The Psychology of Everyday Life:Love, Marriage, and the Baby Carriage


Why is it so difficult to talk about sex?

Sex is a universal part of life and is absolutely integral to our survival as a species. Nonetheless, sex is an extremely difficult and controversial topic to talk about. Many would argue that the scientific study of sexuality lags far behind scientific study of many other areas of human behavior. We do know that sexuality involves great passion and the relinquishment of everyday normal inhibitions. In the heat of sexual passion, people can violate critical social rules and betray important relationships. Probably because of this, all societies develop codes to regulate sexual behavior. Cultural, religious, and moral codes explicitly state when, where, and what kind of sexual behavior is socially acceptable. Breaking social rules about sexual behavior can bring severe consequences, even death in some cultures. It is possible that the evolutionary importance of sexuality may contribute to the intense emotional reaction most people have about the topic. In other words, people feel so strongly about sexuality because it is so central to our evolutionary survival.

