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Article Excerpt
Most people engage in sexual fantasy at least occasionally (Hsu et al., 1994; Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948; Kinsey, Pomeroy, Martin, & Gebhart, 1953; Sue, 1979) and such fantasies are generally recognized as part of a healthy sexuality (Hariton & Singer, 1974). Although other aspects of sexuality have received more attention from researchers, many studies concerning sexual fantasy have nevertheless been conducted (for a review see Leitenberg & Henning, 1995). However, this work has tended to be descriptive in nature, reporting on the age of onset and incidence or frequency of sexual fantasies, summarizing fantasy content, and presenting information on gender differences (and similarities) in these areas. Many interesting questions about sexual fantasy have not yet been considered.
In the research reported here, we investigated several aspects of sexual fantasy that are important both theoretically and practically. We considered sexual fantasies of power--both dominance and submission. Although the relationship between dominant or aggressive sexual fantasies and aggressive sexual acts is not well understood, the presence of a causal link between the two would have important implications for the prevention of rape and sexual abuse. Thus, a fuller understanding of dominance and submission in both men's and women's fantasies is a worthwhile research goal. We also explored the role of pleasure and desire in sexual fantasies. These two concepts seem fundamental to sexuality, yet have not been adequately examined in the context of sexual fantasy. Finally, we investigated the relationship between sexual fantasies and attitudes relevant to sexual aggression.
DOMINANCE AND SUBMISSION IN SEXUAL FANTASY
There are numerous reasons to suspect that merging power with sexuality might be dangerous. Specific behavioral fusions of dominance and sex include rape, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse--serious offenses that often result in long-lasting physical, emotional, and/or psychological damage to victims (Browne & Finkelhor, 1986; Gutek & Koss, 1993; Resick, 1993). Cognitive connections between power and sex may also be problematic in that they are associated with aggressive behavior (Mussweiler & F6rster, 2000; Zurbriggen, 2000) as well as with harmful attitudes and beliefs (Bargh, Raymond, Pryor, & Strack, 1995; Pryor & Stoller, 1994). A recent meta-analysis also found that adherence to a "hypermasculine" gender role (one that emphasizes dominance and aggressiveness) is associated with sexual aggression perpetration (Mumen, Wright, & Kaluzny, 2002).
In spite of these findings, it is not clear whether fusing dominance with sexual arousal in the context of fantasy would have similar negative effects. On the one hand, clinical evidence suggests that fantasies play a role in the etiology of criminal sexual aggression. Sex offenders frequently fantasize about their crimes, both before and after committing them (Leitenberg & Henning, 1995; MacCulloch, Snowden, Wood, & Mills, 1983; Prentky et al., 1989), and modifying fantasies is often part of the treatment plan for sexual offenders (Johnston, Ward, & Hudson, 1997). On the other hand, fantasies of force are also relatively frequent among community controls as well as among men convicted of only nonsexual crimes (Langevin, Lang, & Curnoe, 1998; Rokach, Nuthrown, & Nexhipi, 1988). For example, Crepault and Couture (1980) reported that 33% of men who had never been convicted of a sexual crime fantasized at least sometimes about raping a woman.
One interpretation of these findings is that aggressive fantasies do not necessarily lead to aggressive behavior because only a subset of men who have aggressive fantasies have committed sexual crimes. Another explanation is that aggressive fantasies are closely linked to aggressive behavior; however, only some men are arrested, charged, and convicted of sexual assault. The few studies that included participants from community or student populations and that obtained self-reported measures of sexually aggressive behavior suggest that there is a connection between aggressive fantasies and aggressive behavior. Greendlinger and Byrne (1987) found that men who reported fantasies of force were more likely to report past use of coercion in sexual relationships; they also indicated a higher likelihood of raping a woman if they knew they wouldn't be caught. Smeaton and Byrne (1987) also found that men with coercive sexual fantasies reported a higher likelihood of raping a woman if they knew they wouldn't be caught. On the other hand, they found no correlation between male participants' coercive fantasies and their reported likelihood of pushing the confederate in the experiment "farther than she says she wants to go sexually." The evidence suggests, then, that fantasies of force might be problematic; however, because of the paucity of research on nonclinical samples, this conclusion remains tentative.
