Sex Techniques

Traditionally, intercourse has been viewed as the natural endpoint of all sexual contact between a man and a woman, and is commonly confined to this definition today. The meaning of the term, however, has been broadened in recent years, and now labels at least three different sex acts. These three types of intercourse are: vaginal intercourse, involving vaginal penetration by the penis; oral intercourse, involving oral caress of the sex organs (male or female); and anal intercourse, involving insertion of the male's penis into his partner's anus.

Sex acts that involve the use of fingers or hands or mutual masturbation are more often referred to as outercourse (with oral sex at times listed as an aspect), while the term sex, in the context of sexual intimacy, is often understood more widely to include any mutual genital stimulation.