The Porn Circuit | Covenant Eyes Internet Accountability and Filtering

CHapter 4: 32 flavors: Why we like sexual variety
Similarly, another simplistic explanation is that guys are not designed to be monogamous
in the first place. Evolution urged them to roam, find herds of women on the open plain,
and compete to mate with as many as possible. That’s why guys skip through a multitude of
Internet mates or are constantly targeting new females to breed; they are not designed to find a
lifelong mate but to spread their seed far and wide.
One Australian study 1 placed men and women in a room and showed them the same porn film
18 times. Initially, they were aroused, but after watching the same movie over and over, they
became uninterested. But lo and behold, when a new porn flick was introduced the subjects
gained new interest. This test is similar to others, 2 so to some analysts it proves that people get
bored with the same mate and need to roam to keep sex interesting.
Advances in understanding
But more and more therapists and neurologists say these studies fall flat.
Doidge argues that instincts, like that of the rat, resist change, and that human sexuality is not
based on instinct. The human libido isn’t hardwired by biological urges, but rather it is often
finicky and altered by an individual’s psychology, experiences, and sexual encounters.
Doidge writes: 3
Much scientific writing implies otherwise and depicts the sexual instinct as a biological imperative, an
ever hungry brute, always demanding satisfaction — a glutton, not a gourmet. But human beings are
more like gourmets and are drawn to types and have strong preferences; having a “type” causes us
to defer satisfaction until we find what we are looking for, because attraction to a type is restrictive;
the person who is ‘really turned on by blondes’ may tacitly rule out brunettes and redheads.
Rats are only attracted by sight and scent, Dr. Weiss says. But people have many ways to
become attracted, such as sharing an affinity toward specific entertainment, politics, ideas,
religion, and situations. Their childhoods and adolescence contribute to their sexual desires,
as do the rest of their experiences in life. People experience emotional and cognitive levels,
including fantasy or imagination, that are unavailable to the rat.
“Every guy or gal reading this has seen a man or woman at a distance who they thought was
attractive until that person opened their mouth,” Weiss says. “So attraction goes way beyond
the physical for human beings.” 4
As for the theories that suggest familiarity lessens sexual interest, Weiss says those studies are
flawed. Lots of people like to watch Charlie Brown at Thanksgiving or Christmas, but show
the same film 18 times and just about anyone would grow bored. Then introduce the movie
Captain America and watch a group gain interest.
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