What is “sex”?
Author: SCIRE Community Team | Reviewers: Lesley Houle , Rachel Nicoletti | Published: 12 June 2018 | Updated: ~
We often think that “sex” means sexual intercourse involving penetration. However, this is only one small part of what sex is. “Sex” describes any activity that you find pleasurable and sexually satisfying. Sex means different things to different people and can include a wide range of activities, such as intimacy, kissing, touching, masturbation, oral sex, using sex toys and many other activities, as long as they feel like “sex” to you.
How is sex different after SCI?
Many people find that the beliefs they had about sex and the ways that they had sex before their injury may not be those that work best afterwards. Some things that might be different about sex after SCI may include:
Sex might require more planning instead of being entirely “spontaneous”
After SCI, you may explore different ways to satisfy your sex life.2
Activities that you enjoyed before your injury (such as penetrative sex) may be less important than they were before
Body parts other than the genitals may be more pleasurable when touched (such as the lips, nipples, or areas of skin near the
level of injury
)
Different sexual positions may work better after injury
You may have a different role in your sexual relationships than you did before
Communicating with your partner may be more important for satisfying sex than it was before
Everyone is different and will experience their sexuality differently after injury. Being open to different ideas about what sex is can be a helpful way to find what works best and is most satisfying for you after injury.
