Have You Heard Of These Sex Terms?

There’s so much more information available about sex now, and society is getting far more comfortable with talking openly about everything sexy. Knowledge is power, and the more we know about how to take care of our sexual wellness, the better, we say!

Sometimes, the range of terms for bedroom activities can leave us feeling like we are behind the curve. Here are a few terms and techniques that you may not have heard about, but are good to know!

Vanilla

This is a term often used to describe people who prefer straightforward missionary position sex most of the time. It’s not a term that should be used derogatorily, and there’s absolutely no shame in being vanilla.

BDSM

This is an acronym which stands for Bondage, Domination, Sadism and Masochism. It’s used to describe people who enjoy playing around with power, and pleasure and pain dynamics during sexual activity. For example, they might use kinky restraints to heighten the feeling of taking control, or surrendering power, during sex.

Risk Aware Consensual Kink (RACK)

This is an acronym used within the BDSM community to make sure that all kinky activities are discussed between the partners in advance, and everyone has fully agreed to what is about to happen. BDSM fans will normally pre-agree a ‘safe word’ which a partner will use when they want to stop or pause the activity.

Sometimes, the safe words will be used on a sliding scale. For example, ‘red’ might mean stop right now, ‘amber’ might mean a person is unsure or a bit uncomfortable, and ‘green’ might mean, carry on.

Erotic Sexual Denial

This doesn’t mean refusing to have sex altogether, but rather, deliberately refraining from sexual activity in order to build up the excitement and tension. When you do finally let go, after a period of days or even weeks, the arousal levels are dialled up to 11.

If that sounds too masochistic for your tastes, there’s also a shorter way to do this technique, called ‘edging’. It’s where you intentionally bring yourself or a partner to the brink of an orgasm, but then delay the peak, in order to heighten the moment.

Blended orgasms

This is when two different types of orgasm happen at once. It’s most common when a woman uses dual stimulation to bring on a G-spot orgasm and a clitoral orgasm at the same time.

Tantric sex

This is often misunderstood to mean having mega prolonged sex sessions, but in fact it’s more about slowing things down, and becoming more mindful of all the senses and the body in the build-up to sex, such as touch, breath, sound, temperature, taste, and so on. It’s based on ancient Buddhist practices, and can make sex feel more intimate and intense.

Temperature play

This is the practice of using hot or cold objects or substances on the erogenous zones of the body, in order to heighten the erotic sensation. For example, you could use melted candle wax, or a sex toy that has been chilled in the freezer.