ABSTRACT
Although pleasurable touch is a basic human need, one style of touch does not fit all. As in many parts of life, individuals vary significantly in what they desire. Individual taste is one factor driving the development of numerous bodywork modalities, providing clients with techniques that can
be received in many different environments, positions, and states of undress, and with varying levels of movement, pressure, and friction. Strong preferences around touch are perhaps even more pronounced in the sexual realm, where individuals often have not only a favorite set of activities, but particular requirements about the gender and physical appearance of the person who gives or receives the touch. Among progressives, this kind of diversity is usually something to be celebrated: the world’s kaleidoscope of languages, art forms, musical genres, religious practices, and ways of being in relationship are seen as beautifully demonstrating the nigh-infinite possibilities for human life. Yet, although acceptable “diversity” has recently come to include some formerly marginalized sexual practices and orien - tations, many unusual erotic preferences continue to be stigmatized. The embrace of erotic diversity in the United States still falls short of a truly pluralistic erotic ethics.
