Sex Positivity

Sex and sexuality are often uncomfortable topics of discussion despite frequent sexualized images and sexual undertones in the media. Sex positivity is encouraged in many health-related fields, such as psychology, social work, and public health, to counteract the negative impact sex-negative approaches have on well-being. Although sex positivity is encouraged, research in health-related fields tends to focus on disease, risks, and pathology related to sex and sexuality. Sex positivity refers to the conceptualization of sex and sexuality as a wide range of sexual and gender expression, behaviors, identities, and orientations that can be influenced by an individual’s biology, psychology, and intersecting identities, such as culture, religion, spiritual beliefs, socioeconomic background, political, and social affiliations, among others. This entry focuses on discussing how sex negativity can ...