# Why do people take off their clothes for intercourse? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 5, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358 "2009-03-05T03:22:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/1 "2009-03-05T03:22:49Z")
As opposed to simply unzipping, or pulling down the pants, or tearing off the underwear, etc. Yeah, I know it doesn’t _always_ happen… but most of the time. My question is why? Is this a natural behavior or something drilled into us by mass media? Is it the same across cultures? Through history? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/2 "2009-03-05T03:24:22Z")
Skin on skin sensation, roaming hands, sensual massage, all these things are better naked, IMO ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/3 "2009-03-05T03:28:03Z")
Sex: It’s a full body sensation! ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/4 "2009-03-05T03:29:14Z")
If you really have to ask, I have to question how much sex you’ve actually had. ---
**Author:** ![Stathol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71e660/32.png) [@Stathol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stathol)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/5 "2009-03-05T03:29:16Z")
1. Sight-seeing is nice. 2. A caress is a whole lot less sensual through corduroy. 3. Better heat dissipation. I’m only kind of kidding with that one. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/6 "2009-03-05T03:29:20Z")
Because it feels good. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/7 "2009-03-05T03:30:08Z")
Because people look sillier with their pants around their ankles than they do naked. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/8 "2009-03-05T03:37:05Z")
It’s messy if you do it right. You’ll (hopefully!) wash your clothes eventually, but that doesn’t mean you want jizz all over it en route to the washer. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/9 "2009-03-05T03:43:16Z")
There are plenty of cultures where “hike up the skirt” is the norm. But these are usually pretty sexually conservative cultures. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/10 "2009-03-05T03:59:38Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > If you really have to ask, I have to question how much sex you’ve actually had. Indeed. One must have a certain amount of class. Women , in my limited experience, :rolleyes: appreciate such things. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/11 "2009-03-05T04:03:00Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > If you really have to ask, I have to question how much sex you’ve actually had. > > > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > > > Indeed. One must have a certain amount of class. > > Women , in my limited experience, :rolleyes: appreciate such things. So THAT’s why! ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/12 "2009-03-05T04:48:40Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Is this a natural behavior or something drilled into us by mass media? I would venture that humans were having naked intercourse for quite a few thousands of years before mass media existed. Seems pretty natural to me. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/13 "2009-03-05T05:10:31Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Is this a natural behavior or something drilled into us by mass media? It’s liberal media bias! Which means the folks at Fox probably do it through a hole in a sheet. ---
**Author:** ![Wiggie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/0ea827/32.png) [@Wiggie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wiggie)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/14 "2009-03-05T05:21:15Z")
My life’s experiences would lead me to believe the newer the couple is, the more likely all the clothes will come off. After a few years, that doesn’t happen so much. Not that you necessarily get into a rut, but that you don’t have as many evenings dedicated to nothing but sex like you tend to do when the relationship is young. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/15 "2009-03-05T05:22:53Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > I would venture that humans were having naked intercourse for quite a few thousands of years before mass media existed. Seems pretty natural to me. They were probably having it quite a few thousands of years before _clothing_ existed. 😛 If skin-to-skin contact, shared body heat, and full-body touch weren’t important, I wouldn’t need a partner, just a toy. (Toys don’t ever get moody, after all.) There’s way more to sex than tab-A-in-slot-B. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/16 "2009-03-05T07:02:35Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > As opposed to simply unzipping, or pulling down the pants, or tearing off the underwear, etc. Yeah, I know it doesn’t _always_ happen… but most of the time. > > My question is why? Is this a natural behavior or something drilled into us by mass media? Is it the same across cultures? Through history? Have you ever tried to pull your penis through a zippered opening? Not the greatest feeling. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/17 "2009-03-05T07:05:52Z")
Well, if your pants are around your knees, it makes things a little annoying. I mean, you could, but it’s easier not to. If you’re wearing a skirt, I guess you could just hike it up. And I suppose no one _needs_ to remove their shirt. It is more fun, though, to have skin to skin contact. It feels nicer. “Fun” is a good enough reason for me! ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/18 "2009-03-05T07:07:26Z")
> [@AudreyK](#): > > It’s messy if you do it right. You’ll (hopefully!) wash your clothes eventually, but that doesn’t mean you want jizz all over it en route to the washer. I’ll echo this. Besides male and female sex fluids, sex also tends to cause quite a bit of sweating. Getting out of your clothes leaves you to soil only the sheets, which are by nature something that can be kept private from suspicious eyes (like, for instance, if they get worn down from being washed a lot. Maximizing the soiling of the cheapest, least visible cloth items you possess, while minimizing the soiling of outer and public items is a key item in the history of clothing and other cloth usage.) Clothes also get in the way of the good bits. If I’m going to have sex, I want to have my hands _all over_ that body. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/19 "2009-03-05T08:24:22Z")
All the reasons stated above apply. I am a visual being. I need to see female skin, shape and bits for maximum enjoyment. Sex ends up in a mess, and it’s easier to keep the mess down by being naked from the get go. I get physically very hot while having sex, up to the point of having to tear my clothes off to continue, if I have foolishly started clothed. Creative sex requires quite a bit of flexibility / contorsionist skills, very hard to do while semi-nude. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358/20 "2009-03-05T08:25:24Z")
> [@Wiggie](#): > > My life’s experiences would lead me to believe the newer the couple is, the more likely all the clothes will come off. After a few years, that doesn’t happen so much. Not that you necessarily get into a rut, but that you don’t have as many evenings dedicated to nothing but sex like you tend to do when the relationship is young. You’re right, if you define 37 years as new. Now that we don’t have kids at home, why wait for evening. You can always get dressed again, after all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-take-off-their-clothes-for-intercourse/488358.md?page=2)