Female Subjectivity Scale (FSSI)
Women's sense of themselves as sexual beings across five dimensions
As a woman, how do you feel about your body and sexual pleasure? The FSSI measures female sexual subjectivity across five dimensions. About 5 minutes.
What Is the Female Sexual Subjectivity Inventory (FSSI)?
The FSSI measures how women experience themselves as sexual beings. Horne & Zimmer-Gembeck (2006) developed these 20 items to capture sexual subjectivity. It captures the concept of sexual subjectivity — the sense of entitlement to sexual pleasure and the capacity for sexual self-reflection.
Five Dimensions
1. Sexual Body-Esteem (4 items): Positive feelings about one's body as a sexual entity 2. Entitlement to Pleasure from Self (4 items): Belief in the right to experience self-pleasure 3. Entitlement to Pleasure from Partner (4 items): Belief in the right to experience pleasure with a partner 4. Self-Efficacy in Achieving Pleasure (4 items): Confidence in one's ability to achieve sexual pleasure 5. Sexual Self-Reflection (4 items): Tendency to think about and evaluate one's sexuality
Scoring
Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1=Strongly Disagree → 5=Strongly Agree). Each dimension score is calculated as the mean of its 4 items. Higher scores indicate greater sexual subjectivity.
Reference
Horne, S., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2006). The Female Sexual Subjectivity Inventory: Development and psychometric validation. *Journal of Sex Research*, 43(3), 259–270.
Result Interpretation
After completing the 20 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Dimension breakdown — separate scores for each sub-scale
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.