The Gendered Sexual Experiences and Marital Quality of Middle-Aged Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples

Abstract

Sex plays an important role in shaping the marital quality of couples, often in different ways for men and women in different-sex marriages. However, gender dynamics are likely to differ for same-sex compared to different-sex couples. In this study, we compared the sexual experiences and marital quality of men and women in mid-life same-sex and different-sex marriages and considered the perspectives of both spouses in each couple. We employed mixed-effects multilevel modeling to analyze U.S.-based dyadic survey data collected from 830 spouses in 415 unions using snowball sampling. We assessed gender differences in sexual frequency, sexual satisfaction, and sexual motives as well as the associations of respondent and partner reports of sexual experiences with marital quality. Both men and women in same- and different-sex marriages reported similar levels of sexual satisfaction and they were equally likely to desire sex for emotional closeness. However, compared to women in same-sex marriages, women in different-sex marriages were more likely to have sex to please their spouse, for the sake of the relationship or due to pressure from their spouse. Moreover, partner reports of feeling pressured to have sex were negatively associated with marital quality for all groups, except for men married to women. Taken together, study findings show that sexual experiences and consequences for marital quality vary for men and women in same- and different-sex marital contexts.