Threesome

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"Der Gemeinsame Freund" ("The Mutual Friend") by Peter Fendi (ca 1910). Peter Fendi - Der Gemeinsame Freund (1910).jpg
"Der Gemeinsame Freund" ("The Mutual Friend") by Peter Fendi (ca 1910).

In human sexuality, a threesome is "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". [1] While the term threesome typically refers to sexual activity involving three participants, [1] [2] [3] it has at times been used to refer to a long-term domestic relationship, such as polyamory or a ménage à trois. [4]

Contents

A threesome is a form of group sex that typically occurs in private settings, such as spontaneous sexual activity among three friends or in the context of casual sex or a hook up. A threesome may occur in specific contexts or environments that allow for sex, such as swingers events, orgies, or sex parties.[ citation needed ] Threesomes are a common element of sexual fantasy, [5] [6] and are widely depicted in pornography.

Types

The people in a threesome may be of any gender and sexual orientation. Each participant may engage in any type of sex act with one or both of the others, such as vaginal, anal, oral, or manual sex. One or more of the participants may engage in autoerotic sexual activity, such as masturbation, possibly without physical contact with the other participants. It is a matter of subjective definition whether participation of a third person without physical contact constitutes a threesome and this sort of sexual activity might instead be interpreted as voyeurism or cuckolding or cuckqueaning. Troilism is a term that encompasses both threesomes and cuckoldry, although its usage across literature is inconsistent. [7]

Threesomes are sometimes described using shorthand to refer to who was involved in the threesome e.g. MMF (male, male, female); FFM (female, female, male); MMM (male, male, male); FFF (female, female, female). [1]

Sandwich is slang for a person performing both receptive and insertive anal and/or vaginal sex simultaneously during a threesome, being positioned between the two partners.

Academic research

The first major academic work to address threesomes specifically was published in 1988, called: Threesomes: Studies in Sex, Power, and Intimacy [8] by Arno Karlen. In the work, drawing mainly from interview data, Karlen outlined how threesomes were often viewed as qualitatively different to other forms of group sex. Other notable findings include that threesomes were often viewed by women as a safe way to explore their sexuality; they often consisted of a couple joined by a third person; and that the third person was not necessarily viewed or treated equally. Karlen also suggested that the societal view of threesomes cast those who engaged in them as radically different to other members of society:

There is a common tendency to think of people who have been in threesomes as alien beings. Like swingers, homosexuals and others who deviate from basic sexual norms, they seem to many to have entered another social, psychological, and moral sphere.

Research exploring rates of threesome engagement suggest that men have both higher levels of interest and participation in threesomes. [9] One study soliciting responses to a sex survey via a British newspaper in 1987 found that 34% of 1,862 men, and 15% of 2,905 women had experience of a threesome. [10] From a nationally representative sample in the US in 2017, 34.1% of men and 11.1% of women found a threesome to be at least somewhat appealing and 18% of men and 10% of women had engaged in one. [11]

Sex positions

A threesome may involve various sex positions, for example:

Threesome scenes are featured in various films and TV series, including Summer Lovers (1982), Threesome (1994), Wild Things (1998), American Psycho (2000), [12] Zoolander (2001), Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Ken Park (2002), The Dreamers (2003), Kiss Me Again (2006), Shortbus (2006), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Shame (2011), 21 Jump Street (2012), On the Road (2012), Savages (2012), Spring Breakers (2012), Knock Knock (2015), Love (2015). [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human sexual activity</span> Manner in which humans engage sexually

Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone to acts with another person in varying patterns of frequency, for a wide variety of reasons. Sexual activity usually results in sexual arousal and physiological changes in the aroused person, some of which are pronounced while others are more subtle. Sexual activity may also include conduct and activities which are intended to arouse the sexual interest of another or enhance the sex life of another, such as strategies to find or attract partners, or personal interactions between individuals. Sexual activity may follow sexual arousal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual orientation</span> Pattern of romantic or sexual attraction

Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns are generally categorized under heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality, while asexuality is sometimes identified as the fourth category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group sex</span> Sexual behavior involving more than two participants

Group sex is sexual activity involving more than two people. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their own names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinsey scale</span> Scale for measuring sexual orientation

The Kinsey scale, also called the Heterosexual–Homosexual Rating Scale, is used in research to describe a person's sexual orientation based on one's experience or response at a given time. The scale typically ranges from 0, meaning exclusively heterosexual, to a 6, meaning exclusively homosexual. In both the male and female volumes of the Kinsey Reports, an additional grade, listed as "X", indicated "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions" (asexuality). The reports were first published in Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, and others, and were also prominent in the complementary work Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953).

