Quickie: Does Love Make Sex Better?

Research shows for women, it does

Do you think the sex you have when you’re in love is better than the sex you have when you’re not? If you do, you’re not alone — especially if you’re a woman.

“When women feel love, they may feel greater sexual agency….”

According to research conducted by sociologist Beth Montemurro, for women, having sex with someone they’re in love with is not only better because of the emotional component, it’s also better physically. The reason? Women who are in love with their partners tend to be less inhibited and are more open to sexual exploration.

“Women said that they connected love with sex and that love actually enhanced the physical experience of sex,” said Montemurro. “When women feel love, they may feel greater sexual agency because they not only trust their partners, but because they feel that it is okay to have sex when love is present.”

Montemurro interviewed 95 heterosexual women between the ages of 20 and 68 to find out their attitudes about love and sex, and whether you can truly have one without the other. Although the majority of women did say they didn’t feel love was necessary to have sex, most of them also believed that the sex was much more pleasurable when they were in love. According to the sociologist, the beliefs women have about love and sex could be based on mixed messages from the media that simultaneously glorify and vilify sex.

“On one hand, the media may seem to show that casual sex is okay, but at the same time, movies and television, especially, tend to portray women who are having sex outside of relationships negatively,” she said.

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Source:

Does love make sex better for most women? ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140819125944.htm