Today's young people have sex half as often as previous generations - roughly as often as older people. In seeking a solution to this problem, society often places responsibility on women: they are advised to "restore" their libido and are prescribed pills and supplements. However, researchers from The Conversation argue that the root of the problem lies not in hormones but in early experience.
The scientists analyzed research data from North America and Europe and found that the first sexual experience of teenage girls is more often painful, less pleasurable and more ambivalent than that of boys. Fewer than 10% of young women experience orgasm during their first sexual encounter. This "orgasm gap" is three times larger than among adults, and it is rarely discussed.
The authors emphasize that adolescence is a critical period when the brain learns to associate sex with pleasure or discomfort. Unequal experience at this time shapes lasting patterns: girls learn that sex is something to be endured rather than enjoyed. This accumulates and manifests in adult life.
"Female libido is not a biological given but the result of learning," the researchers write. "When early experience is more equitable, the gap in pleasure and desire narrows." For example, in same-sex couples, women more often experience mutual stimulation and satisfaction, which shows the importance of reciprocity rather than the partner's sex.
The researchers criticize the approach in which low libido is treated with pills and advice to "change your thinking." In their view, this is an attempt to "fix" something that is not broken but has merely adapted to unequal conditions. "Women do not lose desire - they learn early on whether sex will be pleasurable and fair," the authors note.
Although adult experience can also influence desire, change requires more deliberate effort than in youth. The authors call for changing the conditions in which young people learn intimacy - in relationships, culture and education. "If we want women to desire sex and derive pleasure from it, we need to start with early experience," they conclude.
The article was published in The Conversation and is based on research, including work in the journal Psychological Review.