I was recently browsing old posts here on FF and come across a thread entitled
Porn off the beaten path. Several participants asserted that women are significantly less visually stimulated than men. On top of that, viscousmemories
posted: "I've long been under the impression that it was accepted as fact in the neuroscientific and psychological community that there are distinct differences between men and women when it comes to visual pornography." By this he was referring to the claim that "women are less visual/bestial."
However, as I have always intuitively figured (and observed), the truth is different. For example, a neurological study by Andrey Anokhin, et al. immediately came to mind. Since that old thread was from way back in early 2005, I figured I'd just start a new thread about this rather than practice necromancy.
From an article about the Anokhin study:
A great deal of past research has suggested that men are more visual creatures than women and get more aroused by erotic images than women. Anokhin says the fact that the women's brains in this study exhibited such a quick response to erotic pictures suggests that, perhaps for evolutionary reasons, our brains are programmed to preferentially respond to erotic material.
"Usually men subjectively rate erotic material much higher than women," he says. "So based on those data we would expect lower responses in women, but that was not the case. Women have responses as strong as those seen in men."
More on the study here:
Erotic images elicit strong response from brain