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Every Saturday, we present a definition of sex positivity written by one of our staff, interns, volunteers, or affiliates.

Current Interns’ Statements Coming Soon!

Past Staff/Interns/Board Members

“Being “sex positive” to me means looking at sexuality and sexual behavior as an expression of one’s personal identity and encouraging the education, acceptance, and discussion of sexual issues. Having a “sex positive” attitude entails celebrating the pleasure, intimacy, and empowerment that sex can bring to a person while encouraging healthy awareness and safe practices to people who may not have adequate knowledge or resources.”

– CSPH Intern, Elizabeth

“I believe sex positivity is defined by not only the understanding and acceptance of the vast variety of sexualities and sexual desires, but also the celebration of one’s sexual self.  I also view sex positivity as a highly political ideal that casts aside shame and judgment, and instead seeks to affirm, support, educate, and empower people to make the sexual choices they desire, as they desire them.  Thus, to me, sex positivity is not only about feeling good, but also about the space occupied between health, education, and personal empowerment.  To me, sex positivity promotes being knowledgeable about one’s sexual health, which enables being an advocate for one’s personal well-being.  Furthermore, I view sex positivity as being held in conjunction with feminism, body positivity, kink positivity, and anti-oppression, and as being mindful of kyriarchy and the experiences that affect and inform one’s conceptualization and performance of sexuality and sexual health.”

–CSPH Intern, Gypsy

“The sex-positive movement to me means progressing across the country and hopefully the world about sexual topics and resources. One of my dreams is to get people to step away from traditional views on sex and feel comfortable discussing it. A main specific passion of mine, is high school sex education. I belief the school systems play a big part in the development of youth perceptions and all aspects about sex should be explained. While abstinence is an applauded practice, contraception is valuable for the many young people that have sex.”

– CSPH Intern, Briana

“Being sex positive means being accepting of sexual practices and customs, especially if one is uninterested or uncomfortable with the practice in question. Being sex positive means understanding that while not everyone is sexual in the same way that you are, everyone has a right to their own sexuality and that it is important to allow everyone to express their sexuality. Sex positivity means not attempting to censor pornography or impose your own sexual mores, however expansive you may think they are. Sex positivity means understanding that pornography can be a useful aid and tool and even an ends in of itself and that what is unhealthy for one person can be healthy for another.“

– CSPH Intern, Jaclyn

“Fundamentally, Sex- Positivity means “meeting people where they are”. It’s about acknowledging that not everyone is going to comfortable with all of the things under the sexuality umbrella but everyone is entitled to accurate information that answers their questions. Promoting an attitude of sex-positivity involves working to reduce and eliminate the shame surrounding sex and sexuality. It means that everyone has the right to not have anything assumed about them.”

– CSPH Intern, Jayne  

“I come across people all the time that let curiosity get the best of them when they start a conversation with me. I get the questions they want to ask but just don’t know who to turn to. I bring my sex positive attitude with me wherever I go and love to spread the word about having good sex! I believe sex positivity is reminding people that there are so many good things that that can said about sex. Living in the South has presented an opportunity where religion and sexuality collide and hopefully a chance to show a traditionally conservative culture a new way. Moving abroad had shown me more about the world and that there are others who share in my love of sex and anything involving the movement.”

–CSPH Intern, Rachel

“Sex-Positivity means acknowledging and taking responsibility for our judgments, without projecting them on others. It means not assuming that others’ morals and values are similar to our own or that they have similar sexual needs and hang-ups. It means respecting others’ decisions and embracing our own needs and desires. It promotes communication and consent, and encourages using language that reflects understanding.

Sex-Positivity includes pleasure, desire, fantasy, attraction, and consent (among many other things!) and strives to work toward a more positive relationship with sex. It means treating others equally, respectfully, and without assumption. It means dismissing our society’s view of sex, and acknowledging sex encompasses many different types of play, varieties of ages, different body types, disability, race, gender, and much more.”

-Alicia, CSPH Social Media Intern

“At its core, sex-positive individuals like myself see sexuality as a potentially joyful and productive aspect of human life, one that should not be rooted in shame and relegated to whispered conversations. I find it such an important and boundary-breaking way of looking at the world because it doesn’t dictate specific courses of action so much as it promotes comprehensive education and the availability of options for people to make their own decisions. Thus, there is no “one correct” way of experiencing pleasure and/or expressing one’s sexuality, but instead plenty of room for nuance, fluidity, and difference. For me particularly, sex positivity is deeply tied to ideas about feminism, anti-oppression work, and notions of intersectionality; it’s about the individual, but also the community. Bringing a sex positive attitude into practice means striving for the liberation of individuals from structural forms of oppressive control—recognizing that these don’t play out in the same ways for everyone—and asserting the right of people to pursue their sexual pleasure in ways that feel right for them, as long as they do so in a consensual, informed manner.”

