Welcome back to the second semester of A Broad Sex Education 🎓

We’re kicking things off with a foundational lesson on libido, desire, and sexual attraction, three words we use interchangeably even though they mean very different things.

In this lesson, we’re breaking down:

1. What libido actually is and what it is not
2. Why desire does not always show up spontaneously
3. How bodies, stress, sleep, and mental health influence wanting sex
4. How social rules and double standards shape how desire gets judged

We look at desire through four lenses: language, psychology, health, and sociology to unpack why so many people feel confused, broken, or “behind” when it comes to wanting sex.

Spoiler: it is not your body. It is the stories we were taught.

By the end of this lesson, you will have clearer language, less shame, and a better understanding of how desire actually works, plus a quick pop quiz to tie it all together.

Class is back in session.

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Sources & Further Reading

1. Come As You Are — Emily Nagoski, PhD
2. Contemporary sexual response research (Basson model)
3. APA & Cleveland Clinic resources on stress, hormones, and libido
4. Dutton & Aron (1974) on misattribution of arousal
5. Sexual Script Theory (Gagnon & Simon)