Ever since Neanderthal man first spotted his buddy's girlfriend reclining on a mastodon fur, fantasy has been a rich part of humankind's sex life.

But it wasn't until government funding came along that sexologists began undertaking "scientific" (i.e. handing out questionnaires to college students) research into what part, and to what extent, fantasy plays a part in our sexuality.

Groundbreakers like Masters and Johnson, Alfred Kinsey, Shere Hite and Nancy Friday have made exciting discoveries such as: men and women fantasize about having sex. A lot. Sometimes when they masturbate.

There have been other findings, however. Such as, women's fantasies are more likely to involve their partners, whereas men's often have to do with Jenna Jameson's car breaking down at the side of the road.

This article presents some semi-scientific research into just what are the top fantasies of both sexes, whether and how they differ and what, if anything, all this means.

Our sources, sadly, weren't thousands of willing and able-bodied coeds but available studies -- along with memories of our own troubled adolescence, the wellspring that never runs dry.

Top Male Sex Fantasies

It's safe to say, since guys spend most of their time trying to figure out how to get sex, and then avoiding the phone afterwards, that a lot of their fantasies are about power.

In other words, some of their favorite reveries reflect the desire to skip the perennial smile-and-wink, followed by dinner-and-a-movie, and get straight to the action.

10. Domination/submission. Bondage and sex slave fantasies are popular scenarios. However, since most guys are too lazy to learn how to tie a proper knot, there's little need to worry about coming home to find ropes tied to the bedposts.

9. Harem. This is the one where he's the only male in a room full of willing women. And no, we're not talking about The View.

8. Younger woman/older woman. Yeah, this one's fairly obvious. For some reason guys seem predisposed to feeling an attraction for women out of their age range, whether younger (for breeding) or older (for learning). Blame it on evolution.

7. Orgy. This is one of those fantasies that is probably better left un-acted-upon. Sure, it seems like a good idea at the time but the planning, the etiquette and the ensuing awkwardness cancel out the initial thrill. Uhm, not that we'd know for sure.

6. Watching our girlfriend/spouse with another man. Again, probably best un-acted upon. Just rent Indecent Proposal instead.

5. Forbidden fruit. Having sex with the boss's wife while on the phone with the boss; his girlfriend's sister coming over and catching him in a pair of your high heels -- if it's wrong and morally base, he's probably imagined it at some point.

4. Sex with a stranger. This one always livens up the commute to work.

3. Role-playing/costumes. As clichéd as it sounds, guys do want you to dress up as a nurse/French maid/Princess Leia and not just on Halloween. Sorry.

2. Sex on location. Probably the office would make a lot of guys' number one place, outside of home, to have sex; the aisles of Office Depot, though, would probably be a distant 9th or 10th.

1. Threesome. If you guessed this as the number one male fantasy, give yourself (and your girlfriend) a pat on the back (preferably in front of your boyfriend).

Top Female Sex Fantasies

Women's sex fantasies differ from men's in that their scenarios are more likely to transgress societal conventions. Since women's behavior is viewed more judgmentally, their fantasies are more likely to involve doing what they're not supposed to -- i.e., "being bad." At least, that's what our research (Girls Gone Wild in Cancun) indicates.

10. Voyeurism. Yes, she wants to watch as much as you do. Almost.

9. Exhibitionism. This is a big one, particularly in today's over-sexed climate. But women have been exhibiting themselves since as early as 1950, maybe even earlier.

8. Domination/forced sex. As politically incorrect as it is to say, research puts this hot potato fantasy pretty high up on the list.

According to Masters and Johnson, the "forced-sex scenario" is second only to taking a different partner than her current beau; according to Nancy Friday (My Secret Garden), it's second to none. We have to stress, though, this is fantasy we're talking about, people.

7. Sex in a public place. Here's some overlap with the guys'; however, we wouldn't be surprised if women showed a little more imagination when it came to sex out in the world. Such as, at a pro sports game, with all the action caught on the Jumbotron.

6. Two or more guys. Maybe it's because porn seems to have taken over a large portion of society, but we're guessing that this fantasy rates more highly in current studies than it did when Masters and Johnson first began conducting their investigations.

5. Older woman/younger man. Call this the "Mrs. Robinson" (after The Graduate) scenario. The fantasy of seducing a much younger man -- her son's friend, perhaps? -- is probably one of the oldest in the book.

4. Having a man as a sex slave. More than the sexual favors, what really turns women on about this one is the housekeeping possibilities.

3. Sapphic romp. Wishful thinking on men's part or as real as Mardi Gras? Since most women admit to having sexual feelings at one time or another for another woman, and since the success of Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl," we're guessing the latter.

2. High-priced call girl. What woman hasn't considered, at least fleetingly, the possibilities of somehow making cash money in a way frowned upon by society? The illicitness, not to mention illegality, of prostitution makes for some sizzling fantasy fodder.

1. Being carried off by a sexy stranger. One need only look at the sheer volume of romance novels sold to know this one never goes out of style.

Of course, these lists and their order are huge generalizations, and don't necessarily represent every segment of society.

To quote from health.discovery.com: "Some people, particularly but not solely those from rural areas, have fantasies about sexual contact with animals." But we're not even going to go there.

tags: sex  sexual  fantasy  

links: digg this    del.icio.us    technorati    reddit