AGGRESSIVENESS IN SEX

The aggressive drive is a response to the disturbance caused by different basic needs, there is a close relationship between the circuits of aggression and those of reproduction in the limbic brain, due to this concordance we might think that this would explain why some people experience pleasure with violence or have aggressive sexual behaviors.

Recent research shows that when the mechanism of reproduction is activated in the brain, you can´t trigger at the same time the aggressiveness, for this reason we can´t give a purely genetic interpretation of the existence of aggressive behavior in sex.

Experiences and education contribute to the structuring of emotions, in puritanical societies that stimulate constant seduction but deny satisfaction, generate sexual discharges that are much more aggressive and perverse. Also masochistic pornography where violence and sexual arousal come together can help a conditioned association between sexual arousal and violent responses.

We see that sexual aggressiveness is related to intrapsychic conflicts where the drive can’t be neutralized or channeled by more affectionate sexual expressions. Sex is part of our life from the moment we are born and in a first stage our libido is expressed through autoerotism evolving as we grow, we are sexed beings and our mental health will depend on how we have integrated our drives with our affections, only then we can express ourselves in a complete way.