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Non-penetrative sex
Non-penetrative sex or outercourse is a sexual activity, which does not include sexual penetration; the penetration of vaginal, anal, or oral orifices, or sexual intercourse (coitus). The physical intimacy includes activities such as kissing, cuddling, foreplay, masturbation, mutual masturbation, dry humping, heavy petting and frottage. Acts of non-penetrative sex can be considered exclusively non-penetrative or non-exclusively non-penetrative.

Non-penetrative sex may include genital-to-genital contact, or contact with various other parts of the body. Non-penetrative sex can be achieved with individuals keeping clothing on, or taking it off, as long as there is no form of penetration. It can be used as an option to preserve virginity or prevent pregnancy, and is often considered a form of safer sex as there is less of a likelihood of bodily fluids being exchanged among partners. Gender differences and sexual variations may be seen in acts of non-penetrative sex.

Sociocultural Factors
Sociosexuality is measured by the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI). Low scores indicate individuals to be sociosexually restricted, whereas high scores indicate an individual to be unrestricted and demonstrate a more promiscuous mating strategy. Across Cultures, men tend to show higher levels of sociosexuality than women. Sociosexual sex differences can be tested from different theoretical evolutionary perspectives such as sex ration theory, social structural theory and strategic pluralism theory, though currently multiple perspectives are needed to explain the variance. Sociocultural differences may effect the likelihood of an individual to engage in acts of non-penetrative sex. Acts of non-penetrative sex may be more accepted, depending on different cultural norms, as culture holds a great impact on peoples’ sexual attitudes, feelings, and behaviours; for example, in some cultures marriage is the only justification for sex. In respect to certain religious views such as Christianity, in which premarital sex is not accepted, there is apprehension on advocating for safe sex, which includes acts of non-penetrative sex, as this may appear to condone sex taking place outside of marriage. Although, premarital sex has become quite a normative behavior in places such as the United States, and non-penetrative sex may even be viewed as preserving virginity. According to Petersen & Hyde (2010) nations exhibiting greater gender equality were seen to have smaller gender differences in the prevalence of various sexual behaviors such as intercourse, oral sex, anal sex, and masturbation.

Recently in places such as Canada and the U.S. such things as grinding, a dance involving the act of rubbing up against another person, and rotating hips in an erotic manner has been seen in places such clubs, high schools, and even middle schools. Some online parent blogs have even referred this this form of dancing as “sex on the dance floor”. Grinding can lead to sexual arousal and may be classified as a form of frottage. Such a sexually evocative dance may not be seen in more conservative countries, with more constricted views on sexuality.

In more developed countries, a shift has been seen towards later marriage, and thus an increase in premarital sex. Also, in developed countries there has been an increase in prevalence of safe-sex, which may also promote more non-penetrative sexual activities. Recent discussion has come up in places such as the U.K. on emphasizing pleasure and sex-positive components of sex and relationships education (SRE). This would acknowledge the wider repertoire of sexual practices of non-penetrative sex, which are safe alternatives to vaginal penetration, such as stroking, solo, and mutual masturbation. By excluding such non-penetrative practices in educating adolescents, it may be implied that these acts are abnormal for those who do not engage in vaginal penetration; for example those who have engaged only in heavy petting and mutual masturbation. Furthermore, as sexual pleasure is not acknowledged in most countries and the reproductive and heterosexual view of sexual activity is mainly emphasized, such education would provide alternatives to solely heteronormative sexual activities. This would also provide recognition for intersex individuals who may not be able to engage in penile-vaginal intercourse. In regards to adolescent sexuality, society tends to put an emphasis on identifying what is “normal” in sexual development and subsequently the subjective sexual feelings and experience, as well as quality of sexual relations is often overlooked.

Sex/Gender Differences
Cultural norms have been theorized to affect women’s attitudes and behaviours more so than those of men. The term erotic plasticity is the degree to which one’s sex drive can be changed by cultural, societal, and situational factors. The female erotic plasticity hypothesis predicts women to have a higher erotic plasticity than men, and subsequently their sex drives showing more response to social factors. During the 20th century a change in the expression of sexuality has been seen in women, by a younger age at first sexual experience, an increase in premarital sexual intercourse, and an increase in sex as a source of pleasure. According to Baumeister (2000) there has been a lessening of the socio-cultural suppression of women’s sexuality. Non-penetrative sex may be an outlet for women to increasingly explore their sexuality.

