Sexuality and Intimacy
People want sex for many reasons, and the reason matters as much as the act: the same behaviour can express love, seek reassurance, chase pleasure, relieve stress or protect a relationship, and partners read the motive as clearly as the act itself. This topic follows the research on sexual motives, desire and affection, including the studies that anchor the Interpersona archive.
It also covers physical affection in public and private, and how couples negotiate different levels of desire without turning difference into rejection.
Questions this topic explores
- Why do people want sex, according to research?
- Do men and women want sex for different reasons?
- How do mismatched motives affect a couple?
- What role does everyday affection play in desire?
Explainers in this topic
From the archive
Hatfield, Luckhurst and Rapson anchor this topic with their archive paper on sexual motives, gender and context.
Browse the archive