Studies have shown that the occurrence of sexual fantasies can be a source of excitement as well as anxiety, depending on how they are defined and how often they occur. Researchers from the University of Montréal conducted a study that aimed to classify atypical sexual fantasies, or those that are classified as unusual or anomalous notions.
Lead researcher, Christian Joyal, said that. "Clinically, we know what pathological sexual fantasies are. They involve non-consenting partners, the induce pain, or they are absolutely necessary in deriving satisfaction. But apart from that, what exactly are abnormal or atypical fantasies?" To come up with a concrete basis for this study, researchers compared answers from male and female subjects were generally asked to describe their own fantasies detail as well as to rank different types of other sexual fantasies that were presented to them.
From the data gathered from this questionnaire, scientists were able to establish that about 2.3% of the subjects had statistically rare fantasies, 15.9% or less with unusual fantasies, over 50% had common fantasies, while there was over 84% with typical sexual fantasies. This showed that the type and occurrence of sexual fantasies varied greatly within the general population. It was established that, overall, man had more fantasies and women. Researchers also noted that male subjects described the revisions more vividly. Additionally, while a good percentage of women said that they did not want to actually see these fantasies come true, a majority of the men said that they look forward to their fantasies becoming reality. The study also highlighted that men often imagined themselves in extramarital relationships, while women were more likely to fantasize about other partners.
Joyal said that, "Overall, these findings allow us to shed light on certain social phenomena, such as the popularity of the book Fifty Shades of Gray with women. The subject is fascinating. For example, people who have submission fantasies also often report domination fantasies. These two themes are, therefore, not exclusive. Quite the contrary."
The researchers are now using the data to analyze how this correlates to homogeneous subgroups of different subjects who share combination fantasies.