threesome

The people in a threesome may be of any gender and sexual orientation. Each participant may engage in any type of sex act with one or both of the others, such as vaginal, anal, oral, or manual sex. One or more of the participants may engage in autoerotic sexual activity, such as masturbation, possibly without physical contact with the other participants. It is a matter of subjective definition whether participation of a third person without physical contact constitutes a threesome and this sort of sexual activity might instead be interpreted as voyeurism or cuckolding or cuckqueaning. Troilism is a term that encompasses both threesomes and cuckoldry, although its usage across literature is inconsistent.{{Cite book|last=Ley|first=David J.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/373474387|title=Insatiable wives : women who stray and the men who love them|date=2009|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-0030-2|location=Lanham, Md.|oclc=373474387}}

Threesomes are sometimes described using shorthand to refer to who was involved in the threesome e.g. MMF (male, male, female); FFM (female, female, male); MMM (male, male, male); FFF (female, female, female).

Sandwich is slang for a person performing both receptive and insertive anal and/or vaginal sex simultaneously during a threesome, being positioned between the two partners.

The first major academic work to address threesomes specifically was published in 1988, called: Threesomes: Studies in Sex, Power, and Intimacy{{Cite book|last=Karlen|first=Arno |title=Threesomes : studies in sex, power, and intimacy|date=1988|publisher=Beech Tree Books |isbn=0-688-06536-8|location=New York|oclc=17104896}} by Arno Karlen. In the work, drawing mainly from interview data, Karlen outlined how threesomes were often viewed as qualitatively different to other forms of group sex. Other notable findings include that threesomes were often viewed by women as a safe way to explore their sexuality; they often consisted of a couple joined by a third person; and that the third person was not necessarily viewed or treated equally. Karlen also suggested that the societal view of threesomes cast those who engaged in them as radically different to other members of society:

There is a common tendency to think of people who have been in threesomes as alien beings. Like swingers, homosexuals and others who deviate from basic sexual norms, they seem to many to have entered another social, psychological, and moral sphere.

A threesome may involve various sex positions, for example:

File:Kylix - ceramic - 1.jpg|Three young men in an unusual position

File:A man enjoying an erotic dalliance with two boys, seated on Wellcome V0047309.jpg|A man and two male youths (Chinese)

File:Miyagawa Chosun - Nanshoku 05.jpg|A man and two male youths (Japanese)

File:KamaSutra37.jpg|Threesome involving double penetration

File:KamaSutra43.jpg|Threesome involving two women and a man

File:Wiki-gangbang.png|Seedfeeder's illustration of a threesome involving two men and a woman

File:Wiki-FMF-threesome.png|Seedfeeder's illustration of a threesome involving two women and a man

File:Édouard-Henri Avril (29).jpg|Threesome involving two men and a woman, Édouard-Henri Avril

Threesome scenes are featured in various films and TV series, including Summer Lovers (1982), Threesome (1994), Wild Things (1998), American Psycho (2000),{{cite video |title=American Psycho threesome scene|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWNHfw9W5aQ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822033959/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWNHfw9W5aQ| archive-date=2013-08-22 | url-status=dead|access-date=2015-10-24}} Zoolander (2001), Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Ken Park (2002), The Dreamers (2003), Kiss Me Again (2006), Shortbus (2006), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Shame (2011), 21 Jump Street (2012), On the Road (2012), Savages (2012), Spring Breakers (2012), Knock Knock (2015), Love (2015).{{cite web |last1=Hoarde |first1=Peter |title=The 10 Most Memorable Threesome Scenes in Movies |url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/12/the-10-most-memorable-threesome-scenes-in-movies/ |website=Complex.com |access-date=29 September 2018}}

• Adultery
• Bigamy
• Bisexuality
• Compersion
• Foursome
• Open marriage
• Orgy
• Polygamy

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• {{cite web |last1=Benoit |first1=Sophia |title=How to Have a Successful Threesome, According to People Who Have a Lot of Them |url=https://www.gq.com/story/it-takes-three-to-make-a-thing-go-right |website=GQ |access-date=2023-04-25 |date=2019-07-24}}
• {{cite news |last1=Druckerman |first1=Pamela |author1-link=Pamela Druckerman |title='It was hard to keep track of who was at which stage': what I learned from a threesome |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/23/what-i-learned-from-a-threesome-pamela-druckerman |access-date=2023-04-25 |work=The Guardian |date=2023-04-23}}
• {{cite web |last1=Hsieh |first1=Carina |title=What It's Really Like to Have a Threesome |url=https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/news/a50969/what-its-really-like-to-have-a-threesome/ |website=Cosmopolitan |access-date=2023-04-25 |date=2020-10-08}}
• {{cite news |last1=Hunt |first1=Elle |title=The psychology of the threesome: everyone wants one, but who's truly ready for it? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/feb/11/threesomes-men-women-sex-psychology |access-date=2023-04-25 |work=The Guardian |date=2020-02-11}}

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{{Wiktionary}}

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{{Human sexuality and sexology}}

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{{Sex positions}}

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Category:3 (number)

Category:Group sex

Category:Sex positions

Category:Pornography terminology

Category:Trios