Sex positivity is a framework that encourages individuals to explore their sexual desires and identities without shame or judgment. It aims to promote informed and consensual sexual experiences.
Practicing sex positivity involves educating yourself about sexual health, communicating openly with partners about desires and boundaries, and respecting the choices and sexual experiences of others.
It also includes challenging societal stigmas and taboos around sex, supporting comprehensive sex education, and advocating for sexual rights and freedoms.
You may think of the hippie counterculture movement of the ‘60s when you hear terms like “free love” or “sexual liberation.” However, the sex-positivity movement is linked to a much earlier figure, Wilhelm Reich. This guy was an Austrian psychoanalyst who promoted sexual activism in the early part of the 20th century.
Reich believed many illnesses could be attributed to sexual repression. He also argued that because the working class had little access to sex education and sexual health services, they had a higher risk of economic hardship due to things like unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Reich argued that when people were weighed down by poverty and lack of resources, they weren’t free to experience sexual liberty and enjoyment. This hurt people, and it hurt society.
To counter sexual repression and support the working class, Reich helped establish clinics in Europe that offered psychosexual therapy, contraception, and sex education free of charge.
Fast forward to the ‘60s, when the sexual revolution Reich may have started seriously picked up speed. Women’s rights, LGBT rights, the introduction of the birth control pill, and many more movements helped bolster the idea that healthy sexuality is a human right.
Today, with the internet and social media, it’s far easier to access sex-positive resources. There’s everything from websites, apps, and podcasts to sexologists and sex educators committed to upholding a sex-positive culture.
But it’s an ongoing process. Besides voting for politicians and policies that protect sexual identities and freedoms, one of the most influential things you can do is to learn how to be more sex-positive in your everyday life.
Here are some core habits of sex-positive types:
They prioritize their sexual health.
They support comprehensive sex education.
They’re comfortable with their sexual identity.
They have a positive attitude toward masturbation.
They communicate their sexual desires.
They don’t believe in slut-shaming or kink-shaming.
They find consent sexy.
They don’t support victim-blaming.
They believe in body positivity.
Keep scrolling for insight.
1. They Prioritize Their Sexual Health
Prioritizing your sexual health is more than just practicing safe sex and testing frequently for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Sexual health also involves actively seeking pleasurable and safe experiences free from coercion and violence.
It’s having access to quality healthcare to address conditions that might prevent you from having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, whether that’s medication for erectile dysfunction, contraception, or even sex toys.
2. They Support Comprehensive Sex Education
Studies show that comprehensive sexual education has positive lifelong impacts. When young people are educated about sexual health, they’re more likely to practice safe sex, respect sexual diversity, and develop healthy relationships.
The WHO defines comprehensive sexual education as accurate and age-appropriate information about sexuality and sexual and reproductive health.
The World Health Organization works with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women), and UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) on this issue.
Together, these organizations recommend scientifically accurate curriculum that’s customized for different ages and covers a wide range of topics on sexuality, including anatomy, puberty, contraception, pregnancy, relationships, and STIs.
3. They’re Comfortable With Their Sexual Identity
Your sexual identity, or sexual orientation, refers to who you’re attracted to and want to pursue relationships with. It can include labels like gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, pansexual, and queer. You can change labels as you learn more about yourself (sexual fluidity) or resist labels entirely.
Sex-positive people aren’t just comfortable with their own sexual identity but also with the sexual identities of those around them.
4. They Have a Positive Attitude Toward Masturbation
Masturbation is an important and healthy aspect of human sexuality, which typically emerges in childhood. But throughout history, this solo sexual practice has been demonized and falsely linked to ailments like blindness and hairy palms.
We now know masturbation can promote mental, physical, and sexual health. Whether you use your hand or a vibrator, self-pleasure can help you become more aware of what you find pleasurable, reduce stress, relieve sexual tension, and promote well-being. It’s also a great foreplay option.
