ABSTRACT
A simplistic defi nition of ‘sexual behaviour’ could refer to all actions and responses that make fertilisation possible. In order to effect a fertilisation a male and female have to perform a specifi c series of actions and physiological responses. However, a more pragmatic defi nition refers to any behaviour that involves a ‘sexual response’ of the body. In this way the physical actions associated with sexual behaviour do not have to result in fertilisation. The defi nition covers all types of human sexual activity (sexual self-stimulation, heterosexual and homosexual intercourse, and sexual contact with animals), but it does not imply any hierarchical order among them. Moreover, it leaves each of these activities open to interpretation. In short, the above defi nition does not equate sex with reproduc-
tion or any other particular purpose. It merely calls attention to a certain physical response common to a variety of activities.
