Sex is the source of power for the weak!

Now it's scientific: a first-of-its-kind study reveals a connection between the balance of power in a relationship and the use of sex for persuasion

The first study of its kind on the subject, carried out by researchers from the Ariel University Center in Samaria, found that those who are weaker in the marital power balance are forced to activate and use a strategy of persuasion or imposing sanctions through sex. The uniqueness and novelty of the research - in revealing the connection between the balance of power in a relationship and the use of sex for persuasion.

The assumption of the researchers, Dr. Yaarit Bokek-Cohen from the Department of Economics and Business Administration and Dr. Sabina Lisitsa from the Multidisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, is that in every marital relationship there is a hidden balance of power between the spouses: there are general objective factors, such as education and income , which contribute to a position of power in the relationship, and alongside them there are subjective, psychological and emotional factors, which are involved in determining who is the stronger of the couple. For example: the party that is more emotionally dependent on their partner has a weak position in the relationship. Similarly, the party that is considered more attractive from the outside, or the party that feels it has more options to end the current relationship and meet a new partner, gains more power. Also, the party that loves the partner more strongly than he is loved by him, is in a position of inferiority and weakness.

The study examined the relationship between the subjective power in a relationship and the tendency to use sexual relations for the purpose of persuading the partner. The interviewees were asked to refer to the joint decisions they made regarding going on their last joint vacation, and to the controversial issues between the couple regarding the subject: the location of the vacation (in the city or in the countryside, at the beach or in the mountains), its nature (vacation on wheels or vacation in one place), the destination of the trip ( in Israel or abroad), the place of accommodation (hotels, holiday villages, camping), the duration of the vacation, the composition of the participants (couple, family, with friends), etc. In addition, the participants in the study were asked to indicate whether and how often they usually initiate sexual relations or consent to sexual relations with the aim of convincing their partner to accept their opinion regarding various aspects of the decision on their desired vacation (timing, duration of the vacation, travel destination, place to stay, etc.) . The research questionnaire included four questions that measured the frequency of sex use: initiates sex, consents to sex, partner initiates sex, partner agrees to sex. The participants in the study were asked to state the frequency of using these four forms of behavior on a value scale between 1 ("never") and 5 ("always"). The research data is based on a representative sample of 384 people (192 couples).

The analysis of the findings revealed that spouses who are in a position of emotional and psychological disadvantage in the balance of marital power, were more likely to use sexual relations for persuasion. It should be noted that no differences were found between the men with low or high power in the relationship, who use sex manipulation to achieve their goals - this is probably because the male's sexual drive is always positive, and he is always interested in having sex. In fact, only women who have the low marital power in the marital power balance are the ones who use sex manipulation.
It is important to note that the 'weak' partner is certainly aware of the manipulation, as the study's conclusions were derived from the self-report of the respondents regarding the question of whether they usually use sex manipulation to achieve their desires regarding the vacation.

Dr. Bokek-Cohen explains: "Intuitively we could say that this is indeed how things happen on the ground in everyday life, but so far the issue has not been examined by researchers. The results of the study imply that sex is the source of power for the weak."