There has been speculation on if there is a difference between vaginal and clitoral orgasms. Clitoral stimulation through methods of non-penetrative sex, such as oral sex (cunnilingus), masturbation (solo or mutual), and frottage or rubbing may provide an effective way to reach orgasm, which some women either prefer to penetrative sex, or cannot achieve through penetrative sex. Some women may be concerned about retaining form penile-vaginal intercourse by forms of non-penetrative sex, often thinking that it not sufficient in pleasing their partners. On the contrary, non-penetrative sex has the potential of being equally arousing and satisfying as penetrative sex. The evolutionary function of the female orgasm has been questioned, given that not all women achieve orgasm during penile-vaginal intercourse and that additional stimulation, generally in the form of clitoral stimulation is usually required. It has been found that in intercourse without assisted stimulation of the clitoris, only approximately a quarter of women orgasm frequently. Comparatively, women can reach orgasm approximately 81% of the time during oral sex. Furthermore, breast stimulation in females has also been found to cause orgasms. Thus, non-penetrative sex can be beneficial for sexual satisfaction in women.

A difference has also been seen in how men and women categorize sex. According to Sanders & Reinisch (1999), men more consistently rated non-penetrative activities such as cunnilingus and manual stimulation of a partner’s genitals as sex than women. The desire to count these activities as having sex could enable men to think that they have a higher number of sex partners, whereas females are more likely to underreport their sexual experiences to conform to the cultural gender norm of a more virtuous female. This may apply to a meta-analysis of gender differences in sexual behavior performed by Oliver and Hyde (1993), which found that masturbation showed the largest difference in all of the examined variables, in that women were not only less likely to masturbate than men, but also did so less frequently.

Same-Sex Sexual Relations
Same-sex sexual activities often involve forms of non-penetrative sex or outercourse. On the contrary to common beliefs, not all same-sex oriented men partake in anal sex. Two common forms of non-penetrative sex for same-sex oriented men are frottage and intercrural sex. For same-sex oriented women, manual clitoral stimulation, oral sex, and frottage are all forms of non-penetrative sex. The acts of fingering or fisting in women are forms of penetrative-sex.

Non-penetrative Sex in Varying Age Groups
Non-penetrative sex may be a good alternative for adolescents, in contrast to penetrative sex, as is can be sexually satisfying, it may provide for the ability to learn more about their own as well as their partners bodies, and also alleviate some of the pressures that come from engaging in sexual intercourse such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. For older adults non-penetrative sex can be explored as an alternative to sexual intercourse, and they can branch out form their usual sexual routines. Furthermore, as men age they may benefit from non-penetrative sex through direct stimulation, as erections usually take longer to occur. Erections may also not be as firm, may be lost more easily, and after sex it may take longer for men to be able to have sex again, in which case providing non-penetrative stimulation to their partners would be beneficial. Therefore it is important to realize that sex can be more than just intercourse.

Messages in the Media
The media tends to portray messages that women do not have the same type of sexual desire as that of men. Sexual behavior seen in the media may be particularly effective on young people and be associated with their sexuality, as they may use it as an example for such things as relationships and sex. Non-penetrative sex may often be overlooked as a fulfilling sexual activity in the media. The main method for safe sex practice that has been portrayed in the media is condom use, which may imply that penile-vaginal penetration is the only form of real sex, that non-penetrative forms of sex are mainly considered as ‘foreplay’, and that focus is mainly on male pleasure. This relates to current sexual education practices and public health system, which overlook homosexual, bisexual, and transgender youth. According to cognitive social learning theory, the gender differences seen in sexuality will decrease as the sexual expression witnessed in the media becomes more tolerant for both men and women.

Sexual Variations
Non-penetrative sex can be associated with certain sexual variations, also known as paraphilias. These are much more commonly seen in men, and include such forms as fetishism, exhibitionism, voyeurism and frotteurism.