By which we learn that marriage per se is not beneficial for sexual satisfaction

This paper is not good news for governments of countries that face a low birth rate and that usually for economic reasons.

Does Marriage Really Improve Sexual Satisfaction?

"Previous studies have argued that marriage provides a better ecosystem for sexual satisfaction and that married couples are more sexually satisfied than singles are.. Others even argue that believing in marital sex as part of a religious system increases sexual satisfaction... The arguments that married couples enjoy a higher level of sexual satisfaction stand out against the background of a growing number of individuals choosing to meet their sexual desires outside of marriage. ... 

Using the ninth wave of the Pairfam data set and analyzing the responses of 3,207 respondents in total, this study suggests that marriage is not a determinant for sexual satisfaction. In fact, it can even be a negative correlate when married respondents are compared to certain unmarried groups. The only exception is that of unmarried individuals who currently have no partner. Even this situation is shown to be dependent only on less frequent intercourse, not on a lack of sexual self-esteem and sexual communication.

The findings show that married people reported lower rates of sexual self-esteem and sexual communication skills than most groups. In terms of sexual communication, only never-married cohabiting people were comparable to married people for both genders, while never-married single and living apart together women and divorced separated and single women were also comparable to married women... 

The detailed and rich data of the Pairfam survey show that even singles who have never been married are more likely to report higher levels of sexual self-esteem and sexual communication and that it is mostly the availability of sex that makes them less satisfied sexually...

Moreover, the findings indicate that marriage per se is not beneficial for sexual satisfaction. In fact, married couples score relatively low in this regard. Non-partnered singles scored lower than the married group in terms of sexual satisfaction, but the main reason that they were less sexually satisfied than married couples was sex frequency, which was naturally lower for non-partnered singles than for couples. Therefore, it seems that it is not marriage that is beneficial to sexual satisfaction but rather having a partner..."

People with lower self-esteem and sexual communication marry.

"One possibility is that sexual self-esteem and sexual communication levels work in reverse: People with lower sexual self-esteem and sexual communication are more likely to marry. They might want to feel safer and cover for their lower levels in these two realms and, thus, are self-selected into marriage."

Tell her/him it is not her/his fault, just a diminishing marginal effect.

"The second possibility is that the length of their relationship emphasizes a diminishing marginal effect, as several longitudinal studies show in researching other effects of marriage over time."

Let's talk about sex, rough sex

Interesting insight in that sort of thing. Just so you know, rough sex does not correlate with violence in the relationship or abuse. On the contrary, both men and women often initiate rough sexual behaviors. Rebecca L. Burch and Catherine Salmon have more on

The Rough Stuff: Understanding Aggressive Consensual Sex

While a great deal of research has been done analyzing the prevalence and implications of sexual aggression and sexual violence. Less can be found on the topic of rough sex. In a sample of 734 male and female undergraduates, we examined the extent of rough sexual acts in romantic relationships. This study represents a first step in determining what defines, triggers. and differentiates rough sexual behavior... When asked to define rough sex: most men and women report only slightly aggressive behaviors such as slapping, pulling hair: biting: and being pinned down... Overall, rough sex appears to be a largely recreational and mutually initiated behavior that consists of mild forms of playful aggression and some mildly painful actions.

Interestingly, men also report greater female sexual satisfaction and women report a shorter latency to orgasm during rough sex. This harks back to the appeal of rough sex in the romance novel and other erotica for women: which includes scenarios where the hero engages in forceful or rough sex with the heroine. Such scenarios are also present in other female consumer genres where the focus is on powerful males as the objects of desire. The male’s focus and intensity increases female sexual satisfaction... In addition. playing out a fantasy was a frequently reported trigger for women= echoing the appeal of such scenarios in erotic genres aimed at a female audience... 

Men are far more likely to report sperm competition triggering rough sex; they are more likely to engage in rough sex when they are separated from their partners: when they are suspicious of infidelity: and after they break up with their partners... When men engage in rough sex: they thrust more quickly: deeply: more often: and with greater vigor. Female reports of thrusting corroborate male reports... It is also interesting to note that men also engage in rough sex when in a group sex context: a context where there is obvious sperm competition...The majority of other triggers were focused on curiosity and trying new things or physical play (wrestling)... 

Particularly because of the data indicating that rough sex is a mutually initiated: recreational sexual activity that is triggered by a need for novelty, teasing: and jealousy that does not result in serious injury, rough sex may be a sexual activity between trusting partners in a relationship incorporating jealousy in a consensual, non-hostile (and more instrumental) way that results in greater sexual satisfaction for both parties. 

H/T Rolf Degen

The sexual arousal by blurred images

The media often blur images of people. Kids' images are invariably blurred, images of suspects often as well. The reason is to protect their identity and privacy. Fair enough, but this can have unintended consequences/side effects like potential sexual arousal.

In

A Comparison of Sexual Arousal in Men Exposed to Visual Stimuli With and Without Facial Blurring

the authors Leah Rosetti, Susan Curry, Lisa Murphy et al. find that "Arousal in response to blurred stimuli was significantly higher ...".

Abstract

The role of the facial images in arousal and attraction has been examined before but never via penile plethysmography (PPG). This retrospective chart review aimed to determine the significance and magnitude of differences in arousal measured by PPG in 1,000 men exposed to slide stimuli with or without facial blurring in subjects of various ages. Arousal in response to blurred stimuli was significantly higher than nonanonymized stimuli with modest effect sizes for slides across age and gender categories. Facial blurring increased differences in arousal between adults and adolescents with a modest effect size. Our findings support the use of facial blurring to further protect the anonymity of models and limit the ethical and legal challenges of using slide stimuli with child models.

That is why bathing suits are much sexier than bikinis. They leave room for imagination ...