Swinging, earlier commonly known as hotwife or wife-swapping, is a sexual activity in which both singles and partners in a committed relationship sexually engage with others for recreational purposes. Swinging is a form of non-monogamy. People may choose a swinging lifestyle for a variety of reasons. Practitioners cite an increased quality and quantity of sex. Some people may engage in swinging to add variety into their otherwise conventional sex lives or due to their curiosity. Some couples see swinging as a healthy outlet and means to strengthen their relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual attraction</span> Attraction on the basis of sexual desire

Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest. Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal is an individual's ability to attract other people sexually, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context where they appear. The attraction may be to a person's aesthetics, movements, voice, or smell, among other things. The attraction may be enhanced by a person's adornments, clothing, perfume or hair style. It can be influenced by individual genetic, psychological, or cultural factors, or to other, more amorphous qualities. Sexual attraction is also a response to another person that depends on a combination of the person possessing the traits and on the criteria of the person who is attracted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual fantasy</span> Class of mental image or pattern of thought

A sexual fantasy or erotic fantasy is an autoerotic mental image or pattern of thought that stirs a person's sexuality and can create or enhance sexual arousal. A sexual fantasy can be created by the person's imagination or memory, and may be triggered autonomously or by external stimulation such as erotic literature or pornography, a physical object, or sexual attraction to another person. Anything that may give rise to sexual arousal may also produce a sexual fantasy, and sexual arousal may in turn give rise to fantasies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual stimulation</span> Anything that causes a sexual response

Sexual stimulation is anything that leads to sexual arousal or possibly orgasm. This thing can be physical or of other senses, and is known as a stimulus in medical studies such as physiology, hence the term stimulation.

A rape fantasy or a ravishment is a sexual fantasy involving imagining or pretending being coerced or forcefully coercing another into sexual activity. In sexual roleplay, it involves acting out roles of coercive sex. Rape pornography is literature, images or video associated with rape as a means of sexual arousal.

Casual sex is sexual activity that takes place outside a romantic relationship and implies an absence of commitment, emotional attachment, or familiarity between sexual partners. Examples are sexual activity while casually dating, one-night stands, prostitution or swinging and friends with benefits relationships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-monogamy</span> Intimate relationship that is not strictly monogamous

Non-monogamy is an umbrella term for every practice or philosophy of non-dyadic intimate relationship that does not strictly hew to the standards of monogamy, particularly that of having only one person with whom to exchange sex, love, and/or affection. In that sense, "nonmonogamy" may be accurately applied to extramarital sex, group marriage, or polyamory. It is not synonymous with infidelity, since all parties are consenting to the relationship structure, partners are often committed to each other as well as to their other partners and cheating is still considered problematic behavior with many non-monogamous relationships.

The American-Canadian sexologist Ray Blanchard proposed a psychological typology of gender dysphoria, transsexualism, and fetishistic transvestism in a series of academic papers through the 1980s and 1990s. Building on the work of earlier researchers, including his colleague Kurt Freund, Blanchard categorized trans women into two groups: homosexual transsexuals who are attracted exclusively to men and are feminine in both behavior and appearance; and autogynephilic transsexuals who experience sexual arousal at the idea of having a female body. Blanchard and his supporters argue that the typology explains differences between the two groups in childhood gender nonconformity, sexual orientation, history of sexual fetishism, and age of transition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environment and sexual orientation</span> Field of sexual orientation research

The relationship between the environment and sexual orientation is a subject of research. In the study of sexual orientation, some researchers distinguish environmental influences from hormonal influences, while other researchers include biological influences such as prenatal hormones as part of environmental influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bisexuality</span> Sexual attraction to people of any gender

Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, to more than one gender, or to both people of the same gender and different genders. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, which is also known as pansexuality.

Sexual fluidity is one or more changes in sexuality or sexual identity. Sexual orientation is stable for the vast majority of people, but some research indicates that some people may experience change in their sexual orientation, and this is slightly more likely for women than for men. There is no scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed through psychotherapy. Sexual identity can change throughout an individual's life, and does not have to align with biological sex, sexual behavior, or actual sexual orientation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual arousal</span> Physiological and psychological changes in preparation for sexual intercourse

Sexual arousal describes the physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to sexual stimuli. A number of physiological responses occur in the body and mind as preparation for sexual intercourse, and continue during intercourse. Male arousal will lead to an erection, and in female arousal, the body's response is engorged sexual tissues such as nipples, clitoris, vaginal walls, and vaginal lubrication.

