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In human sexuality, a threesome is "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". While the term threesome typically refers to sexual activity involving three participants, it has at times been used to refer to a long-term domestic relationship, such as polyamory or a ménage à trois.

A threesome is a form of group sex that typically occurs in private settings, such as spontaneous sexual activity among three friends or in the context of casual sex or a hook up. A threesome may occur in specific contexts or environments that allow for sex, such as swingers events, orgies, or sex parties. Threesomes are a common element of sexual fantasy, and are widely depicted in pornography.

Types

The people in a threesome may be of any gender and sexual orientation. Each participant may engage in any type of sex act with one or both of the others, such as vaginal, anal, oral, or manual sex. One or more of the participants may engage in autoerotic sexual activity, such as masturbation, possibly without physical contact with the other participants. It is a matter of subjective definition whether participation of a third person without physical contact constitutes a threesome and this sort of sexual activity might instead be interpreted as voyeurism or cuckolding or cuckqueaning. Troilism is a term that encompasses both threesomes and cuckoldry, although its usage across literature is inconsistent.

Threesomes are sometimes described using shorthand to refer to who was involved in the threesome e.g. MMF (male, male, female); FFM (female, female, male); MMM (male, male, male); FFF (female, female, female).

Sandwich is slang for a person performing both receptive and insertive anal and/or vaginal sex simultaneously during a threesome, being positioned between the two partners.

Academic research

The first major academic work to address threesomes specifically was published in 1988, called: Threesomes: Studies in Sex, Power, and Intimacy by Arno Karlen. In the work, drawing mainly from interview data, Karlen outlined how threesomes were often viewed as qualitatively different to other forms of group sex. Other notable findings include that threesomes were often viewed by women as a safe way to explore their sexuality; they often consisted of a couple joined by a third person; and that the third person was not necessarily viewed or treated equally. Karlen also suggested that the societal view of threesomes cast those who engaged in them as radically different to other members of society:

There is a common tendency to think of people who have been in threesomes as alien beings. Like swingers, homosexuals and others who deviate from basic sexual norms, they seem to many to have entered another social, psychological, and moral sphere.

Research exploring rates of threesome engagement suggest that men have both higher levels of interest and participation in threesomes. One study soliciting responses to a sex survey via a British newspaper in 1987 found that 34% of 1,862 men, and 15% of 2,905 women had experience of a threesome. From a nationally representative sample in the US in 2017, 34.1% of men and 11.1% of women found a threesome to be at least somewhat appealing and 18% of men and 10% of women had engaged in one.

Sex positions

A threesome may involve various sex positions, for example:

• Threesome involving two men and a woman
• Threesome involving double penetration
• Threesome involving two women and a man
• Seedfeeder's illustration of a threesome involving two men and a woman
• Seedfeeder's illustration of a threesome involving two women and a man

In popular culture

Threesome scenes are featured in various films and TV series, including Summer Lovers (1982), Threesome (1994), Wild Things (1998), American Psycho (2000), Zoolander (2001), Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Ken Park (2002), The Dreamers (2003), Kiss Me Again (2006), Shortbus (2006), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Shame (2011), 21 Jump Street (2012), On the Road (2012), Savages (2012), Spring Breakers (2012), Knock Knock (2015), Love (2015).

See also

• Adultery
• Bigamy
• Bisexuality
• Compersion
• Open marriage
• Orgy
• Polygamy

References

1. ^ Scoats, Ryan (2019). UNDERSTANDING THREESOMES: gender, sex, and consensual non-monogamy. ROUTLEDGE. ISBN 978-0-429-84237-5. OCLC 1110711748.
2. Thompson, Ashley E.; Byers, E. Sandra (April 2017). "Heterosexual Young Adults' Interest, Attitudes, and Experiences Related to Mixed-Gender, Multi-Person Sex". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 46 (3): 813–822. doi:10.1007/s10508-016-0699-1. ISSN 0004-0002. PMID 26943139. S2CID 39487837.
3. Scoats, Ryan; Joseph, Lauren J; Anderson, Eric (February 2018). "'I don't mind watching him cum': Heterosexual men, threesomes, and the erosion of the one-time rule of homosexuality". Sexualities. 21 (1–2): 30–48. doi:10.1177/1363460716678562. ISSN 1363-4607. S2CID 151580022.
4. Frayser, Suzanne G.; Whitby, Thomas J. (1995). Studies in Human Sexuality: A Selected Guide. Libraries Unlimited. pp. 340–341. ISBN 1563081318. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
5. LEHMILLER, JUSTIN J. (2018). TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life. ROBINSON. ISBN 978-1-4721-4223-8. OCLC 1013584575.
6. Jonason, Peter K.; Marks, Michael J. (March 2009). "Common vs. Uncommon Sexual Acts: Evidence for the Sexual Double Standard". Sex Roles. 60 (5–6): 357–365. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9542-z. ISSN 0360-0025. S2CID 53548047.
7. Ley, David J. (2009). Insatiable wives : women who stray and the men who love them. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-0030-2. OCLC 373474387.
8. Karlen, Arno (1988). Threesomes : studies in sex, power, and intimacy. New York: Beech Tree Books. ISBN 0-688-06536-8. OCLC 17104896.
9. Thompson, Ashley E.; Cipriano, Allison E.; Kirkeby, Kimberley M.; Wilder, Delaney; Lehmiller, Justin J. (2020-11-11). "Exploring Variations in North American Adults' Attitudes, Interest, Experience, and Outcomes Related to Mixed-Gender Threesomes: A Replication and Extension". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 50 (4): 1433–1448. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01829-1. ISSN 1573-2800. PMID 33175272. S2CID 226302189.
10. Wilson, Glenn D. (1987-01-01). "Male-female differences in sexual activity, enjoyment and fantasies". Personality and Individual Differences. 8 (1): 125–127. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(87)90019-5. ISSN 0191-8869.
11. Herbenick, Debby; Bowling, Jessamyn; Fu, Tsung-Chieh (Jane); Dodge, Brian; Guerra-Reyes, Lucia; Sanders, Stephanie (2017-07-20). "Sexual diversity in the United States: Results from a nationally representative probability sample of adult women and men". PLOS ONE. 12 (7): e0181198. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1281198H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0181198. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5519052. PMID 28727762.
12. American Psycho threesome scene. Archived from the original on 2013-08-22. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
13. Hoarde, Peter. "The 10 Most Memorable Threesome Scenes in Movies". Complex.com. Retrieved 29 September 2018.

Bibliography

• Benoit, Sophia (2019-07-24). "How to Have a Successful Threesome, According to People Who Have a Lot of Them". GQ. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
• Druckerman, Pamela (2023-04-23). "'It was hard to keep track of who was at which stage': what I learned from a threesome". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
• Hsieh, Carina (2020-10-08). "What It's Really Like to Have a Threesome". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
• Hunt, Elle (2020-02-11). "The psychology of the threesome: everyone wants one, but who's truly ready for it?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-04-25.

External links

Media related to Threesome at Wikimedia Commons

• Sex positions
• 3 (number)
• Group sex
• Pornography terminology
• Trios