Scientific research papers are often indecipherable to the average reader. This is due, in part, to the fact that scientists use a lot of jargon—they have a special vocabulary that usually doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to non-scientists. This jargon issue is something that occurs across all scientific disciplines, and sexology is no exception.

In this post, let’s take a look at several sex jargon terms I’ve come across in research papers and decipher what the researchers were really talking about. Here goes…

1.) “Tribadism” – This term refers to the act of rubbing one’s genitals against the body of a consenting partner. It’s usually used in the context of a woman rubbing her vulva against a partner’s body or genitals. When vulva-to-vulva contact occurs, it’s known colloquially as “scissoring.” 

2.) “Telephone scatologia” – This term refers to a sexual interest in which someone derives arousal from …