Anne Alexandra Lawrence is an American psychologist, sexologist, and physician who has published extensively on gender dysphoria, transgender people, and paraphilias. Lawrence is a transgender woman and self-identifies as autogynephilic. She is best known for her 2013 book on autogynephilia, Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism, which has been regarded by Ray Blanchard as the definitive text on the subject. Lawrence is one of the major researchers in the area of Blanchard's etiological typology of transgender women and has been one of the most major proponents of the theory. While Blanchard's typology and autogynephilia are highly controversial subjects and are not accepted by many transgender women and academics, some, such as Lawrence, identify with autogynephilia. Lawrence's work also extends beyond Blanchard's typology, to transgender women and to transition more generally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Lehmiller</span> American social psychologist and author

Justin J. Lehmiller is an American social psychologist and author. He is a research fellow at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University.

The orgasm gap or pleasure gap is the disparity in sexual satisfaction—specifically the unequal frequency in achieving orgasm during sexual encounters—between heterosexual men and women. Across every demographic that has been studied, women report the lowest frequency of reaching orgasm during sexual encounters with men. Researchers believe that multiple causes contribute to the orgasm gap. Orgasm gap researcher Laurie Mintz argues that the primary reason for this form of gender inequality is due to "our cultural ignorance of the clitoris" and that it is commonplace to "mislabel women's genitals by the one part that gives men, but not women, reliable orgasms."

Friends with benefits relationships is a modern term that is commonly used to refer to an interpersonal relationship which is physically intimate without being romantic, and typically considered platonic and friendly by those involved. These non-committal relationships can be short-term or long-term, and may or may not evolve into romantic relationships. FWB relationships are enjoyed by women and men, which is in contrast to casual sexual encounters, which are more often sought by men.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Scoats, Ryan (2019). UNDERSTANDING THREESOMES: gender, sex, and consensual non-monogamy. ROUTLEDGE. ISBN   978-0-429-84237-5. OCLC   1110711748.
  2. Thompson, Ashley E.; Byers, E. Sandra (April 2017). "Heterosexual Young Adults' Interest, Attitudes, and Experiences Related to Mixed-Gender, Multi-Person Sex". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 46 (3): 813–822. doi:10.1007/s10508-016-0699-1. ISSN   0004-0002. PMID   26943139. S2CID   39487837.
  3. Scoats, Ryan; Joseph, Lauren J; Anderson, Eric (February 2018). "'I don't mind watching him cum': Heterosexual men, threesomes, and the erosion of the one-time rule of homosexuality". Sexualities. 21 (1–2): 30–48. doi: 10.1177/1363460716678562 . ISSN   1363-4607. S2CID   151580022.
  4. Frayser, Suzanne G.; Whitby, Thomas J. (1995). Studies in Human Sexuality: A Selected Guide. Libraries Unlimited. pp. 340–341. ISBN   1563081318 . Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  5. LEHMILLER, JUSTIN J. (2018). TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life. ROBINSON. ISBN   978-1-4721-4223-8. OCLC   1013584575.
  6. Jonason, Peter K.; Marks, Michael J. (March 2009). "Common vs. Uncommon Sexual Acts: Evidence for the Sexual Double Standard". Sex Roles. 60 (5–6): 357–365. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9542-z. ISSN   0360-0025. S2CID   53548047.
  7. Ley, David J. (2009). Insatiable wives : women who stray and the men who love them. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-4422-0030-2. OCLC   373474387.
  8. Karlen, Arno (1988). Threesomes : studies in sex, power, and intimacy. New York: Beech Tree Books. ISBN   0-688-06536-8. OCLC   17104896.
  9. Thompson, Ashley E.; Cipriano, Allison E.; Kirkeby, Kimberley M.; Wilder, Delaney; Lehmiller, Justin J. (2020-11-11). "Exploring Variations in North American Adults' Attitudes, Interest, Experience, and Outcomes Related to Mixed-Gender Threesomes: A Replication and Extension". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 50 (4): 1433–1448. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01829-1. ISSN   1573-2800. PMID   33175272. S2CID   226302189.
  10. Wilson, Glenn D. (1987-01-01). "Male-female differences in sexual activity, enjoyment and fantasies". Personality and Individual Differences. 8 (1): 125–127. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(87)90019-5. ISSN   0191-8869.
  11. Herbenick, Debby; Bowling, Jessamyn; Fu, Tsung-Chieh (Jane); Dodge, Brian; Guerra-Reyes, Lucia; Sanders, Stephanie (2017-07-20). "Sexual diversity in the United States: Results from a nationally representative probability sample of adult women and men". PLOS ONE. 12 (7): e0181198. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1281198H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181198 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   5519052 . PMID   28727762.
  12. American Psycho threesome scene. Archived from the original on 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
  13. Hoarde, Peter. "The 10 Most Memorable Threesome Scenes in Movies". Complex.com. Retrieved 29 September 2018.

Bibliography

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