Testosterone Makes Women Masturbate in Place of Sex, Says Science

Which way to the gun show?
By Yelena Shuster For HowAboutWe

Forget the oft-cited headache excuse. Women all over the world now have a new reason for declining sex. Repeat after me: "Sorry babe, my testosterone is high." That's right: the hormone associated with men makes women want to indulge in their own pleasure, says a study published in the Journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.

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In addition to 196 volunteers answering questions about their masturbation and sex habits and desires, each participant gave a saliva sample so that testosterone (manly sex hormone) and cortisol (stress hormone) could be measured. Turns out low testosterone didn't affect how often men thought about sex, going against the widely-held belief that testosterone is the source of sexual desire in men. Sari van Anders, a behavioral neuroendocrinologist at the University of Michigan, thinks this misunderstanding stemmed from studies of animals and extremely-testosteroned men -- neither of which apply to normal dudes. "In this regular, healthy range of testosterone, it's high enough that the variations aren't what's driving any changes," van Anders said. (There have been studies, though very few, showing similar results.)

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Ladies with higher levels of testosterone had less desire for sex, possibly because high testosterone could also mean higher stress. But one thing that alleviates stress: solo bedroom time. The desire to masturbate was found to be higher in women with higher levels of testosterone and vise versa. So why the major difference in wanting sex between guys and gals? Men masturbated more often and wanted to have sex more. The opposite was true for women. So researchers hypothesize that solo action actually revs you up for the real thing and gets you in the mood more often.

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Ladies, I hope you've learned your lesson. If you're feeling like you have a low libido, lock your door and get cracking on 50 Shades.

[LiveScience]

Yelena Shuster's door is locked.