Sexual Inhibition - Examples of Inhibitions

Examples of Inhibitions

Some inhibitions are expressed in terms of preferences for specific sexual practices and may be based on cultural attitudes. For example, cultural attitudes towards oral sex range from disgust to reverence. It has been considered taboo, or at least frowned upon, in many cultures and parts of the world. Preferences for specific sexual practices among female same-sex relationships have been studied. It was found that not all women who have sex with women engage in oral sex (i.e., cunnilingus). Some state that they dislike it due to not liking the experience or due to psychological or social factors, such as considering it unclean. Others believe that it is a necessity or largely defines lesbian sexual activity, attributing lesbian women who dislike oral sex as a problem. Often, lesbian couples are likely to define a woman's dislike of oral sex as a problem more than heterosexual couples are, and commonly seek therapy to overcome an oral sex inhibition. Similarly, there are lesbians who like anal sex and others "who cannot bear the thought of it". People give various reasons for their dislike of oral sex. Some say that since it does not lead to procreation, it is therefore unnatural. Others believe that it is a humiliating or unclean practice (an opinion that is, at least in some cases, connected with the symbolism attached to different parts of the body).

In most cultures, sexual intercourse with a person not one's marriage partner has legal, moral and interpersonal implications, which inhibit people's sexual activities in a variety of ways. In cultures that value virginity, some adolescent girls avoid vaginal sexual intercourse, choosing instead to fellate their boyfriends (which normally would be a less preferred activity, see above) to create and maintain intimacy. A female who cannot conceive by normal means and requires assistance to conceive may be constrained by social and sexual inhibitions and taboos from accepting a sperm donor or a friend to perform an intravaginal insemination, and the friend may be similarly inhibited; and opting instead for the more expensive and arduous artificial insemination.

A fear of being nude in front of others can be regarded as a sexual inhibition. Some people feel uncomfortable being nude in front of another person, even in private with their sex partner. For example, a person may feel comfortable being nude only during a sexual activity, and then only with subdued lighting, or covered by a sheet or blanket. Some people decline medical examinations that involve disrobing. In an interview in March 2007, Halle Berry said that her toplessness in Swordfish (2001) was "gratuitous" to the movie, but that she needed to do the scene to get over her fear of nudity, and that it was the best thing she did for her career. Having overcome her inhibitions, she went on to a role in Monster's Ball, which included a nude scene. In 2002, Eva Green in her first film role needed director Bernardo Bertolucci's guidance during the filming of the nude and sex scenes in The Dreamers (2003), but was embarrassed when her family saw the film. Some actresses prefer not to expose their bodies to others and use a body double even for exposure of breasts.