Wheldrake
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quote:
ORIGINAL: thetammyjo
Is that submission or biological need for the sperm to get released and into the right place?
Who controls who has sex, with whom, where, and when? A lot of that is biology in some animals though we see in others that there appears to be a wider use of sex for barter or control or influence.
Why does the sexual act itself need to be submission and dominance?
From a species survival point of view, yes, it's about getting the sperm into the right place. From the subjective point of view of the male and female, it's about following their respective instincts. In some animals the female may initiate copulation or at least participate enthusiastically, and in others the male normally has to practically beat the female into submission. As far as propagating the species is concerned, the latter system works just as well, provided the male is usually able to overpower the female without hurting her too badly in the process. Isn't the amorality of nature just wonderful?
About the estrogen article... anyone masochistic enough to want to slog through an academic paper can find a PDF here:
http://www.psych2.phil.uni-erlangen.de/~oschult/humanlab/publications/sshb2007.pdf
I skimmed over most of the statistics, which I suppose doesn't say much for my own masochism credentials, but the more readable parts of the paper actually made some interesting points about the psychology of dominance in general. A few highlights, as I understand them:
1. The researchers measured the women's predilection for dominance by showing them pictures, getting them to write short (very short) stories about the pictures, and counting the number of "power images" that showed up in the stories. This resulted in a score called "n Power", and a woman with high n Power was considered more naturally dominant. Interestingly, n Power scores did correlate with estrogen levels, but they didn't correlate with the women's perceptions of their own personalities - women who considered themselves dominant didn't necessarily have high n Power. If it hasn't been done already, some psychologist really should administer n Power tests to self-identified dominants, submissives and switches in the BDSM scene, and see what happens.
2. However, the correlation between estrogen and n Power didn't hold up for women in "close relationships" - it only applied to single women.
3. After these preliminary tests, the researchers got the women to play a simple computer game. They were told they were competing against each other, even though this wasn't actually the case, and at the end of the game each woman was told that she had either won or lost. For women with high n Power, the winners experienced increases in estrogen and the losers experienced decreases. This didn't happen with low n Power women.
4. Although the study didn't test this, the researchers mentioned that n Power in women is also correlated with sex drive. They also noted that testosterone in men works somewhat, but not entirely, like estrogen in women when it comes to competitive situations. When men of high n Power compete, both the loser and the winner experience elevated testosterone levels.
I don't pretend to know what all this means. But it is sort of interesting.
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Science demonstrates a Woman's need to be Dominant - 
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