Researchers in Australia surveyed differences between young men and women (aged 17 to 25 years) on a university campus to assess their sense of entitlement to sexual partner pleasure over a year with two waves of data collection.

They found that young women had notably more entitlement to sexual partner pleasure than men, and entitlement increased over time and with more sexual experience. The researchers review prior studies confirming these findings to be valid. They note that other research has also confirmed women place a greater emphasis than men on the role of having a sexual partner to meet their sexual desires and pleasure.

Entitlement to partner pleasure

Time Men Women
T1 3.79 3.94
T2 3.86 4.06
  • Young women reported more sense of entitlement to sexual partner pleasure than young men, and the average level of entitlement increased from T1 to T2.
  • Inexperienced participants reported less entitlement when compared to the three groups that reported a history of coitus.
  • This finding complements the broader research on gender difference in sexual development and behavior, which indicates young women place more emphasis than young men on the role of a sexual partner to meet their sexual desires and pleasure.
  • Young women reported more sense of entitlement than young men, and older participants reported more entitlement relative to younger participants.

Many criticisms about men have centered around the notion that men feel too "entitled" to sex and female bodies for sexual pleasure. However, scientific research would possibly suggest that men are no more entitled than women (at least among younger individuals).

The researchers noted that entitlement between sexes may even out over time (possibly after the age of 25). One possible explanation is that the median young woman has a greater amount of sexual experience than the median young man, but men eventually catch up in sexual experience later in life (after the age of 25).

These findings may shed light on the fact that women most prefer penises larger than 94.6% of all men's, and 27% of women have cited penis size as a reason for terminating a relationship—implying that phallic dimensions can affect women's sexual pleasure.

Furthermore, in the pursuit of sexual pleasure, these levels of entitlement to sexual pleasure could help explain why as many American men report being "forced to penetrate" each year as women report being raped, despite the fact that a much smaller percentage of men than women report victimization over a lifespan, which is mathematically only possible if a smaller group of men than women are being victimized repeatedly.

References:

  • Hewitt-Stubbs G, Zimmer-Gembeck M, Mastro S, Boislard M. 2016. A Longitudinal Study of Sexual Entitlement and Self-Efficacy among Young Women and Men: Gender Differences and Associations with Age and Sexual Experience. Behav Sci (Basel). 6(1): 4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4810038/