One of the most widely held beliefs regarding casual sex is that those who enjoy it likely have poor self-worth and self-esteem. Most especially, women who enjoy casual sex are more commonly branded in this way—often being dubbed as insecure “floozies.” Given the prevalence of this stereotype, researchers Susan Sprecher and Julie Verette-Lindenbaum sought to unpack it in their May 2024 study, published in Personality and Individual Differences.
Not only were they able to uncover whether there was a kernel of truth to the stereotype itself, but their fine-grained analyses uncovered even more surprising gender differences. Here’s a breakdown of their key findings.
Do Single Women Who Enjoy Casual Sex Have Low Self-Esteem?
Even outside of everyday discourse, the perceived link between casual sex and low-self esteem (particularly for women) is well known and documented. According to a 2021 study from Psychological Science, both men and women are inclined to stereotype women who pursue casual sex as having poor self-esteem. Notably, this is a belief that is not driven by sexism, conservatism or religious views.
Sprecher made specific reference to this study in her own, as well as in an interview with PsyPost. “Because I had data collected at my university over almost 30 years, we were interested in examining whether there may have been a kernel of truth to the association (between people’s [and especially women’s] own sexual attitudes and behaviors and their own self-esteem) 2-3 decades ago even though it may no longer be found today,” she explained.
Since, fortuitously, they had some data available, she and Verette-Lindenbaum analyzed correlations between various variables:
- Global self-esteem. Participants overall levels of self-esteem.
- Relationship self-esteem. How positively or negatively participants view themselves as romantic partners.
- Appearance self-esteem. How positively or negatively participants feel about their own physical appearance.
- Sociosexuality. A variable with three dimensions—namely, behavior (i.e. how often they engage in casual sex), attitudes (i.e. their personal views and beliefs about casual sex) and desire (i.e. how much they fantasize about engaging in casual sex with alternative partners).
Based on the survey answers of 8,112 university students—collected between 1990 and 2019—Sprecher and Verette-Lindenbaum found that there was, in fact, little to no link between women’s overall sociosexuality and their global self-esteem. Notably, this extended to men within the study as well. In other words, the insecure floozy stereotype has very little basis in reality.
As Sprecher explained in her interview with PsyPost, “A general takeaway is that women (and men) who have more unrestricted sociosexuality (i.e., are okay with casual sex) do not have a poorer self-esteem than women (and men) who are more restricted in their sociosexuality.” She concluded, “And, this would be true more recently, as well as two to three decades ago.”
Does Casual Sex Hold Other Implications For Single Women And Men?
Although Sprecher and Verette-Lindenbaum’s study debunked the direct link between overall openness to casual sex and self-esteem, their findings shed light on a few intriguing gendered dynamics when breaking sociosexuality down into its three dimensions: desires, behaviors and attitudes.
For both men and women, sociosexual desire—that is, fantasizing about casual sex with others outside of a relationship—was linked to lower relationship self-esteem. In other words, frequently imagining casual encounters may lead individuals to feel less confident about their worth as a romantic partner.
A likely explanation here is the inherent tension between casual sex fantasies and the emotional investment required in committed relationships. People may internally view these fantasies as misaligned with societal expectations or their own internalized ideals of what makes someone a “good” partner. In turn, this might diminish their self-view in the context of relationships.
However, the findings for women are especially thought-provoking. While sociosexual desire was negatively associated with women’s overall sense of self-worth, it also correlated with lower engagement in sociosexual behaviors among those with high relationship self-esteem.
This points to a possible internal conflict: women who see themselves as potentially (or currently) valuable romantic partners may steer away from casual sex, as they likely see it in conflict with their relationship-oriented identity. At the same time, stereotypical societal stigmas around female sexuality could amplify this tension; likely, this reinforces the idea that casual sex may jeopardize their reputation or desirability in romantic contexts—even if the desire itself exists.
Men’s experiences, on the other hand, tell a vastly different story. The study uncovered a positive association between men’s sociosexual behaviors and their global self-esteem. In other words, this may suggest that the more casual sex they have, the higher their sense of self-worth—as it affirms their desirability or independence.
Sprecher and Verette-Lindenbaum also discovered a positive link between men’s appearance self-esteem and sociosexual behaviors. This might mean that men who feel more confident or attractive are more inclined to pursue casual sex—potentially because it affirms and reinforces their confidence. This points toward the idea that, for men, casual sex is socially celebrated as an expression of virility or social prowess; therefore, engaging in it aligns with societal messages that can enhance their self-view.
Are your views on casual sex aligned with others’? Take this science-backed test, and find out how you stack up: Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale
