Are men inherently more likely to commit lustful sin?

[Benjinho]

Given that men are much more visual than women (with women being more interpersonal), both sexually and non sexually, it seems to me that custody of the eyes is inherently more difficult for men to practice and may have even been geared towards men. Not to mention that men tend to think about sex much more often than women.
Thoughts?

 

[Magnanimity]

Given that men are much more visual than women (with women being more interpersonal), both sexually and non sexually, it seems to me that custody of the eyes is inherently more difficult for men to practice and may have even been geared towards men. Not to mention that men tend to think about sex much more often than women.
Thoughts?

Yes, I think so, at least when the testosterone hormones are raging (in male youth). The entire situation is complicated for men by the fact that the “pornographication of America” has entailed that an enormous amount of advertising and marketing these days is couched in terms of sexuality/sensuality. I’ve written about this elsewhere on CAF.

So, I grant as true all that you say above regarding the distinctions between the genders, but I think the problem is made worse in that we live in a capitalist society where acquisitiveness has run amok, and sex/sensuality is repeatedly used to advertise/market to the masses. So, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the imagery that is the very thing that a male’s testosterone-charged eyes respond to with lust.

 

[Wesrock]

I don’t know. It seems highly speculative and anecdotal.

 

[vern_humphrey]

it seems to me that custody of the eyes is inherently more difficult for men to practice and may have even been geared towards men.

Of course. Think about the last man on earth – 80 years old, and the last woman, 78 years old. She says to him, “Why didn’t WE have children?”

And he says, “You know, I never thought about it.”

 

[1ke]

Given that men are much more visual than women (with women being more interpersonal), both sexually and non sexually, it seems to me that custody of the eyes is inherently more difficult for men to practice and may have even been geared towards men. Not to mention that men tend to think about sex much more often than women.
Thoughts?

Spoken like a true man.

The idea that men are sexual and women close their eyes and think of England is a pretty persistent myth.

 

[angell1]

but for some reason, it’s historically been more taboo for women to say that they struggle with such things, but for men, it’s practically considered normal,

 

[DarkLight]

but for some reason, it’s historically been more taboo for women to say that they struggle with such things, but for men, it’s practically considered normal,

Historically - but not nearly as far back historically as people think. If one goes back before victorian times, one of the main reasons given for keeping women out of the public sphere was that women were so much more likely to be swayed by their lusts than men. And we couldn’t have those lustful women running around on their own; they needed to be watched by the much less sexual men.

 

[F_Marturana]

Yes. And historically men have been able get away with it.

A promiscuous man is called a playboy.

How many names are there to describe a promiscuous woman? I can’t even list them because they are vulgar.

 

[ioannes_pius]

Given that the male sex drive it up to 25% higher than their female counterparts’ (from what I’ve heard), I would say so.

 

[Cruciferi]

No worries, you’re not in a pit.

You fell over the White Cliffs of Dover

 

[Weserthy]

I would be inclined to say yes. There have been numerous scientific studies that have indicated that men have higher sex drives than women and are aroused more through visual stimuli, while the factors that affect women’s sex drives are more nuanced. It’s not just a myth or a stereotype.

Sex Drive: How Do Men and Women Compare?

 

[TheLittleLady]

Given that men are much more visual than women (with women being more interpersonal), both sexually and non sexually

Sources? Scientific studies?

 

[CatholicELATeacher]

In his General Audience of Wednesday 12 December 1979, Pope Saint John Paul II implies that rightly ordered visual appreciation, at least, of the complementary human body was inherently equal. Of course, this was before the Fall, which brought sin like lust into the world:

“The sentence, according to which the first human beings, man and woman, “were naked” and yet “were not ashamed,” unquestionably describes their state of consciousness, in fact, their mutual experience of the body. It describes the experience on the part of the man of the femininity that is revealed in the nakedness of the body and, reciprocally, the similar experience of masculinity on the part of the woman.”

The saint does, however, abundantly emphasize elsewhere that despite the Fall, this holy experience can and should still occur in the sacramental nuptial relationship between man and woman.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Of course men are more sexually driven then women. That doesn’t mean women don’t have sexual desires, but they’re different and the difference, even though small, makes a huge difference in behaviors between men and women.

