Javascript must be enabled to continue!

What Is Sexual Intimacy?

View through CrossRef

AbstractWhat is the role of intimacy in sex? The two culturally dominant views on this matter both share the implicit assumption that sex is genuinely intimate only when connected to romance, and hence that sex and intimacy stand in a contingent relationship: it is possible to have good sex without it. Liberals embrace this possibility and affirm the value of casual sex, while conservatives attempt to safeguard intimacy by insisting on romantic exclusivity. I reject their shared assumption and argue for a necessary connection between intimacy and sex, in that sexual activity as such aims at a specific form of intimacy, irrespective of whether it takes place in casual encounters or romantic relationships, and the difference between good and bad sex consists in whether this end is attained. To defend this view, I develop a general account of intimacy and apply it to isolate its specifically sexual form.

Cambridge University Press (CUP)

Sascha Settegast

Title: What Is Sexual Intimacy?

Description:

AbstractWhat is the role of intimacy in sex? The two culturally dominant views on this matter both share the implicit assumption that sex is genuinely intimate only when connected to romance, and hence that sex and intimacy stand in a contingent relationship: it is possible to have good sex without it.

Liberals embrace this possibility and affirm the value of casual sex, while conservatives attempt to safeguard intimacy by insisting on romantic exclusivity.

I reject their shared assumption and argue for a necessary connection between intimacy and sex, in that sexual activity as such aims at a specific form of intimacy, irrespective of whether it takes place in casual encounters or romantic relationships, and the difference between good and bad sex consists in whether this end is attained.

To defend this view, I develop a general account of intimacy and apply it to isolate its specifically sexual form.

Related Results

(63) SEXUAL SELF-CONCEPT OF MIDDLE-AGED MEN AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH THEIR SEX LIVES: RESULTS FROM THE BAVARIAN MEN’S HEALTH STUDY

Abstract Objectives The sexual self-concept is a major component of sexual health. The aim of this study was to investigate asso...

Introducing ‘Intimate Civility’: Towards a New Concept for 21st-Century Relationships

Fig. 1: Photo by Miguel Orós, from unsplash.comFeminism has stalled at the bedroom door. In the post-#metoo era, more than ever, we need intimate civil rights in our relationships ...

The purpose of the researcher was to investigate intimacy. The independent variables were gender, age, relationship type, and length of time married or dating. The dependent variab...

Assessing couples' preferences for postoperative sexual rehabilitation before radical prostatectomy

Study Type – Therapy (patient's preference) Level of Evidence 2b What's known on the subject? and What does the study...

(373) Sexual Health Literacy Confidence Among Urology Resident Physicians

Abstract Introduction Despite the importance of sexual health, physicians may not be adequately equipped to diagnose and treat s...

(059) Comfort With Sexual Health Literacy Assessed in Urology Resident Physicians

Abstract Introduction Despite the importance of sexual health, physicians may not be adequately equipped to diagnose and treat s...

The role of sexual self-esteem, sexual desire, and sexual assertiveness in the female sexual function

Abstract Background Sexual function plays a very important role in the sexual health of people, and the determination of their related factors refle...

The Sexual Functioning Profile of a Nonforensic Sample of Individuals Reporting Sexual Aggression Against Women

ABSTRACTIntroductionSexual offenders are believed to present marked sexual difficulties. However, most of the studies characterizing sex offenders' sexual functioning were conducte...