Casual sex refers to certain types of
sexual activityHuman sexual behavior or human sexual practices or human sexual activities refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality...
outside the context of a romantic relationship. The term is not always used consistently: some use it to refer to any
extramarital sexExtramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than their marriage partner.Where extramarital sexual relations breach a sexual norm it may also be referred to as adultery, fornication, philandary, or infidelity. Those terms may also carry moral or...
, some use it to refer to sex in a
casual relationshipA casual relationship is a physical and emotional relationship between two people who may have a sexual relationship or a near-sexual relationship without necessarily demanding or expecting a more formal romantic relationship as a goal...
, whereas others reserve its use for
one-time encountersOriginally, a one-night stand referred to a single night theatre performance, usually by a guest group on tour. Today, however, the term is more commonly understood as a single sexual encounter between individuals, where neither individual has any immediate intention or expectation of establishing...
,
promiscuityIn human sexual behavior, promiscuity denotes sex with relatively many partners. In human cultures where polygamy is accepted, it is distinguished from promiscuity.Promiscuity is common in many animal species...
, or to refer to sex in the absence of emotional attachment or love.
A
hookup (
colloquialA colloquialism is an expression not used in formal speech, writing or paralinguistics. Colloquialisms are also sometimes referred to collectively as "colloquial language". Colloquialisms or colloquial language is considered to be characteristic of or only appropriate for casual, ordinary,...
American EnglishAmerican English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.English is the most common language in the United States...
) is casual sex activity that could consist of manual stimulation,
oral sexOral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio and irrumatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Analingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
, or
sexual intercourseSexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which the male reproductive organ enters the female reproductive tract. The two entities may be of opposite sexes or not, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
.
Casual sex refers to certain types of
sexual activityHuman sexual behavior or human sexual practices or human sexual activities refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality...
outside the context of a romantic relationship. The term is not always used consistently: some use it to refer to any
extramarital sexExtramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than their marriage partner.Where extramarital sexual relations breach a sexual norm it may also be referred to as adultery, fornication, philandary, or infidelity. Those terms may also carry moral or...
, some use it to refer to sex in a
casual relationshipA casual relationship is a physical and emotional relationship between two people who may have a sexual relationship or a near-sexual relationship without necessarily demanding or expecting a more formal romantic relationship as a goal...
, whereas others reserve its use for
one-time encountersOriginally, a one-night stand referred to a single night theatre performance, usually by a guest group on tour. Today, however, the term is more commonly understood as a single sexual encounter between individuals, where neither individual has any immediate intention or expectation of establishing...
,
promiscuityIn human sexual behavior, promiscuity denotes sex with relatively many partners. In human cultures where polygamy is accepted, it is distinguished from promiscuity.Promiscuity is common in many animal species...
, or to refer to sex in the absence of emotional attachment or love.
Related terms
A
hookup (
colloquialA colloquialism is an expression not used in formal speech, writing or paralinguistics. Colloquialisms are also sometimes referred to collectively as "colloquial language". Colloquialisms or colloquial language is considered to be characteristic of or only appropriate for casual, ordinary,...
American EnglishAmerican English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.English is the most common language in the United States...
) is casual sex activity that could consist of manual stimulation,
oral sexOral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio and irrumatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Analingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
, or
sexual intercourseSexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which the male reproductive organ enters the female reproductive tract. The two entities may be of opposite sexes or not, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. An
extended hookup sometimes refers to prolonged instances of casual sex interactions. This is a situation in which the involved parties occasionally meet for casual sex multiple times, always without a long-term commitment. This is a
casual relationshipA casual relationship is a physical and emotional relationship between two people who may have a sexual relationship or a near-sexual relationship without necessarily demanding or expecting a more formal romantic relationship as a goal...
specifically for sex and without any emotional aspect. Also another similar term is
No Strings Attached Sex.
Other
colloquialA colloquialism is an expression not used in formal speech, writing or paralinguistics. Colloquialisms are also sometimes referred to collectively as "colloquial language". Colloquialisms or colloquial language is considered to be characteristic of or only appropriate for casual, ordinary,...
terms used to describe two people engaged in a relationship in which there is no emotional but purely sexual involvement are "fuck buddies", "friends with benefits", and "
booty callA booty call is a telephone call, other communication, or visitation made with the sole intent of engaging in sexual acts with the person being contacted...
".
Social norms and moral concerns
Most religions consider sex outside of marriage to be immoral (see
Religion and sexualitySexual morality varies greatly over time and between cultures. A society's sexual norms — standards of sexual conduct — can be linked to religious beliefs, or social and environmental conditions, or all of these. Sexuality and reproduction are fundamental elements in human interaction...
