(139) Embodied Aspects of Gender: Links Between Sexual Arousal and Gendered Self-Perception in Cisgender Women

Abstract Introduction While gender identity is often treated as a stable self-concept, emerging research suggests that gendered self-perception can fluctuate in response to social context, emotional states, and embodied experiences. One domain illuminating these dynamics is sexual arousal, a process that reflects an intersection between social and biological processes, encompassing both subjective (mental/emotional) and physiological components. Understanding the link between momentary experiences of sexual arousal and how people perceive their gender could provide insight into the dynamic ways social identity and bodily experience co-construct sexual well-being. Objective This study introduces a new perspective on the embodiment of gender by examining whether self-perceived femininity and masculinity fluctuate alongside sexual arousal. Specifically, we explored whether higher subjective sexual arousal would correspond with shifts in gendered self-perception among cisgender women. Methods This study is a secondary analysis of a larger lab-based study examining biological, physiological, and subjective aspects of sexual arousal. Participants completed self-report measures and a standardized film-based arousal task. Because inclusion required the absence of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use and the presence of a vagina for measures of genital blood flow using the vaginal pulse amplitude (VPA) all participants were cisgender women. Pre- and post-film ratings captured momentary gendered self-perceptions using “Feminine” and “Masculine” film scales. Participants also completed the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI; arousal and genital arousal subscales) and provided slider-based self-ratings of overall gender identity (feminine and masculine). For this preliminary analysis, we computed correlations between FSFI lubrication function scores and each gendered self-perception variable (film scales and gender identity sliders). Planned future analyses will include VPA percent change to examine physiological arousal in relation to gendered self-perception. Results Greater genital arousal functioning (FSFI lubrication subscale) was significantly associated with higher feminine self-perception following the arousing film (r = .20, p = .0003). No significant associations emerged between FSFI lubrication and masculine self-perception (r = –.004, p = .95) or between FSFI lubrication and participants gender identity slider ratings of femininity (r = –.002, p = .98) and masculinity (r = –.02, p = .78). Preliminary results indicate a subtle positive trend between subjective sexual arousal and feminine self-perception, with substantial individual variability. Conclusions Preliminary findings suggest that sexual arousal may transiently heighten feminine self-perception among cisgender women, highlighting the dynamic relationship between embodied sexual response and identity. Rather than viewing gender as fixed, these results invite consideration of gendered self-perception as contextually fluid, responsive to bodily states and social scripts surrounding sexuality. Clinically, understanding these embodied shifts may aid sexual medicine providers in contextualizing how clients experience their gender during sexual activity or dysfunction. Recognizing that gendered self-perception may fluctuate with arousal could inform interventions that address internalized gender norms, discomfort with gender expression, or discordance between bodily response and gender self-concept. Work presented at conference will integrate physiological measures (VPA) and a larger sample to clarify how embodied sexual responses interact with gendered self-perception across identities and clinical contexts. Disclosure No.