Beyond the Bedroom A Look at Sexual Culture
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The Intersection of Sexual Culture and Personal Values
Our culture is full of both implicit and explicit attitudes about sex that vary depending on our locations and backgrounds. These attitudes often vary drastically from the values we each hold, but it is important to remember that there is often an important intersection of our sexual culture and our personal values.
Examining Personal Values
Before looking at how our sexual cultures interact with our personal values, it is important to take some time to examine our own personal values. This can include:
- Our attitudes on monogamy and non-monogamy
- The importance we place on sexual fulfillment
- Our comfort level with experimentation
- How far we are willing to go outside of our comfort zone
Answering these questions honestly can be a great starting point for defining our values as they relate to sex.
Understand Sexual Culture
Once we have a better understanding of our values, it is important to take a look at the sexual culture we are exposed to. This can include:
- The way sex is depicted in the media
- How it is discussed in social settings
- How it is handled in educational settings
- How it is discussed in religious settings
It can be important to take some time to observe the attitudes around sex in our culture in order to gain an understanding of its implications.
Finding the Intersection
Once we have a better understanding of our values and the attitudes surrounding sex in our culture, it is time to find the intersection between them. This can look like:
- Picking and choosing from the cultural attitudes around sex
- Finding ways to engage in non-traditional things that still fit with our values
- Having honest conversations with our partners about what does and does not make us comfortable
- Learning to appreciate the beauty of our culture’s views on sex while still being true to ourselves
By exploring this intersection, we can more fully understand our personal values while recognizing the influence of our culture.
Finding the intersection between our culture’s views on sex and our personal values is an important part of understanding our relationship with sex. By taking the time to explore both our values and our culture’s attitudes, we can gain a better understanding of how they interplay and create our own unique perspective.
