Threesome

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".^[1] While the term threesome typically refers to sexual activity involving three participants,^[1][2][3] it has at times been used to refer to a long-term domestic relationship, such as polyamory or a ménage à trois.^[4]

A threesome is a form of

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).[1]

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^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

Sex positions

A threesome may involve various sex positions, for example:

• 
  Painting by Édouard-Henri Avril: 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

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

References

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

Look up threesome in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Media related to Threesome at Wikimedia Commons