Women's use of intimate apparel as subtle sexual signals in committed, heterosexual relationships

Abstract

Current literature on women's sexual signaling focuses on modes of attracting potential, new sexual partners, but says little about women's subtle sexual signals in committed, romantic relationships. Subtle sexual signals are inherently private and are only visible to the intended audience; a woman might use these signals to elicit or accept a sexual response from her partner or to increase her overall attractiveness, or attractivity. In this study, we sought to identify women's use of intimate apparel as a proceptive or receptive behavior as well as the effects of relative mate value, relationship commitment, relationship satisfaction, and sexual functioning. A total of N = 353 women in the United States aged 25-45 who were in committed, heterosexual relationships completed the survey; 88.7% of the sample indicated wearing or having worn sexy underwear. Results indicate that women report wearing sexier underwear the day taking the survey if they anticipate sexual activity that same day. However, during the most recent sexual activity, women did not report wearing sexier underwear if they initiated (proceptive) that activity. While relative mate value was not directly related to sexiness of intimate apparel, women who report higher mate value tend to wear sexier underwear. Women's use of intimate apparel might be viewed as a method of increasing attractivity and underlying receptivity to aid relationship maintenance, though caveats regarding measures and alternative interpretations are also discussed. Findings suggest that these women use intimate apparel to feel sexy, desired, aroused, and to prepare for sex with their partners. This study is the first to examine intimate apparel in relationships and as a subtle sexual signal of proceptivity and receptivity. OPEN ACCESS Citation: Craig LK, Gray PB (2020) Women's use of intimate apparel as subtle sexual signals in committed, heterosexual relationships. PLoS ONE 15(3): e0230112. https://doi.org/10.Relationship maintenance strategies include positivity, openness, social network, and task sharing [5]. Originally defined by Canary and Stafford [22], positivity is acting nice and courteous; openness involves speaking openly about thoughts and feelings; social network is spending time with mutual friends; and task sharing involves sharing in household responsibilities. Others indicate that sharing activities with a romantic partner is beneficial for relationship maintenance [23], and sexual satisfaction in relationships is associated with relationship satisfaction and commitment [24, 25]. Indeed, all these strategies are associated with greater PLOS ONEWomen's intimate apparel in heterosexual relationships PLOS ONE | https://doi.

The Theory of Social Comparison and the Body Positive in Female Consumers of Underwear in Instagram

“…There are still underwear brands whose models have a thin and curvy body, difficult to achieve [6,11], producing body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem in women [3]. Women want to feel comfortable and good with themselves wearing underwear [7]. Stereotyped commercials produce a disconnection between the images projected by advertising and the way consumers actually look [11].…”

“…Underwear plays a very important role in the daily lives of women [7], in the construction of their identity [8] and as a means of expressing their femininity and sexuality [9]. In addition, it provides multisensory experiences that may lead to certain appearance decisions [10].…”