Tag: sex

    Research: From Fantasy to Reality: A Grounded Theory of Experiences in the Swinging Lifestyle

    Swinger (example of swingers community: http://allswingersclubs.org/) couples-committed couples who consensually engage in extra-relational sex for recreational purposes-are difficult for researchers to access due to the social stigma associated with swinging. This study builds upon the limited research on swinger couples by examining personal experiences with swinging. Specifically, 32 semi-structured interviews with swingers (16 husband-wife dyads, interviewed separately) were analyzed using grounded theory methods to understand the process of transitioning into and maintaining marital satisfaction in the swinging lifestyle. The model formed included (a) antecedent steps taken to enter into the lifestyle, (b) types of desires fulfilled, (c) stated benefits of being in the lifestyle, and (d) rules that guided couples throughout the process. Although variations were found across couples, the effective use of verbal and non-verbal communication to increase sexual and marital satisfaction within these non-monogamous couples was paramount to their experiences.

    Read whole research here…

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    Monogamy Versus Non-monogamy: Who Is More Sexually Satisfied

    Guest Authored by Annelise Murphy at the University of Utah

    We chuckle when Madeline Kahn, as Mrs. White in the movie Clue, says, “Life after death is as improbable as sex after marriage” (Lyn, 1985), but then we nod in agreement upon hearing that Warren Beatty said, “The highest level of sexual excitement is in a monogamous relationship” (Finstad, 2006). Perhaps these seemingly polarizing attitudes exist because we have been told that monogamous relationships are the only path to everlasting happiness, but not everyone’s experiences align with that ideal.

    Surveys of the general public found that monogamous relationships are rated more positively than consensually non-monogamous (CNM) relationships (Burris, 2014). In addition, monogamous individuals are thought to be better people overall and are thought to be more trustworthy (Ritchie & Barker, 2007), and have higher commitment (Barker, 2005), sexual health(Hutzler, Giuliano, Herselman, & Johnson, 2016), and passion (Conley, Moors, Matsick, …

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    10 Scientific Sex Terms You Probably Didn’t Know

    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 …

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    Orgies Through the Ages

    In the Bible, assuming that men could support more than one wife, they were free to be polygamous. Tradition says King Solomon had 1,000 wives. However, for the past 2,000 years, most Western cultures have embraced monogamy…with annual exceptions.         

    After long winters came spring—and “spring fever.” As the days lengthened, and agrarian cultures planted crops, many developed religious rituals to petition their deities for good harvests and livestock fecundity. These rites often included the relaxation of sexual restraints, and some involved raucous, drunken, public, and group sex.         

    Spring-fever sex parties definitely had rough edges. Many included alcohol, which fueled sexual assaults of both women and men. But it would be a mistake to call springtime sex festivals rape-athons. During the 1990s, University of Chicago researchers surveyed 1,749 adult American women and found that 5 percent—one in 20—reported partner sex four or more times a week. Some of today’s women are …

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    Research: Dimming the “Halo” Around Monogamy: Re-assessing Stigma Surrounding Consensually Non-monogamous Romantic Relationships as a Function of Personal Relationship Orientation

    Previous research suggests that both monogamous and consensually non-monogamous (CNM) participants rate monogamous targets more positively. However, this pattern of stigma toward CNM relationships and the “halo effect” surrounding monogamy is at odds with the view that people typically favor members from their own groups over members of other groups. In the current research, we sought to re-examine the halo effect, using a more direct measure of stigma (i.e., desired social distance), in a methodological context that differentiates between the three most common types of CNM relationships. A convenience sample (N = 641) of individuals who self-identified as monogamous (n = 447), open (n = 80), polyamorous (n = 62), or swinger (n = 52) provided social distance ratings in response to these same relationship orientations in a counterbalanced order. Congruent with prior findings, CNM participants favored monogamous targets over CNM targets as a broad …

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