SEX HAS MANY IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS BESIDES REPRODUCTION
Reasons people have sex
The belief that reproduction is the only reason for two people to have sexual intercourse has been a major theme in the history of humanity. It became particularly strong during the development of the early Christian church. The idea led to our society’s efforts to strictly control the sexual lives of its citizens—especially women. Because women give birth, control focused on their bodies. Eventually, however, all sexual activity was condemned, unless it was performed by married couples for reproductive purposes.
Fortunately, most people have learned to appreciate the fact that reproduction is not the only purpose for our sexuality. There are actually many reasons for two people to enjoy sex play other than to have a baby. Not all of them are good reasons. People have sex to:
• express love, commitment, caring
• feel loved or cared for
• experience physical pleasure
• give someone else physical pleasure
• experiment
• fulfill curiosity
• have fun
• make up with their partners after a fight
• exercise
• prove their masculinity or femininity
• demonstrate power over a partner
• prove maturity
• punish—”get even with”—another person
• get money or drugs
Some of these reasons can be healthy reasons to have sex; some of them can be unhealthy. Our choices have a lot to do with our circumstances. We all decide to act on our sexual feelings for different reasons. We have different reasons at different times of our lives.
When should we have sex?
Because all people are sexual, we all have to make decisions about what we decide to do with our sexual feelings. We don’t always act
on our sexual desires. We often don’t want to. We may not be able to control whom we are attracted to, but we can decide when, where and with whom we will be sexually active and what kinds of sex pi we will enjoy.
There are important personal motivations and issues to consider we decide whether or not to engage in a sexual relationship. We ne to decide if we are having sex because we want to or because someone else wants us to. We must also consider how having sex will affect us—physically and emotionally. If we ponder having sex with someone one important to us, we should also think about how our relationship with that person might change afterward.
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