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sex positivity

American  
[seks poz-i-tiv-i-tee] / ˈsɛks ˌpɒz ɪˈtɪv ɪ ti /

noun

  1. a philosophy that is accepting of traditional and nontraditional sexual activity, avoids repression and shame, and advocates all consensual exploration of human sexuality.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of sex positivity

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Historian Leslie Tuttle has described a “pronatalism” dominating political and cultural ideology in early modern France, which brought with it a powerful emphasis on marriage, the family, and sex positivity.

From Slate • Jul. 21, 2025

Yet Nelson bounds across knotty subjects like #MeToo, sex positivity, addiction, queer theory, anxiety and carceral feminism without tiring of the painstaking work of untangling controversies.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2021

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.