). People's ideas about casual sex range from Conservative religious views (
abstinenceAbstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging a desire or appetite for certain bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to abstention from sexual intercourse, alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or...
) to Liberal and Libertarian views (
free loveThe term free love has been used since at least the 19th century to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage, especially for women. Much of the free-love tradition is an offshoot of anarchism, and reflects a civil libertarian philosophy that seeks...
). During the
sexual revolutionThe sexual revolution encompasses the changes in social thought and codes of behaviour related to sexuality throughout the Western world.-Overview:...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
in the 1960s and 1970s, social attitudes about sex underwent considerable changes. The advent of the pill and other forms of
birth controlBirth control is a regimen of one or more actions, devices, sexual practices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of pregnancy or childbirth...
, the Women's Liberation movement, and the legalization of
abortionAn abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species...
in the U.S. and other countries helped further the acceptance and practice of casual sex.
The term "hookup" gained popularity and attracted media attention during the late 1990s and has been widely accepted by Millennials.
One-night stand
One-night standOriginally, a one-night stand referred to a single night theatre performance, usually by a guest group on tour. Today, however, the term is more commonly understood as a single sexual encounter between individuals, where neither individual has any immediate intention or expectation of establishing...
is a single
sexual encounterHuman sexual behavior or human sexual practices or human sexual activities refers to the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality...
between individuals, where at least one of the parties has no immediate intention or expectation of establishing a longer-term sexual or romantic relationship.
Anonymous sex
Anonymous sexAnonymous sex is a form of one-night stand or casual sex between people who have very little or no history with each other, often engaging in sexual activity on the same day of their meeting and usually never seeing each other again afterwards. The term Cruising is used to refer to looking for...
is a form of
one-night standOriginally, a one-night stand referred to a single night theatre performance, usually by a guest group on tour. Today, however, the term is more commonly understood as a single sexual encounter between individuals, where neither individual has any immediate intention or expectation of establishing...
or
casual sex between people who have very little or no history with each other, often engaging in sexual activity on the same day of their meeting and usually never seeing each other again afterwards.
Commercial sites
There are many specialist
online dating serviceOnline dating or Internet dating is a dating system which allows individuals, couples and groups to make contact and communicate with each other over the Internet, usually with the objective of developing a personal romantic or sexual relationship...
s known as "adult personals" or "adult matching" sites which cater to people looking a purely physical relationship without emotional attachments. The
internetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol Suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
provides a relatively anonymous forum whereby two people geographically close but in totally separate work and social circles can meet without any expectation of an emotional relationship.
See also
- List of sexology topics
- Anonymous sex
Anonymous sex is a form of one-night stand or casual sex between people who have very little or no history with each other, often engaging in sexual activity on the same day of their meeting and usually never seeing each other again afterwards. The term Cruising is used to refer to looking for...
- Booty call
A booty call is a telephone call, other communication, or visitation made with the sole intent of engaging in sexual acts with the person being contacted...
- Casual relationship
A casual relationship is a physical and emotional relationship between two people who may have a sexual relationship or a near-sexual relationship without necessarily demanding or expecting a more formal romantic relationship as a goal...
- Cottaging
Cottaging is a British gay slang term referring to anonymous sex between men in a public lavatory , or cruising for sexual partners with the intention of having sex elsewhere...
- Dogging
Dogging is a British euphemism for engaging in sexual acts in a semi-public place and then watching others doing so. Frequently, there are more than two participants; both group sex and gang banging can be included. As observation is encouraged, voyeurism and exhibitionism are closely associated...
- Group sex
Group sex is sexual behaviour involving more than three participants at the same time. The main focus of this page is group sex among humans, however group sex also occurs in other animal species - e.g...
- Sexual norm
A sexual norm can refer to a personal or a social norm. Most cultures have social norms regarding sexuality, and define normal sexuality to consist only of certain legal sex acts between individuals who meet specific criteria of age, relatedness or social role and status.In most societies, the term...
- Swinging
Swinging, sometimes referred to as the swinging lifestyle, is "non-monogamous sexual activity, treated much like any other social activity, that can be experienced as a couple." The phenomenon of swinging may be seen as part of the sexual revolution of recent decades, which occurred after the...
- Friends with benefits
Friends with benefits is an agreement between two people who are both friends and physically attracted to one another to have a sexual relationship. Neither party is considered committed to the other, and both can start dating someone else at any time with no prior warning...
- STD
A sexually transmitted disease , also known as sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans or animals by means of sexual contact, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
s
- Zipless fuck