more attention to the social traits of an attractive woman, while those with high sociosexuality would pay attention to her own physical traits why said woman seems attractive to them.
In the case of women, if they score higher in the sociosexuality condition, they will probably tend to be more interested in how popular an attractive man may be compared to those who score lower in said variable. However, the latter will show a greater desire to establish a commitment with their sexual partner.
Both men and women who have a high degree of sociosexuality seem to prefer maintaining relationships with experienced people. In the case of women who do not match the sociosexual condition, they have a preference for sexual relations with inexperienced individuals.
Finally, physical attractiveness is a more important condition for sociosexual people, while those that are not tend to focus more on the qualities of the person and those factors related to potential upbringing. Furthermore, the perception of risk from infectious diseases can lower a person’s level of sociosexuality.