Another problem with the literature on force in fantasies is that it has tended to focus only on men and only on fantasies of dominance. Yet fantasies of submission are common among women. Pelletier and Herold (1988) found that 51% of their female sample reported fantasies of being forced to submit sexually, and Knafo and Jaffe (1984) noted that the fantasy reported most frequently during intercourse for women was "I imagine that I am being overpowered or forced to surrender." This fusion of submission and sex does not, however, appear to carry the same risks as does a fusion of dominance and sex. Women who report fantasies of submission have more positive attitudes about sex (Strassberg & Lockerd, 1998) and are less sexually guilty and more open to a variety of sexual experiences (Pelletier & Herold, 1988; Strassberg & Lockerd, 1998). Moreover, although sexual fantasies of submission may be more common among survivors of childhood sexual abuse (Gold, 1991), sexual victimization as an adult is apparently not predictive of fantasies of submission (Gold, Balzano, & Stamey, 1991). Submissive fantasies in women may therefore be one aspect of a relatively open, positive, guilt-free sexuality. Again, however, because of the small number of studies, this conclusion is tentative. In addition, we know almost nothing about fantasies of dominance in women or fantasies of submission in men. Therefore, one of the main goals of our study was to gain a better understanding of fantasies of both dominance and submission in a community sample that included men and women as participants.
PLEASURE AND DESIRE IN SEXUAL FANTASY
It seems almost tautological to state that sexual desire and sexual pleasure are of central importance to sexuality. To be sure, there are other motivations for engaging in sexual behavior besides the pursuit of physical pleasure, and neither desire nor pleasure are necessary for sexual acts to take place. However, the desire for pleasurable physical sensation is clearly a centrally important sexual motive. This is especially true when one considers sexual fantasies, which are private mental events whose sole purpose would seem to be to induce pleasurable feelings of sexual desire and arousal. It is surprising, then, that virtually no research on sexual fantasies has focused on desire and pleasure.
It is especially interesting to think about the role that desire and pleasure might play in the sexual fantasies of women, given that these have often been difficult feelings for women to express in reality. Vance (1989) has written extensively on the ways that desire and pleasure are problematic for women. She notes that an expression of sexual desire has two consequences for women. First, it invites danger--the danger of rape, of pregnancy, and of harassment, as men tend to interpret any expression of female desire as an invitation for a sexual encounter. Second, women are traditionally the "gate-keepers" of sexuality and are responsible for the control of sex. So if a woman expresses desire, she is indicating that she is giving up that responsibility. In doing so, she violates the traditional feminine role.
Expressions of sexual pleasure are just as difficult for women, according to Vance (1989). Patriarchal cultures are hostile to sexuality in general, and especially to women's sexuality. Again, there is a conflict involving danger; if a woman gives in to sexual pleasure, she invites the danger of violence and punishment. Pleasure and safety are in opposition for women, which forces them to choose one over the other. The realm of fantasy may be a private and safe sphere in which women can experience desire and pleasure free from danger. An empirical assessment of the presence and role of pleasure and desire in women's (and men's) sexual fantasies would help to shed light on the speculations of Vance; our second goal in this research was to conduct such an assessment.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEXUAL FANTASIES AND ATTITUDES
One of the central questions regarding fantasy concerns its relationship to attitudes and behaviors. Is fantasy distinct from reality, with what one imagines completely unrelated to what one actually does? Or are there connections between the frequency or content of fantasies and real-world behaviors and relevant attitudes? Previous research suggests that such connections do exist. As discussed above, men who fantasize about sexual aggression may also be more likely to engage in sexual aggression. In addition, frequency of sexual fantasy has been correlated with more frequent and more varied experiences of sexuality (Pelletier & Herold, 1988), less sex guilt (Moreault & Follingstad, 1978), and more liberal attitudes about women's place in society (Brown & Hart, 1977).
Given our interest in the role of power in sexual fantasy, we especially wanted to consider a possible relationship between sexual fantasies and attitudes related to sexual aggression perpetration: for example, endorsement of victim-blaming rape myths, a belief that relations between men and women are hostile and adversarial, and conservative beliefs about women's place in society. A third major aim of our study, then, was to explore whether the content of sexual fantasies was related to these specific attitudes, in both women and men.
THE PRESENT STUDY
Our goal was to look at the content of sexual fantasies in a community sample of men and women in early and middle adulthood. The vast majority of research on sexual fantasies has used a checklist method to assess the content of people's fantasies. This method, while expedient, has several drawbacks. Most importantly, it constrains participant responses to the preselected list of fantasy themes chosen by the researcher. In addition, it yields little detailed information about the fantasies. Because of these disadvantages, we chose to collect open-ended accounts of sexual fantasies. We then developed a coding system that allowed us to look in a detailed way at dominance, submission, pleasure, and desire.
We were also interested in the correlation of fantasy themes with attitudes relevant to sexual aggression....
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