Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
Despite its impact on well-being, research on its role in sexuality remains limited. Drawing on exploratory factor analysis in Study 1, four subscales were identified: faking orgasm, performing desire, tolerating discomfort or pain, and partner-referenced sexual satisfaction. In Study 3 pre-registered , we demonstrated the validity of the WOSELA by establishing significant negative correlations with sexual agency, sexual communication, and sexual pleasure.
Our results further show that the WOSELA was not significantly related to positive-partner-oriented sexual responsiveness. In many Western countries, gender egalitarianism in long-term relationships has become a cultural ideal, with couples aiming for equitable power distributions within their partnerships Bay-Cheng et al. Research consistently shows that, in heterosexual contexts, women tend to experience fewer orgasms Frederick et al.
We draw on psychological and sociological theories and posit that, just like in other realms of relational life, the concept of emotional labor constitutes a fundamental, yet often hidden, component in the perpetuation of gender inequality in sexuality Dean et al. Given the limited research attention to the phenomenon of sexual emotional labor, the goal of the present research is to introduce a scale that can effectively measure this construct, thus providing a valuable tool for future research.
Emotional labor is a multifaceted construct that involves engaging in actions aimed at enhancing the emotional well-being of others and providing them with emotional support Erickson, Emotional labor is not always a conscious process, but rather standardized, automatic, and often understood as a mandatory element to sustain relationships Dean et al.
