When you’re getting jiggy with it (that’s 90s for having sex), an issue for a lot of people happens to be the noises. I’m not talking about all the squelching or the occasional queef either, but about moans and screams and the like – the vocalisation of sex. It seems to piss a lot of people off, thin walls and all, and a lot of people are also pretty reserved about the subject and the act itself.
According to Swedish Health Minister Gabriel Wikstrom though, loud sex is good for one’s well being and for public health, a claim backed by psychotherapists and sexual advisors alike.
In fact, when a Swedish citizen recently tweeted a complaint about his neighbors going at it like banshees, Wikstrom responded with a simple, “Sounds nice for them, I think. Good for their well-being and thus public health as well.”
That might sound like an offhand remark, but it actually has a logical basis. According to Ian Kerner, a licensed psychotherapist and sexuality counselor, “Couples who are able to communicate around sex are healthier and happier,” Kerner told Broadly. “Copulatory vocalization—making noise during sex—is an essential way of communicating with your partner, letting them know what feels good and what doesn’t necessarily feel good.”
According to Ian, we live in a very sex-negative society, and a reluctance to vocalise usually points to a person being sexually repressed.
Obviously this isn’t a hard and fast rule, and a lot of people enjoy perfectly satisfactory sexual experiences without uttering a peep, but in terms of society as a whole, it definitely has some important implications. “Sex is a healthy part of life, and part of the sounds of life,” Kerner said. “We hear our neighbors walking above us, we hear our neighbors arguing and shouting. We hear our neighbors’ kids screaming and crying. Hearing our neighbors fuck and make love is just another one of the sounds that we need to tolerate in our urban squall.”
All in all, what they’re trying to say is that loud sex can be a marker for better public well-being, and honestly, as long as the sounds aren’t damaging your ears or the ears of those around you, go full steam ahead!