I never understood why people get so worked up about sex. It's dirty some say, it's bad others say, it's the best thing since sliced bread, still others would say. I think this... sex is sex. If you have the right partner sex can be enjoyable, pleasurable and very very good. If you have the wrong sex partner, well then do I really need to say it.
Many people spend a life time trying to have sex, some have quite too much and then there are those that have it and cant wait until they can have it again.
Sex means different things to different people, and what it means to you might be having a big effect on your relationship. What is sex?
The dictionary says that sex is sexual activity, including specifically sexual intercourse. Now that sounds like a nice pretty definition of what we all want. But I also found this article by Brian Moylan entitled "The Definition of "Sex". In this article he quotes a study that was done by The Kinsey Institute for Higher Sexication.
The study says, 95 percent of people agree that when a penis goes into a vagina then "sex"—that thing that we have spent so much much, waged so many wars, and sweated so many hours in the gym to attain—has occurred. However, 11 percent of people say that if there was no ejaculation, then there was no "sex." Also 30 percent of people think oral sex is not "sex" and 20 percent believe that anal sex is not "sex" even though they both have "sex" in the title.
You may be laughing because you're sure we all know what "sex" means, right? Well, not really. Do you remember that former President Bill Clinton, said he had NOT had sex with "that woman," and lots of people believed he was simply lying? He had a different definition of what sex means. Many people think that only sexual intercourse is sex and that anything short of full intercourse, no matter how intimate, is just not sex. Think of young women or men who may have done lots of pretty intimate sexual things but never had intercourse. What sex means to them may be different than to others. They still say they are virgins and they're right. So you need to be sure you and the people you talk to about the topic are on the same page about what sex means.
Now, notice that in the above paragraph, we use the term sexual intercourse or intercourse. Everyone knows exactly what sex means, right? Again, not really. When 300 Yale students were asked to define what sex means, they offered a wide range of answers. Some said, "It's any kind of intimate sexual touching." Others thought it wasn't true intercourse unless there was simultaneous, mutual climax. In fact, sex means that the man's penis enters the woman's vagina. Even dictionaries vary in their definitions of what sex means. Some include male ejaculation in the definition, others don't. Maybe the inclusion of ejaculation in the definition reflects a very reproductive view of intercourse, but it is not an accurate or practical definition.Now back to the study, The study concludes that there is a disagreement about what constitutes "having sex." I hate confusion, so I am going to break it down for you: "Having sex" means any consensual behavior between two or more individuals involving genital contact and bodily penetration. That means oral sex, anal sex, and vaginal sex are all "sex." Sorry, guys on the DL, even if you have anal sex (top or bottom) with guys means you still "have sex" with men. It is also "sex" if no orgasm or ejaculation occurs. If you put a penis (or vagina) in your mouth in a coat room for 30 seconds, you had "sex" with that person. It was probably short and unfulfilled for both parties, yes, but it was still sex. "Sex" also includes any activity that happens in the presence of prophylactics. Just because you wore a condom, does not mean you didn't bang that fat chick who lived in the room next to yours sophomore year. :)
Another confusing term is one that doctors sometimes use. They may ask if you are "sexually active." One woman we heard about said, "No, I just lie still." Joke. The doctor probably wants to know if the patient has had or is having sexual intercourse, not because the doctor is nosy, but so that she or he can talk about contraception, safer sex, and/or whether the patient has any questions or worries about sex.
Then there are all the terms that are used in casual conversation, for example, "hooking up." We THINK most people use it to refer to two people meeting and having a rather casual, probably one-night sexual encounter that may or may not include intercourse. We suspect that these casual terms change their meaning from time to time and may even mean different things in different places.
Many people spend a life time trying to have sex, some have quite too much and then there are those that have it and cant wait until they can have it again.
Sex means different things to different people, and what it means to you might be having a big effect on your relationship. What is sex?
The dictionary says that sex is sexual activity, including specifically sexual intercourse. Now that sounds like a nice pretty definition of what we all want. But I also found this article by Brian Moylan entitled "The Definition of "Sex". In this article he quotes a study that was done by The Kinsey Institute for Higher Sexication.
The study says, 95 percent of people agree that when a penis goes into a vagina then "sex"—that thing that we have spent so much much, waged so many wars, and sweated so many hours in the gym to attain—has occurred. However, 11 percent of people say that if there was no ejaculation, then there was no "sex." Also 30 percent of people think oral sex is not "sex" and 20 percent believe that anal sex is not "sex" even though they both have "sex" in the title.
You may be laughing because you're sure we all know what "sex" means, right? Well, not really. Do you remember that former President Bill Clinton, said he had NOT had sex with "that woman," and lots of people believed he was simply lying? He had a different definition of what sex means. Many people think that only sexual intercourse is sex and that anything short of full intercourse, no matter how intimate, is just not sex. Think of young women or men who may have done lots of pretty intimate sexual things but never had intercourse. What sex means to them may be different than to others. They still say they are virgins and they're right. So you need to be sure you and the people you talk to about the topic are on the same page about what sex means.
Now, notice that in the above paragraph, we use the term sexual intercourse or intercourse. Everyone knows exactly what sex means, right? Again, not really. When 300 Yale students were asked to define what sex means, they offered a wide range of answers. Some said, "It's any kind of intimate sexual touching." Others thought it wasn't true intercourse unless there was simultaneous, mutual climax. In fact, sex means that the man's penis enters the woman's vagina. Even dictionaries vary in their definitions of what sex means. Some include male ejaculation in the definition, others don't. Maybe the inclusion of ejaculation in the definition reflects a very reproductive view of intercourse, but it is not an accurate or practical definition.Now back to the study, The study concludes that there is a disagreement about what constitutes "having sex." I hate confusion, so I am going to break it down for you: "Having sex" means any consensual behavior between two or more individuals involving genital contact and bodily penetration. That means oral sex, anal sex, and vaginal sex are all "sex." Sorry, guys on the DL, even if you have anal sex (top or bottom) with guys means you still "have sex" with men. It is also "sex" if no orgasm or ejaculation occurs. If you put a penis (or vagina) in your mouth in a coat room for 30 seconds, you had "sex" with that person. It was probably short and unfulfilled for both parties, yes, but it was still sex. "Sex" also includes any activity that happens in the presence of prophylactics. Just because you wore a condom, does not mean you didn't bang that fat chick who lived in the room next to yours sophomore year. :)
Another confusing term is one that doctors sometimes use. They may ask if you are "sexually active." One woman we heard about said, "No, I just lie still." Joke. The doctor probably wants to know if the patient has had or is having sexual intercourse, not because the doctor is nosy, but so that she or he can talk about contraception, safer sex, and/or whether the patient has any questions or worries about sex.
Then there are all the terms that are used in casual conversation, for example, "hooking up." We THINK most people use it to refer to two people meeting and having a rather casual, probably one-night sexual encounter that may or may not include intercourse. We suspect that these casual terms change their meaning from time to time and may even mean different things in different places.
That, everyone, is the definition of sex. It's kind of like pornography, it's hard to define, but we know it when we see it. The rest of it is just semantics so we can make ourselves not feel like dirty sluts or get away with cheating on a significant other. Really only lawyers and eight-year-olds play semantics and only religious prudes are ashamed of sex. And no one likes any of those.