How Much Do You Enjoy Sex?
If pushed to estimate, I’d say around a third of my clients wish they wanted or enjoyed sex more.
About 10% would prefer less sex, something like 20% worry that they’re too into sex, and about a third of my clients are content with their libido and current sex lives.
I generally have really bright, curious clients who a) are invested in therapy and b) will research anything and everything in a methodical way — how to negotiate a raise, install a ceiling fan, sleep train a child, etc. But some of these same folks will neither raise the issue of sex in sessions nor do much intentional research beyond talking to friends, Google/ Buzzfeed/ Reddit-ing it, or querying porn.
All of those options can offer some guidance and inspiration. However, if you’re among the majority of people who are not thrilled about how sex is going, I encourage you to bring it up in therapy and/or read some of the following scholarly yet accessible books for a deeper take. Because your experience might be different than your friend, or that of Reddit user “perfectstubble”. And because porn has many virtues but illuminating the emotional, psychological, and biological underpinnings of sex isn’t one.
Headlines to consider:
Many people don’t know that much about sex.
Many of my clients tend toward overcontrol/inhibition and may have felt that “good” or “normal” people don’t do fun things in bed. Both men and women may have been shamed for having sexual desires, taught to think that interest in sex is shallow or anti-intellectual. I will admit, I once had a brooding artist boyfriend in my early 20s say he always thought sex was “sad” before me. On the contrary, sex is a prime place for adults to be playful and imaginative, states of mind that can be hard to access for grownups — which makes it all the more satisfying when we do have great sex and all the more difficult at times to get there.
Even people who have had lots of partners may have only scratched the surface with sex — often it takes a longer-term relationship to facilitate wider exploration. Men might be relying on the same old move that melted their high school girlfriend’s face off and feel confused when it doesn’t do much for you. Women may not realize it can take extra time to reach orgasm with a new partner and be unnecessarily discouraged.
If any of this resonates with you, I recommend starting with sexologist Emily Nagoski’s work (including Come As You Are and Come Together), or sex therapist Ian Kerner’s books, such as Passionista for women and She Comes First for men. Dr. Laurie Mintz's Becoming Cliterate is also a trip worth taking. Or for a quick overview of sex topics, try the Swiss nonprofit Lilli. Their vision is that “when [people] have sexual problems, they…invest in overcoming the limitations of their sexual learning process.” What an empowering growth mindset to have about sex! Think of it as a set of skills you can learn, like anything else — survival skills, organizational skills, social skills... sexual skills.
Spontaneous vs. responsive desire
A game-changer is knowing the difference between spontaneous desire (thinking of or being reminded of sex and spontaneously feeling turned on and ready/desire precedes action) vs. responsive desire (you start foreplay or sexual acts and then feel in the mood/action precedes desire). Some people are simply wired for responsive desire. Others may have felt spontaneous desire in the honeymoon phase of a relationship (approximately 18 months to three years) but over time desire can shift toward responsive. This is particularly true of women in long-term monogamy. Don’t misinterpret this to mean that you are uninterested in sex altogether. The process may simply need to evolve.
When, where, and how matters.
Emily Nagoski’s book Come As You Are includes a great exercise for helping identify the contexts that can make or break sex. For my clients, feel free to ask me about it in session, or pick up the book for help identifying the internal and external factors that help you, personally, have a good time. From setting, to partner characteristics, life circumstances, mood, body image, worry about sexual functioning — getting in touch with what shows up, especially at this moment in life, can make a big difference in enhancing satisfaction.
It can be hard to talk about sex, but it’s harder to go your whole life missing out on good sex.
Don’t feel bad if it’s awkward. Therapists are professionally trained and ethically bound to tolerate awkwardness. And I’m sure you come by that reticence honestly, meaning there are so many reasons we can feel weird about discussing sex. We were not all raised in sex-positive environments. Religious trauma, sexism, exploitative porn, porn overuse, lots of stuff can be confusing and boner-killing (as well as sexual violence, to be sure). Take a step toward recentering pleasure. If you need more inspiration, check out the Netflix series Sex Education for healthy depictions of frank and practical sex talk. Or just do what Esther Perel does and say “erotic” instead of “sexual.” You too will sound effortlessly sophisticated on the topic instead of faintly embarrassed and intimidated. ;)