Reflections on Cross-Cultural Sexology

Here’s what you can learn from the 2019 WAS Congress.

It can be easy, even tempting, to think of human sexuality as a level playing field, where everyone can be regarded as equal because all humans have sex (or do they?).

Of course, as savvy professionals, we are aware of the discrimination people face due to minority status around sexual orientation or gender identity and roles — but those are social issues, right? Culture affects how we participate in sex and relate to sexuality. It informs our decisions around when/where/how/with whom we have sex, what we expect of ourselves and partner(s), and how we teach our children.

Culture and sexuality are closely intertwined.

As sex coaches, it is important to peel back a layer and examine not only how culture impacts our clients’ sexuality and related concerns, but also how culture affects our perception of our clients and our general understanding of sexuality. How has culture influenced the studies that informed our learning, the papers we read, the conferences we attend as part of our ongoing professional development? Who has been studied? Who has been fetishized or marginalized?

The WAS Congress recently held in Mexico City (October 2019) offered a unique opportunity to dig a little deeper and learn a bit more. WAS is the World Association of Sexual Health, which hosts a bi-annual congress around the world and has a mission to promote sexual health and sexual rights. This year’s congress showcased the signing of the Declaration of Sexual Pleasure, a groundbreaking statement for the inclusion of pleasure as a focal point among humans’ sexual rights.

A superabundance of 900+ presentations from sexologists, representing a global and truly cross-cultural perspective, made this one of the most significant WAS congresses in its 40+ year history.

An array of topics, all of which described cross-cultural challenges, differing values, and salient issues from unique points of view, were on offer: sex trafficking, HIV/AIDS treatments, correlations between coronary heart disease and ED, intersexuality, comprehensive sexuality education, medical options, clinical methodologies (including an Invited Symposium on Sex Coaching sponsored by Sex Coach U!), and of course historical, contemporary and timely research across the wide spectrum of human sexuality.

A few stood out: Presentations by Tracie Gilbert and Sex Coach U’s own Dr. Valerie Poppel addressed anti-Blackness in sexology and archetypes of Black female sexuality. Gary Dowsett examined how Gay Culture influenced the response of medical and governmental agencies to the HIV epidemic. James Pfaus shared insights about human sexuality from Indigenous Cultures, demonstrating that some “new” ideas aren’t new at all.

These are only a handful of the talks which specifically addressed culture in relationship to sexology. In fact, you could say that every single presentation was influenced by and discussed, perhaps not explicitly, the culture of the speaker or their studied demographic.

Further, as was called out by more than one presentation, the scientific study of human sexuality has been predominantly conducted by Caucasian heterosexual men. This has influenced not only the content of our knowledge but the culture of the profession. It has left certain groups marginalized, fetishized, or objectified in the pursuit of medical or scientific knowledge.

“Ok, that’s nice. But what does this mean for me as a coach?”

Understand that culture goes deeper than the misunderstandings an international couple might experience in their relationship; for example, language barrier or translation issues, or disputes on what traditions to pass on to children. As sex coaches using the MEBES© model, we are conscious of the impact of upbringing and social norms on a person’s sexuality and we help clients examine these to unpack and resolve concerns.

But, how often do we consider how culture affects our ability to do this? We examine our values and beliefs, which are an important part of being able to provide a clear container, but we can think about broader concepts, as well. Culture is subtle. It informs what and how we think about every aspect of our lives, but most of us are like a fish in water: culture is seemingly inseparable from our perception of the world. Nonetheless, learning to distinguish our own culturally-informed ideas and prejudices is necessary if we plan to ask our clients to do the same.

Additionally, we need to be aware of the voices we are tuning into as we continue to study and learn about human sexuality. Are we only listening to people who look like us, have sex like us, and are from the same geographic region? It can be surprisingly easy to live inside a little bubble or echo chamber and forget that not everyone is celebrating sex positivity or body diversity the way we do. It is even easier to be completely unaware that these seemingly inclusive movements leave a lot of people behind.

“Yikes, what can I do?”

It is up to each of us to intentionally seek different voices and listen to them, allowing them to challenge our long-held views and ideas. When we do research, who are we including in our study? Who wrote the articles and books we are reading? We need to be curious and willing to learn and grow. The exciting news is that in such a young field with all the diversity of humanity to embrace, there is always something to learn as developing professionals and caring humans.

At conferences such as WAS, there is abundant opportunity to broaden our horizons. Sex education in Indonesia or gender roles in Brazil might not sound relevant to your coaching practice, but wouldn’t it be interesting to hear the perspective of these communities? You could discover similarities to your community. You may be inspired to bring some of their ideas into your own practice. You might even glean an insight that helps you understand your clients better because now you can consider their concerns through a wider lens and with greater compassion.

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