Sexual Attraction Lowers Women's Level of Disgust

Brendan / Flickr

Ew?

Well, the answer is, nobody knows exactly why, but researchers recently did reveal this possibility:

Women let down their guards during sex when it comes to stuff that would normally turn them off.

Yeah, that mythical on-off button might really exist (if you're Ryan Reynolds):

Researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands split 90 female college students into three groups, with one subjected to erotic imagery and tasks such as lubricating a vibrator, according to the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE.

Yeah, this was supposed to be a turn-on. (The other groups were subjected to nonsexual material and tasks and neutral stuff for comparison.)

Anyway, the groups then were subjected to gross tasks such as, "Take a sip of juice with a large insect in the cup," according to the study.

Yeah -- Survivor: Sex Research Island.

Lo and behold, the sexualized ladies indicated they were less grossed out:

The sexual-arousal group rated the sex-related stimuli as less disgusting compared to the other groups.

The conclusion?

... This study might help develop our insight into the quandary as to why people still manage to engage in pleasurable sex despite the disgusting nature of many stimuli that are implicated in sexual behaviors. The present array of findings not only suggests that high sexual arousal may facilitate common sexual behaviors but also suggests that low sexual arousal might be a key feature in the maintenance of particular sexual problems or dysfunctions.

In other words, men are disgusting, unless you're attracted to them, and then they aren't.

Of course, you could have learned this by watching one episode of Mad Men. Or experiencing life.

But we're glad these Dutch folks got it down on paper.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]