important act. Don’t
minimize it.”
The research, says Parrott,
supports the idea that both
men and women find
sexual intimacy in the
context of a committed
relationship to be more
satisfying.
“Numerous research
studies make it very clear
that the people who have
the best quality and most
frequent sex are married
couples. That says a lot
about the inadequacies of
‘casual sex,” Parrot says.
In a study being conducted
by Fisher and her
colleagues of university
students engaging in onenight stands, the numbers
show that men are just as
serious about sex and
relationships as women.
In fact, more than 50% of
women and 52% of men
who went into a one-night
Joy feelings magazine
stand, according to Fisher,
reported that they did so
hoping to create a longer
relationship. One-third of
them actually did so.
What’s the lesson?
“Never assume that a man
is not romantic,” Fisher
says. “Two huge mistakes
in this culture are that
women are not sexual and
that men are not as
romantic as women.”
4. Understand That Men
Don’t Always Want Sex
Sure, most teenage boys
are ready and willing just
about any time you ask,
but not true for men. The
pressures of everyday life
— family, work, bills —
can zap a man’s libido.
This comes as a big
surprise to many women,
and often his lack of
interest in sex is
something women take
personally.