5. They Communicate Their Sexual Desires
Sex-positive types don’t find talking about sex embarrassing or shameful. They’re comfortable expressing their desires and boundaries to their partners and receptive to the desires and boundaries of others.
Communicating your sexual desires also means advocating for your sexual health by bringing up safe sex practices with your partner.
6. They Don’t Believe in Slut-Shaming or Kink-Shaming
Sex-positive people don’t judge the sexual expressions of those around them. They’re tolerant and accepting of everyone’s sexual choices as long as they’re consensual.
Sex-positive individuals also don’t criticize others for their sexual histories, what kind of kinks they’re into, their sexual orientation, their STI status, or any other components of their sexuality and sexual health.
7. They Find Consent Sexy
Being sex-positive means respecting your own boundaries and the boundaries of others. Nobody should have the power to force, coerce, or guilt-trip another person to engage in a sexual activity against their will.
Sex-positive people understand that consent is an ongoing process that may change over time. Saying yes once does not mean a person has lost the right to say no at a later time.
8. They Don’t Support Victim-Blaming
According to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), an American is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds.
Sex positivity means believing victims of sexual assault and not blaming them based on who they are, how they look, how they dress, and other factors.
9. They Believe in Body Positivity
Being body-positive doesn’t have to mean public nudity — though it can. Body positivity is more about having a positive relationship with your physical body and body image. It also means respecting body types that are different from yours.
Sex-positive couples have open and positive attitudes toward sex and intimacy.
Some of their habits include:
Frequently communicating sexual desires
Respecting each partner’s boundaries
Exploring new sexual experiences
Seeking help for sexual problems
Sharing fantasies
Prioritizing sex as a healthy and vital part of their relationship
If you could use support in promoting sex positivity in your relationship, read this guide on how to revive a relationship sexually.
You can also check out these tips on how to have better sex and how to have a better sex life.
Yes. Sex negativity is viewing sex (or certain sexual behaviors) as shameful, harmful, or sinful.
Examples of sex negativity:
Finding sex wrong, risky, or dirty
Abstinence-only sex education
Believing LGBTQIA people are deviant or sinful
Violence against sex workers
Slut-shaming and victim-blaming
Making negative comments about someone’s body
These mindsets and actions can be ingrained into society, but change is possible — and it often starts with education.
You’re not the first person to Google “sex positivity meaning.”
The sexual revolution is ongoing, and you’re part of it. Taking action to lead a sex-positive and healthy sex life is a step in the right direction.
Remember:
Sex positivity views sex as a natural and healthy part of the human experience. Sex-positive people have open, respectful, and non-judgmental attitudes toward sexuality and sexual relationships.
The sex positivity movement doesn’t just advocate for individual pleasure. Sex positivity activists argue that when people don’t have access to sex education and sexual health services, they’re more vulnerable to illness and hardship.
Sex positivity means different things to different people. Some sex-positive practices include communicating your sexual desires, advocating for consensual sex, embracing other sexual identities, and promoting comprehensive sex education.
Sex positivity also means addressing conditions that impede your sexual health. If you struggle with a sexual dysfunction like erectile dysfunction (ED) or premature ejaculation (PE), you shouldn’t feel ashamed to seek treatment. From prescription medication to psychotherapy, a variety of options are available.
Schedule an online consultation on our sexual health platform to get the support you need.
- Goldfarb EV, et al. (2021). Three decades of research: the case for comprehensive sex education. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X20304560
- Moir CA. (2022). Wilhelm Reich and sexology from below. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10108179/
- Planned Parenthood. (2002). From stigma to sexual health. https://cdn.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/8e/f5/8ef53e54-2fcb-4f92-933e-59fa0a09285b/masturbation_11-02.pdf
- RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). (n.d.). Victims of sexual violence: statistics. https://rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence
- World Health Organization (WHO). (2023). Comprehensive sexuality education. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/comprehensive-sexuality-education
- World Health Organization (WHO). (n.d.). Sexual health. https://www.who.int/health-topics/sexual-health
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