-Aida, CSPH Planning & Development Coordinator, board member

“To me, sex positivity, in it’s most basic, means that sex and sexuality have an untapped potential to be a positive force in everyone’s life.  I believe that sex is one of the most basic of human needs- like food and shelter.  In the same way that the food you eat, and the environment you live in can effect your health, self-esteem, feelings of empowerment, and intellectual development; I believe that the way you interact with yourself and others as a sexual being can either support you to be a powerful and fulfilled person, or can be a big obstacle to overcome.  Following this logic, it makes sense to spend time and energy investing in and exploring yourself as a sexual person.  I think it is worth it to find the things that turn you on, and the people that you connect with sexually.  I also believe that each person has a distinct and unique sexuality that (as long as it does not non-consensually harm others) should be celebrated and supported by both individuals and society as a whole.  Our society (which is NOT sex positive) frames sexuality as something separate from us, that needs to be protected against, or controlled. A sex positive society should approach sexuality as something that it is important to be well-informed about, and something that is a basic right that should be protected so that individuals are able to make choices in a safe and supportive environment.”

-Kira Manser, CSPH satellite team member and co-founder of Screw Smart

“Sex positivity? This is a term that gets mixed up with being pro-sex. The difference in my mind is that being pro-sex is generally about being on board with your own sexual proclivities; nothing really that deals with sexual identity or a broader sexual intelligence. Generally, being pro-sex takes some work, but because it’s your own pleasure on the line, the advantages are more clear. Being sex positive is about seeing the larger landscape of sexuality and not needing it to reflect your own values to be okay with it. This can be a more complex conversation person to have with oneself as it also includes self-reflection in terms of a sexual community and saying no to things but not letting that be a bad thing.  Folks working towards this kind of big-picture sex positivity are sex activists in my book and therefore, totally excellent.”

-Rebecca Alvarez, CSPH satellite team member and co-founder of Screw Smart

“An attitude of sex positivity can be reflected in the Kink Academy motto “be accepted”. There are a lot of sexual proclivities out there that may or may not interest you but having a ‘live and let live’ approach to sex creates a society free of judgment and sexual shame.”

-Princess Kali, CSPH Board Member and founder of the Kink Academy

“Sex positivity to me, is a movement that will eventually lead to the stop of so much criticism and hostility towards people’s sexual preferences and decisions.  A lot of people don’t understand the wide spectrum of sexuality, and since they don’t understand it, they condemn it. Whether someone is transgendered or a lesbian or an asexual, everyone deserves the freedom and right to make their own sexual decisions regardless of gender, race, age, or sex, and they all deserve the knowledge and education available to them to make those decisions in a healthy, consensual way.  Sexual education outreach is the best way to carry the sex positive movement forward to ensure that someday we can all be open, satisfied sexual creatures that are not ashamed of themselves.”

-Nicole, Past CSPH Intern

“Sex positivity suggests being open and accepting of all sexual preferences, partners, and activities (as long as both partner(s) are consenting). It recognizes that sexual expression is good and an important part of an individual’s lifestyle. It embraces various beliefs regarding sexual partners and lifestyles and encourages pleasure as an important part of sex. Sex positivity advocates that individuals practice safe sex and become educated about all topics regarding sexuality and sex, not just some. In addition, sex positivity denotes acceptance of each person as a unique individual, regardless of the individual’s gender or sexual orientation, and encourages everyone to learn about things that they are not familiar with in the hopes of lessening judgment and/or ignorance of any given sexual orientation, gender, lifestyles, or activities. Sex positivity signifies that one sees sex and all of its components in a positive light, not as something that is negative, frightening, or shameful.”

-Talia, Past CSPH Intern

“Sex positivity to me is basically what it sounds like. People put so much shame around sex. No one wants to ask questions; no one wants to admit they’re doing it; no want wants to admit that they want to do it. This sense of shame leads to a lack of information. Sex becomes a mystery, something that only happens with the lights off when no one is around. When experienced safely and with a healthy attitude sex can be something pleasurable and beautiful. For me, sex positivity is throwing out those shameful notions about sex and realizing that sex is an important part of the human experience and is capable of making all of our lives more complete. With a positive attitude about sex comes a healthy desire to learn about it and the more you learn in an honest forum, the more sex can positively affect your life. Sex is part of life and should be a good part.”

-Brittany, Past CSPH Intern

“Sex-positivity is an overall accepting and encouraging attitude towards many genders, sexualities and other concepts that defy the sexual norms instilled in us by a sex-fearing society. Claiming that you are sex-positive is also a lifestyle choice that incorporates comprehensive learning about sexuality into our everyday experiences and conversations. Sex-positivity is a curiosity; it is never ignorant.

I believe that being sex positive essentially means that we do not believe in scare tactics as a primary method of teaching the public about our sexual pleasure and health. We believe in having conversations about safety in an honest way, and not one that promotes slut-shaming or religious propaganda. We *care* about pleasure, just as much as we *care* about spreading real, positive, healthy attitudes and intelligence when it comes to our bodies and minds.

Sex-positivity is an attitude that goes against a dominant ideology of racism, sexism, classism, able-ism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, and other oppressive attitudes towards those with particular identities. As a community of sex-positive people, we want to uncover the invisible oppressions in the lack of sex education for the less privileged. It actually matters to us that education is available and accessible to all people regardless of how they choose to identify.And mostly, we are idealists who see the pleasure, the love and the beauty that people have within them; and we want to make sure they all know it.”

-Deidre, Past CSPH Intern