I read an article years ago in my AP Psychology class back in high school which suggested that one of the reasons for the uptick in teen pregnancies was that sex was increasingly considered to be a “recreational” activity. Every so often, that suggestion jumps back into my mind and I start to ponder it again.
For purposes of the thread, please state your biological sex and your opinion on the topic. Maybe there is a difference in perceptions between the two genders.
Cis male, 40 years old, bisexual, in a stable monogamous hetero relationship. So, yanno, probably not what you’re looking for exactly.
But sure. Sex is recreation. We do it for fun. It has added benefits of improving our mental and emotional health as well as our romantic bond, but we have sex for fun.
I think some additional definition of terms might be in order, though. If we’re talking about “recreational” as opposed to “procreational,” well…that’s been the case forever, but particularly since the advent of easily-used and easily-available birth control. If we’re talking about whether (young) people are increasingly inclined to see sex as nothing *more *than recreation, on a par with playing a video game or watching a movie, that’s something else.
That said, per the HHS Office of Adolescent Health, “the teen birth rate has declined almost continuously over the past 20 years.” So even if sex is seen more as a casual, “we’re bored let’s fuck” activity, it’s certainly not leading to more teen pregnancies.
The question is what do you mean by recreational? Do you mean sex being super-casual, as like when two friends are hanging out: “nothing’s on TV, wanna have sex?” “Ok, sure”? Or as in for non-procreation reasons?
Agree with ISiddiqui: the word is just too big to cover all situations. Sometimes – possibly the majority of the time – people have sex because it’s fun. It isn’t always in a deliberate attempt to conceive; that’s probably only a minority of the instances. Toss in non-procreational sex – oral sex, manual sex, etc.
Other than recreational sex and procreational sex, are there any other categories?
(Medical therapeutic sex, for instance, as in masturbation to reduce prostate size?)
Yeah, I consider it recreational. I don’t know what other kind of activity I could consider it. I’m not trying to get pregnant and I’m not a prostitute.
That depends on whether you consider “sex as an act of love”—sexual intimacy as a way of expressing, celebrating, and/or deepening the love and commitment that the people involved have for one another—to be a separate (albeit overlapping) category from “recreational sex.”
I think that’s the need to define it more specifically. Some people may see sex as an act of love as a subset of recreational sex and others may consider them separate and overlapping (though if they do overlap, couldn’t it be considered recreational sex anyways?). I’d imagine the vast majority of sex is recreational to the people involved in it - even if they are in love or doing it for procreation they are also doing it because it is enjoyable and fun.
As opposed to what? Merely an attempt to procreate? Yeah, I would have to say that I consider sex to be a recreational activity, without a doubt. I’m a hetero male, by the way.
Most sex is “recreational” if you define it broadly; human sex is not made for maximum efficiency at reproduction like a cow. Humans are constantly “in season”, women don’t show their fertility like most animals, and humans have a low fertility rate. We’re clearly built to have sex a lot, most of the time not resulting in children.
Criminal; rape, child molestation, bestiality.
“Emotional bonding sex”, if that doesn’t count as recreational.
“Cheer him/her up” sex, when one person has sex with another to make them feel better, if that doesn’t count as recreational.
With a toddler in the household, I consider it a recreational activity on par with scuba diving. I used to really, really enjoy it, but I haven’t done it since my honeymoon and I’m not sure I remember how now.
Yes, sex is recreational. I know it’s also procreational, and a bonding activity, and all that, but sex and its attending activities definitely have a recreational part. Hetero female, 46.
My mother was recently worried about my unmarried brother’s relationship with a woman who doesn’t want kids (or didn’t use to, apparently she’s changed her mind). “But… will it be a true marriage, if they’re never trying for kids?” “Mom, are you saying that if the man needs viagra and has a heart condition, the marriage dissolves? Or that if the woman’s had a hysterectomy for medical reasons, they should stop having sex?” “:smack::smack::smack:Ouch, that hurt!” She was worried about limiting sex to its non-reproductive aspects, but certainly doesn’t negate that it’s recreational - at least when done right Hetero female, 74.
I don’t have a handy cite, but apparently the Healthcare Councilor (“regional minister”) for Andalusia was furious over the amount of women, many of them teens, who are aborting repeatedly, some several times a year - the figures I’ve heard come up to “97% of abortions in Andalusia are women who treat abortion as a pregnancy-prevention measure instead of using anything else” (translating very literally, I know they’re not called that in English). Note that actual pregnancy-prevention measures are also covered by our UHC system: the Pill, implants, DIU, day-after pill… but those women are choosing to have inpatient surgery instead. That particular branch of “idiots united” is a group for which there are less deliveries but not less pregnancies.
Hetero female, 74.