Caren felt every little breeze as Mike moved around her naked body. He had tied a silk scarf over her eyes, blindfolding her, then had stripped her clothes off, piece by piece, until she stood naked in the middle of their bedroom.
Mike had gently kissed her neck and shoulders as he removed each item, and now she felt his hand traveling over her body… over her shoulder… down her back… across her hip… until he let it rest, gently cupping and caressing one cheek of her behind. She felt him move closer into her, his clothed body hot against hers, and she felt a hint of whiskers on her cheek as he brought his mouth close to her ear. She could smell his cologne, and felt his hot breath in her hear as he whispered unimagined words to her about he was going to do to her next…
A satisfying sex life requires and provides intimacy and connection. It is also about keeping things fresh, and requires honesty, communication and trust.
So many couples struggle, especially when we’re so stretched, stressed and tired.
But people, especially women, are clearly interested in spicing things up to address something they’re not getting in their normal sex lives and relationships. Just look at the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey. Thanks to these books –and soon movie– there has been more awareness and interest by mainstream people in trying things they had never considered previously. And, at the same time, it’s becoming not just recognized but accepted that women have just as strong interest in sex as men, and that includes the spicy stuff.
So, why are people interested in the spicy stuff? Well…
- Things turn us on besides straight, “vanilla” sex.
- The idea of giving up –or taking!—control is sexy, especially when we are in different power positions the rest of the time.
- It’s interesting! And fun! And it adds novelty and newness. It’s an adventure.
- It just turns us on, even if we don’t understand it.
- It allows us to scratch an itch with a partner we can trust, building intimacy.
- It just feels good!
But nice people don’t do that!
Uh… yes they do. My wife and I do. I’d say we appear to be totally normal suburban parents who don’t stand out, and certainly don’t advertise what we do in the bedroom. But our sex life has always had a kinky flavor. We’ve never thought it was anything to be ashamed of. It’s just been fun, and a release, and has allowed us to get something out of playing roles we’re careful to avoid in our day-to-day marriage of equals.
The 50 Shades stuff is about giving up control and power, and allowing ourselves to let someone else be in charge… or taking charge of another person and fulfilling our own somewhat primal appetites. In this world of increasing (if not perfect) gender equality, playing unequal roles temporarily allows us to feed parts of our primitive brains that still want to take another person, or be taken and desired. Then we return to our normal power structures of equality and respect, de-stressed, happy and itches scratched.
So consider spicing things up. One of the purposes of this site is to share things to help you improve your relationship by connecting in the bedroom. If that sounds interesting, please check out our second series of posts on Bedroom Secrets: Spicing Things Up. Spice up sex life.
But for now, check out our next post in this Relationships series.
Read the next post in the Keeping the Spark Alive Series: Why are we fighting?
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