Santé – Filthy sex

Published in Santé magazine
On April 20, 2022

“Might it be an idea to have a nice long kissing session again, as you probably had at the beginning of your relationship?” I suggest to the couple sitting across from me. “After all, extended kissing without the pressure of having to do anything else can cause an increase in arousal. This can slowly turn into a desire for more.”

The sex life of the couple I’m seeing has not been greatl for some time now. They come to me, hoping to find a solution to this problem. But when I share my proposal, I see that one of them looks at me excitedly, while the other turns looks back in disgust. “I just don’t really like kissing,” he begins. “All that saliva, a tongue in my mouth… Yuck!” He looks a little flustered at his girlfriend. She shrugs her shoulders.

“Well, so this is one of the problems. He doesn’t like it when I start kissing him. But I do like kissing. So we don’t really match when it comes to that.” I turn to her boyfriend. “Tell me, during sex, when you’re aroused… do you kiss?” Out of the corner of my eye, I see his girlfriend nodding. “Yes, I do,” he says sort of surprised. “Pretty strange actually, but when we’re having sex, I don’t find it disgusting at all.”

''Well, it's not that strange at all,'' I respond reassuringly.

“Did you know that the feeling of disgust helps us survive? Because that feeling makes us stay away from things that are dirty and can make us sick.” They both listen intently. “Now, of course, sex is also kind of dirty. While having sex, people exchange all kinds of bacteria and other pathogens. So it makes sense that we can feel disgust at anything to do with sex. That is exactly how it should be. Except that sex is also necessary for our survival. This is where the feeling of arousal comes in. Because when you are aroused, disgust temporarily subsides. This allows us to perform all kinds of sexual acts that we might otherwise find too disgusting. Do you understand?” Both of them look at me a little tense, but understanding.

Praktijk van relatietherapeut seksuoloog Jolien Spoelstra Haarlem
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“Now not everyone finds the same thing dirty and we don’t all get aroused by the same thing. So kissing can actually excite one person and another person needs excitement first.” They look at each other smiling for a moment. “Okay, so we’re just different when it comes to kissing, but we’re both normal?” “Yes!” I say. “But extended kissing, on second thought, is probably not the right starting point for the two of you. Let me take back my suggestion back and let’s look for something that can be exciting for you both.” After this sentence, all the tension disappears as they snuggle into my couch.

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This post is also available in: NL ENG

This post is also available in: NL ENG