3 Reasons Why Disgust Can
Become a Sexual Turn-On
Disgust usually reduces arousal, but for some, it's a kink.
KEY POINTS
The link between disgust and sexual arousal is complex. Disgust can
both increase and decrease arousal.
Some people may learn to associate disgust with sexual pleasure
through conditioning processes.
The sexual appeal of disgust sometimes resides in the fact that doing
disgusting things is taboo, and taboos can be a potent turn-on.
Disgusting activities are sometimes a way that people enact fantasies or
desires for BDSM and power exchange.
“I felt disgusted, but also very satisfied.”
I recently heard this line on an NPR podcast that had absolutely nothing to do
with sex; however, it got me thinking. Over the years, I’ve heard many people
say similar things about sex on surveys I've conducted. For example, some
folks have reported fantasizing about or performing a sex act that triggered
feelings of disgust while simultaneously turning them on.
To some, this might sound paradoxical. After all, disgust is an emotion that
usually leads us to avoid something. So why does disgust sometimes produce
the opposite effect in which we are attracted rather than repelled?
We’ve long known that there is a link between sexual arousal and disgust.
Specifically, sexual arousal can reduce disgust, but disgust can also reduce
sexual arousal.
For example, our disgust response tends to go down when we’re sexually
aroused (see here and here). In other words, things that we might normally
find to be gross become less so when we’re already turned on. This makes
sense from the standpoint that sex itself can be kind of messy when we’re
Become a Sexual Turn-On
Disgust usually reduces arousal, but for some, it's a kink.
KEY POINTS
The link between disgust and sexual arousal is complex. Disgust can
both increase and decrease arousal.
Some people may learn to associate disgust with sexual pleasure
through conditioning processes.
The sexual appeal of disgust sometimes resides in the fact that doing
disgusting things is taboo, and taboos can be a potent turn-on.
Disgusting activities are sometimes a way that people enact fantasies or
desires for BDSM and power exchange.
“I felt disgusted, but also very satisfied.”
I recently heard this line on an NPR podcast that had absolutely nothing to do
with sex; however, it got me thinking. Over the years, I’ve heard many people
say similar things about sex on surveys I've conducted. For example, some
folks have reported fantasizing about or performing a sex act that triggered
feelings of disgust while simultaneously turning them on.
To some, this might sound paradoxical. After all, disgust is an emotion that
usually leads us to avoid something. So why does disgust sometimes produce
the opposite effect in which we are attracted rather than repelled?
We’ve long known that there is a link between sexual arousal and disgust.
Specifically, sexual arousal can reduce disgust, but disgust can also reduce
sexual arousal.
For example, our disgust response tends to go down when we’re sexually
aroused (see here and here). In other words, things that we might normally
find to be gross become less so when we’re already turned on. This makes
sense from the standpoint that sex itself can be kind of messy when we’re
