Women’s changing libido has been treated as biological fact — the product of evolution or hormonal destiny. But differences in sexual experience early on can have a real and lasting impact.
Articles on Pleasure
Displaying 1 - 20 of 28 articles
A philosopher argues that true leisure is when we can reflect on our real priorities, cultivate friendships and decide what kind of life we want to live.
The songs we love are very personal, whether they’re meaningful, pleasure-inducing or bangers. How do you choose what you should listen to?
What makes a relationship last when feelings fade or circumstances change? Can you force yourself to love someone you hate or don’t care about?
From dopamine hacking to dopamine detoxes, some people have sought to harness this brain chemical to improve their mood and productivity. But it’s far more complicated than that.
For Buffett, escapism was not merely some fiddling flight of fancy. It acknowledged the brutalities and indignities of everyday life.
Women have fewer orgasms than men. But this gap is cultural, not biological. Closing it is possible, both on a societal and personal level.
New research on our desire to create shared memories with the people we care about offers insights for companies that want to improve their customer service.
The Menu’s real horror comes from the ways food, eating, and cooking lose their carnal pleasures under capitalism.
Nona Willis Aronowitz, daughter of a second-wave feminist, ranges across the contemporary sexual landscape – and looks back at the history of feminism – in a ‘zig zag pursuit of sexual liberation’.
A scholar of digital religion and Buddhism argues that not all Western Buddhism practice is inauthentic. Here’s a way to know what’s real.
Pleasure-based sex education allows young people to safely explore and develop critical thinking around sex and relationships.
A scholar of early Greek classics explains what the myth of the weapon-carrying god of love, Cupid, a child of the gods of love and war, conveys about the pleasures and dangers of desire.
The audio version of an in-depth article on why experts are worried about AIs becoming addicts.
When people think about how AI might ‘go wrong’, most probably picture malevolent computers trying to cause harm. But what if we should be more worried about them seeking pleasure?
Touch is the first sense to develop in the womb.
Go on! Read a good book, tickle your kids, pick a flower from your garden. We need to savour these tiny moments of pleasure to ease the stress we all face.
New research suggests the clitoris is equally as important for reproduction as it is for sexual pleasure. But the evidence behind that claim is up for debate.
It was not until the late 1990s that the anatomy of the human clitoris was accurately described by Australia’s first female urologist. And now research in animals is starting to catch up.
Understanding the pleasure drugs give people would help to prevent the harms.
Top contributors
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James Martin Research Fellow, Future of Humanity Institute & Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
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Visiting Researcher, University of Oxford
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Associate Professor, Psychology, Southern Cross University
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Professor and Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra
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Principal Research Fellow, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University
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Lecturer in Spanish, University of York
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Professor, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy, University of Kent
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PhD Candidate, Royal Holloway, University of London
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Teaching Fellow in Anthropology, Durham University
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Honorary Fellow, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
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Reader in Behavioural Neuroscience, Liverpool John Moores University
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Head and Professor, Religious Studies Department, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
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Professor of Philosophy, Dominican University
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UQ Amplify Researcher, The University of Queensland