Sexual arousal and sexual fantasy: The influence of gender, and the measurement of antecedents and emotional consequences in Macau and the United States.

Cross-cultural studies have the potential to elucidate the relative influences of culture and biology on human sexuality. In study 1, 353 male and female undergraduate university students from the United States and Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China, completed self-report measures assessing aspects of sexual fantasy and sexual arousal. There were clear gender-related differences, with males reporting an earlier age of initial sexual fantasy and sexual arousal. Cultural influences were evident in that females and males from Macau tended to experience a later age of initial sexual fantasy/arousal, and less frequent fantasy and arousal, relative to their counterparts in the United States. A subset of females in Macau reported infrequent or no sexual fantasy/arousal, and negative emotions from such sexual variables. In study 2, 160 female university students from Macau completed self-report measures and implicit measures assessing attitudes towards sexual fantasy and perceptions of the self (i.e., sexual versus friendly in nature). Self-report measures correlated with implicit measures in revealing predominantly friendly views of the self, as opposed to sexual, and in an association of sexual fantasy with negative emotions. Implications of the current results, in terms of human sexuality, and the biological and cultural factors involved, are discussed.