Before we look at what’s involved in sex-positive therapy, massage, and bodywork, we’ll first briefly discuss the phenomenon of sex-positivity, which will help to place the topic of this article in a wider perspective.
The Sex-Positive Movement
Sex-positivity is both a movement and an attitude or approach that promotes the recognition of sexuality in all of its expressions as natural and healthy. There are many topics involved in sex-positivity, such as the promotion of consensual sex practices, sex education, safe sex, body-positivity, the freedom of individual choice, gender identity and gender expression, but also freedom of the type of relationship one wants to engage in, reproductive rights, and encouragement of sexual pleasure.
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Hence, as a general rule, a sex-positive attitude embraces all “divergent and taboo” sexual activities, sexual orientations, and gender identities, such as LGBTQ+, masturbation, polyamory, BDSM, kink, and/or fetish, and so on, considering those as a matter of individual choice and preference, something that needs to be respected, cherished, and promoted as something “good” i.e. “positive.”
Although the term “sex-positive” or “sex-affirmative” came only into use in the 1990s, the roots of the idea behind it can be found in the life and work of the famous psychotherapist Wilhelm Reich who was strongly opposed to “sex-negativity.”
Reich claimed that sexual repression and suppression lie at the core of neuroses and a psychologically sick society, and that sexual energy (which he called libido and is his later work, Orgone) needs to be liberated from the stranglehold of societal morals to find its free flow and (pleasurable) expression. The latter — according to Reich — is necessary for a person to be happy, creative, trauma-free, and to be able to enjoy and live life to the fullest.
Wilhelm Reich advocated sexual liberation, a “sexual revolution,” a term indeed embraced by Reich in his book The Sexual Revolution (original title Die Sexualität im Kulturkampf, published in 1936). Reich also promoted access to abortion and contraceptives, sex-positive education for all ages, and social structures to support sexual exploration for all people. He was clearly far ahead of his time, and his ideas became only in full swing in the 1960s through the new emerging hippie counterculture movement of “free love.”
Sex-Positive Treatment Modalities
Sex-positive therapists incorporate a sex-positive stance and attitude in therapy, massage, and/or bodywork treatments, and approach their clients with an attitude of non-judgment, inclusivity, empathy, support, and open communication. It’s about creating an emotionally safe space for clients, might that be to explore their sexual identities and orientations through Talk Therapy (Psychoanalysis) or Somatic Sex Coaching and Counseling, to undergo therapeutic massage and bodywork, or to engage in emotional and trauma release through Somatic De-Armoring (i.e. Body De-Armoring) practices.
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Mind that it doesn’t mean that sex-positive therapy and bodywork is exclusively about sex and sexuality; it’s in fact just regular therapeutic work, but it specifically emphasizes the inclusivity of sex-positivism in its approach, potentially giving clients more space to completely be themselves and come to healing.
Nevertheless, sex-positive treatments are particularly sought after by those who are “different,” like members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and/or by those who experience trauma from sexual repression or suppression. Hence, you will find very specific sex-positive therapy, massage and bodywork modalities, aimed at working (physically) with sexual trauma, sexuality, sexual energy, different bodies, and the genitals in an sex-positive, inclusive way.
Meaning that it’s not only about a welcoming, sex-positive “attitude and approach,” but also about real, hands-on somatic work with people’s bodies. For instance, Tantric Massage aims at liberating the flow of sexual energy in the body and on sexual-emotional release through touch, massage, body awareness, and conscious breathwork, while also working directly with the genitals, such as is apparent in Tantric Lingam Massage and Yoni Massage.
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In the Taoist Sexual Practices (Fangzhongshu), you’ll find a range of bodywork modalities that promote the transformation and distribution of sexual energy in the body, incorporating direct hands-on techniques applied to the genital organs. Think of treatment modalities such as Ovarian Breathing, Taoist Breast Massage, Taoist Testicles Massage, Prostate Massage, the Female and Male Deer Exercises, and also more contemporary Neo-Taoist modalities such as Taoist Erotic Massage (TEM), Chi Nei Tsang and Karsei Nei Tsang.
A more recent and predominantly secular practice is that of Sexological Bodywork, a therapeutic realm developed by Joseph Kramer, that incorporates sex-positivity while working practically i.e. somatically with sexuality and the sexual organs. It boasts a range of specific techniques, including Body and Genital Mapping, Genital Scar Tissue Remediation, Somatic Sex Education, Erotic Massage, Masturbation Coaching, Pelvic Release Bodywork, and Breathwork, among other tools.