If you doubt it, post the latest news report of woman being accused of sexual assault against a man.

It;s a biological fact that the male of the majority of species including humans, is the aggressor when it comes to mating. If it weren’t so, we wouldn’t breed at sufficient rates to continue the species.

However, because of birth control and abortion, the human race is in jeopardy in various places around the globe because of infertility rates which are insufficient to keep the populations in tact, but this is a different topic from the thread.

That being the case, men, because they are sexually driven by sight and more aggressive due to hormones, will give into lust more frequently than women.

Jim

 

[Sarcelle]

Given that men are much more visual than women (with women being more interpersonal),

Interpersonal?

What does that mean?

I think women are more impacted by the written word while men are affected more by images.

Porn which are tailored for men usually are visual while porn tailored for women are in written format.

Yes, there is porn for women. They’re called bodice rippers. In short, they’re a type of romance novel.

Of course this is generally speaking. It’s not true for each and every individual and there are always exceptions.

 

[Wm777]

Whoa! Awesome question! Thank you for asking!

I don’t know if I have an answer for you, but a few things come to mind.

Guys can be super cool, but they can also be super aggressive. It depends on how much testosterone they have coursing through their veins. Of course, other factors apply, too… but… yeah, I’d say guys tend to be more (sexually) aggressive than ladies for that reason alone…

St Theresa of Avila says Christ tends to prefer the minds of women more than men, so perhaps it is because men do harbor more sinful predilections?

The Mother of God wasn’t the only hyperdoula in the church without a reason!

 

[ZMystiCat]

Given that men are much more visual than women

Even under this assumption, I’m not sure it indicates men are more likely to commit lustful sin, just that they’re more likely to be exposed to temptations to do so. Whether or not that translates into more lustful sins is another matter.

Not to mention that men tend to think about sex much more often than women.

This is likely a myth. The tl;dr is that men and women both seem to think about sex relatively infrequently, but there is massive variance, and the reported frequency may also come down to factors outside gender, such as how someone less comfortable with their sexuality might report experiencing sexual thoughts less.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I don’t recall St Teresa of Avila saying this, “St Theresa of Avila says Christ tends to prefer the minds of women more than men,” can your reference it ?

She wrote about the differences in how men and women think which reflects in their spirituality.

Jim

 

[ATraveller]

when the testosterone hormones are raging

It depends on how much testosterone they have coursing through their veins.

This is not true. Testosterone activates sexual attraction but higher levels don’t make men more lustful. How do we know? A number of experiments involved injecting healthy young men with T and increasing their T levels. What these studies have shown is they don’t become more prone to lust and they aren’t going to engage in more sexual activity. They would indicate social factors are much more important than blaming hormones.

The present results also confirmed that raising T levels into the supraphysiological range in healthy young men did not increase the interactional (i.e. the frequency of sexual intercourse) or noninteractional aspects of sexual behavior (i.e. sexual desire or intercourse satisfaction). The former is consistent with several studies (e.g. Refs.19 , 25 , 29) that have found no significant changes in interactional aspects of sexual behavior in response to 2- to 6-fold increments in T. Part of the explanation may lie in the fact that relationship and other social factors may have an overriding influence on sexual activity (19)

Effects of Testosterone on Mood, Aggression, and Sexual Behavior in Young Men: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Cross-Over Study | The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism | Oxford Academic

And this table relevant to the discussion from the linked study shows no changes:
https://academic.oup.com/view-large/61575729

We need to stop seeing men as uncontrollable or make excuses for aggression in men. These stereotypes are contrary to the Christian faith.

 

[Magnanimity]

This is not true. Testosterone activates sexual attraction but higher levels don’t make men more lustful. How do we know? A number of experiments involved injecting healthy young men with T and increasing their T levels. What these studies have shown is they don’t become more prone to lust and they aren’t going to engage in more sexual activity.

Perhaps you’re right with regard to the point of increasing T not entailing increase in sexual urges. But this point you make does not address T naturally reducing in males with age and corresponding reduction in sexual urges.