What is Desire?

We throw around the phrase 'sexual desire' as if we're sure we're all talking about the same thing. But desire is complex, and there's a lot of variety in how people describe and experience it. Researchers in the sexuality field have spent a lot of time trying to understand and unravel the mysteries of desire.

According to sex researchers William H. Masters, Virginia E. Johnson and Helen Singer Kaplan, a sexual encounter begins with desire - a craving for sex that arises spontaneously and pushes a person to seek a partner. That encounter then leads to sexual arousal, followed by sexual excitement, climax and resolution.

It turns out that it frequently doesn't work that way. I'll talk about that tomorrow.