Subjective Responses of Gynephilic Men and Women to Real versus Artificial Female Nudes

Depictions of visual sexual stimuli are changing with the advent of computer-generated imagery (CGI), hyper-realistic and idealized images created by artificial Intelligence (AI), and artistic styles such as hentai, that depict a diverse range of sexual situations and characteristics. Here we assessed the subjective realism, aesthetic value, subjective sexual attractiveness, and valence (pleasantness) of images depicting natural or surgically enhanced naked women taken from real photographs or in formats created by CGI, AI, or as dolls or hentai. Self-identified gynephilic males and females (N = 649) participated in a nationwide online survey about the perception of visual sexual stimuli. Although the real and AI-generated nudes were rated as significantly more realistic than the other categories, with the real images rated significantly more real than the others, AI-generated nudes were found more aesthetically appealing, sexually attractive, and pleasant than the other categories, with men rating nearly all categories higher than women (men and women found AI and CGI images equally aesthetically pleasing). There was a significant correlation of age, such that older participants found the real and AI-generated nudes more aesthetically appealing, sexually attractive, and pleasant than younger participants. In contrast, younger participants rated hentai significantly higher in these measures than older participants. These data suggest that AI-generated erotic material is superior to even real photographs in generating aesthetic appeal, positive valence, and ratings of sexual attractiveness, although both real and AI-generated nudes produced higher ratings in all measures compared to enhanced nudes, or those created by CGI, or as dolls or hentai.