Sociosexuality: what does this type of sexual orientation consist of?

Let's see what sociosexuality consists of and how it is embodied in sexual behavior.

Sexuality has long ceased to be taboo. In this day and age, it is a topic that can be talked about openly.

In this dynamic, not only the most classic or well-known orientations are discussed, but also new ones are proposed or, rather, certain practices that already existed are given a name. This is the case of sociosexuality, a concept that we will explore in depth below..

What is sociosexuality?

When we speak of sociosexuality, we are referring to a form of sexual behavior pattern whose main characteristic is the preference for the maintenance of casual sexual relations for mere physical pleasure.The participants are not emotionally attached to each other and there is no commitment between them.

In this sense, an individual who identifies himself as sociosexual will prefer to maintain intimate relations with a large number of sexual partners, without establishing any commitment to any of them.without establishing any commitment with any of them. On the other hand, someone who does not fit into the concept of sociosexuality will have a preference for sexual relations with a person with whom he or she has a bond and establishes a commitment.

Another way of putting it is to speak in terms of restrictions. Thus, people who are mostly restricted in terms of sociosexuality will be 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 increase the number of sporadic relationships as much as possible.

The term, as such, was coined by the biologist and sexologist Alfred Kinsey in the first half of the 20th century. Other authors, such as Simpson and Gangestad, revived interest in this field in the early 1990s, creating a test of sociosexual orientation, which consisted of only five items. In the 21st century, Penke picked up the baton to create the SOI-R, which we will see in detail below.

As we can see, it is not exactly a new sexual orientation, 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 often kept secret, as the rigid social norms of the time were incompatible with such behaviors. However, today it is not a problem or a stigma for the person.

In fact, there are even tremendously popular apps that connect these individuals so that they can enjoy these encounters, if that is what they are both looking for, without any kind 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 varying 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 these is behavioralwhich indicates the number of people with whom you have had sex without an emotional relationship or bond. To do this, the numerical option that fits the answer to be given is selected from among nine different ranges.

The second category is that of attitudeThis 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 us to extract this data, presenting statements on which the subject will have to indicate his or her agreement with them, on a scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree, i.e., with a Likert scale.

Finally, we find the category of desirethat is, the desire that the person would have to maintain sociosexual relations. 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 into the three categories we have explained, a profile of the subject's compatibility with sociosexuality would be obtained.

Factors of differentiation between individuals

An interesting question the researchers asked themselves was whether factors such as gender or sexual orientation made a significant difference to a person's sociosexuality. The studies carried out in this regard showed that, indeed, these and other variables do lead to different results in the measurement of this quality in the subjects evaluated.

It was observed that men tended to achieve higher scores on the SOI-R test than women. However, it is important to indicate that this difference is on average, since within the group of men, as within the group of women, there is great variability, with subjects scoring high, others scoring medium and others scoring low.

Introducing the sexual orientation variable increases the segmentation of the results. In the case of women, it was those who declared themselves bisexual who reported a higher level of sociosexuality, with those who identified themselves as heterosexual or lesbian being lower. In the case of men, no differences were observed in the attitudinal domain, but differences were observed in the behavioral domain.

In this case, homosexual men were those who showed a higher rate of sociosexuality. In second place were bisexual men. Lastly, heterosexual men would be found.

But these are not the only variables that have been studied. Individual differences associated with sociosexuality have also been measured. The studies seem to indicate that people who score high on this measure also tend to score high on other measures such as openness to experience, extraversion and impulsivity.. In turn, they score low, on average, on variables such as kindness, humility or honesty.

Sociosexual people tend to have fewer problems in assuming risky situations and are more erotophilic. In terms of attachment style, it is observed that avoidant attachment predominates in these individuals, with the development of 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 the so-called dark triad, which is composed of the variables of psychopathology, psychopathology and psychopathology.which is composed of the variables of psychopathy, Machiavellianism and narcissism, in those people with a high level in the condition in question. Self-control would also be one of them.

Finally, when contemplating the variables related to the religion of the persons 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. Conversely, people who orient themselves to religion extrinsically, i.e., to achieve other goals, tended to score higher on this characteristic.

Motivations for sociosexuality.

We will now focus on exploring some of the motivations behind high sociosexuality. With respect to women, it appears that those scoring high in such an 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 itself.

In men, on the other hand, 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 more attention to the physical traits for which they find the woman attractive, while those with high sociosexuality would pay more attention to the physical traits for which they find the woman attractive. for which they find such a woman attractive.

In the case of women, if they score higher on the sociosexuality condition, they will probably tend to be more interested in how popular an attractive man can be than those who score lower on this 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 to have 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 persons, while those who are not sociosexual are more likely to prefer sex with experienced individuals.While those who are not sociosexual tend to focus more on the qualities of the person and on those factors related to potential parenting, those who are not tend to focus more on the qualities of the person and on those factors related to potential parenting. Además, la percepción de riesgo ante enfermedades infecciosas puede hacer descender el nivel de sociosexualidad de una persona.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Kinsey, A.C., Pomeroy, W.B., Martin, C.E., Gebhard, P.H. (1998). Sexual behavior in the human female. Indiana University Press.
• Kinsey, A.C., Pomeroy, W.B., Martin, C.E. (2003). Sexual behavior in the human male. American Journal of Public Health.
• Penke, L. (2011). Revised sociosexual orientation inventory. Handbook of sexuality-related measures.
• Simpson, J.A., Gangestad, S.W. (1992). Sociosexuality and romantic partner choice. Journal of personality. Wiley Online Library.