Have you ever heard of an "erogenous mirror" or "mirror sexuality"? Yet, this is a reflex that almost all of us would have during sex.
"Erogenous mirror" or "mirror sexuality": behind these abstract terms actually hides an unconscious desire that we would all experience in private. According to a study carried out by researchers at Bangor University and the Royal Holloway University of London in the United Kingdom and published in the specialized journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, the parts of our partner's body that we caress would actually reflect those where one would like to be touched.
Erogenous mirror: what is this reflex during sex?
To analyze how people liked to look and touch each other during their lovemaking, scientists conducted this study on 613 individuals, including 407 women, of all ages and all sexual orientations. Participants completed an online questionnaire, in which they rated arousal levels related to the stimulation of different parts of the body in a number of different scenarios: when they touched and were touched by their partner, and when they watched or were watched by their partner. Scientists thus speak of an "erogenous mirror".
“We have found that people show a very clear mirror effect of their preferences for different parts of the body; they like to touch areas of their partner's body that correspond to areas where they specifically like to be touched on their own body. even applied to 'weird' places, such as the ears. If you like having your ears touched, you will have more fun touching your partner's ears. ", commented Dr. Lara Maister, lead author of the study.
A strong correlation between touch and gaze
The researchers also observed a strong correlation between touch and look. The parts of the body where people liked to be touched closely matched the parts they liked to see others look at. This can be explained by the fact that when someone looks at one of our erogenous zones, we can imagine being stroked there, which is synonymous with pleasure. The researchers speak here ofanticipation of touch.
This study thus reveals that the body of our partner is used as the mirror of our own desires during the sexual intercourse. "These results tell us about the mutuality and reciprocity of sexual interaction, about how partners align themselves with respect to which parts of their partner's body they like to touch and look at, versus which parts on which their partner likes them to concentrate ", concludes Dr Lara Maister.
Source:
“The Erogenous Mirror: Intersubjective and Multisensory Maps of Sexual Arousal in Men and Women” by Lara Maister in the review Archives of Sexual Behavior.
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