Episode description

Think about the last few times you had sex. What was your main reason for doing it? There are myriad reasons that people report, including pleasure and horniness. However, a common motive that we don’t talk enough about is when people have sex out of a sense of duty or obligation. So let’s talk about “duty sex,” including who has it and what effects it has on people and their relationships.

My guest today is Kate Metcalfe, a clinical psychology PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin and a member of Dr. Cindy Meston’s Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory. Kate’s research broadly focuses on sexual agency and motivation across different contexts and life stages.

Some of the specific topics we explore include:

• What does it mean to have “duty sex?”
• Who is most likely to engage in duty sex?
• How are sexual satisfaction and sexual pain related to duty sex?
• How might a history of nonconsensual sexual experiences contribute to duty sex?
• Is duty sex inherently bad?

You can learn more about duty sex by reading Kate’s study that was recently published on the topic.

Got a sex question? Send me a podcast voicemail to have it answered on a future episode at speakpipe.com/sexandpsychology.

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