There is a moment in the history of mankind when heat ceased to be an erotic, sensual, desirable and expected element, and became a bothersome factor, an inconvenience, a discomfort that must be alleviated with increasingly sophisticated cooling systems, which in some cases emulate polar ecosystems. Try going to the cinema without a jacket in the summer months and suffer the consequences the next day. The cinema has left us numerous examples of when high temperatures also warmed bodies and, surely, Fire in the body (1981), is the best of them. The film takes place in the middle of a heat wave in Florida, with racy scenes (to which we were accustomed to in the cinema of that time), such as some threesomes starring Kathleen Turner, William Hurt and the stifling heat of tropical nights.
Until recently, summer was seen as the best time for sex. Time for holidays, time for oneself; more visible and attractive bodies due to tanning and outdoor life, favourable circumstances in themselves. “Light, and in summer we have more hours of light, stimulates the production of serotonin and, at the same time, all summer activities: outdoor sports, swimming in the sea, walking barefoot in the sand, feeling the breeze on our skin. All this puts us in contact with our body and makes daily life a little more sensual,” says Francisca Molero, gynaecologist, sexologist, director of the Ibero-American Institute of Sexology and president of the Spanish Federation of Sexology Societies. “Even a little bit of excessive heat can cause us to not be as mentally agile as usual. In other words, the mind is not the one that governs or always has the controls, which can be something positive when it comes to focusing a little more on the body and sensations,” she points out.
The myth of Latins or southerners, much more sensual and sexually adept than the inhabitants of the north and cold countries, also emphasizes this relationship between heat and sexuality; but, for some time now, many people no longer identify with the lyrics of one of Raffaella Carrà’s hits, To make love well you have to come to the south. Many people prefer the transitional season, spring or autumn. Some even prefer winter, with good heating, because there is a widespread belief that the cold is better fought against than the heat.
Antonia, a 43-year-old from Madrid, admits that in summer she and her husband sleep in separate rooms. “After nights of fighting over the temperature (he wanted to sleep with the air conditioning and I can’t because I wake up with a sore throat), we made this Solomonic decision. So, in our case, you can’t say that summer is our most sexual time,” she says. Like many men, Antonia’s partner doesn’t tolerate heat. “Not only the actual heat, but the mere forecast that a heat wave is coming already starts to make him nervous,” she points out. “I understand that if there are very high temperatures you have to turn on the air conditioning. But with this, like with everything, it’s addictive and you end up turning it on out of habit, whether it’s necessary or not, and developing a phobia of heat, even normal and tolerable heat.”
Trying to understand why men are more irritated by high temperatures, Rodrigo Sánchez Baquero, urologist, andrologist, member of the Spanish Society of Urology and doctor at the Puerta del Mar University Hospital in Cádiz, He points out that “temperature affects the two functions of the testicles: the production of sperm and testosterone. That is why these organs are outside the abdominal cavity and suspended inside the scrotum, because their temperature must be a few degrees lower than that of the abdominal cavity for their correct functioning.” He adds: “Testosterone is crucial for a sexual relationship, since it affects desire, imagination, erection, ejaculation and orgasm. That is, all phases of the sexual response. And, on the other hand, temperature also alters reproductive function. A study is being carried out that consists of covering the testicles with a kind of hypothermic socks and seeing if there is a contraceptive effect in this increase in temperature. Everything indicates that it is very likely, although there are no decisive conclusions yet. Finally, these alterations in the functions of the testicles, due to the increase in temperature, seem to affect overweight men more,” concludes this urologist.
Excessively high temperatures or heat waves not only disturb the male gender, but all living beings, which go into energy reserve mode. “When the heat exceeds certain limits, it is difficult for us to move and we see the slightest physical activity as an unattainable challenge,” says Molero. “It is normal, then, that sexual activity is not the most exciting, especially if you are of a certain age or if you are in a long-term relationship. Although there are always ways to create a cooler environment for sex (cold shower, cooling the room with air conditioning, etc.); as long as you have a minimum of means.”
Sweat is nothing compared to holiday stress
And with the heat comes perspiration. Biologically, sweat is something very erotic, since it is where pheromones are concentrated, volatile particles that have the mission of triggering sexual attraction. However, advertising has convinced us that body odor (natural, without perfumes) is public enemy number one, which must be defeated.
“Sexuality has always been influenced by hygiene,” says Gloria Arancibia Clavel, a psychologist and sexologist with a practice in Madrid. “Let’s not forget that sex is attacked by saying that it is something dirty, impure. Curiously, today, even people who no longer believe in this philosophy accuse themselves of hyper-hygiene. They need to shower before and/or after a relationship and use deodorants for intimate areas. What a shame! Because the smell and sweat can be very erotic.”
The heat can also be the perfect excuse to avoid unwanted intimacy in long-term couples, who see holidays and free time as a trap that must not be fallen into. Let us not forget that well-deserved days of rest can be very stressful for certain people, embarked on relationships that are in danger of collapse. “Many people turn to a psychologist or sexologist to give them some guidelines to better cope with holidays in company, whether it is family, in-laws or a partner,” Arancibia admits. “The problem is not the holidays, but the relationships that are failing. And this fact will become more evident with extreme cohabitation and the absence of other matters to distract the mind. That is why the months of September and October are the busiest for couples therapists, because the problems have become evident during the summer, and they must be solved or the breakup must be opted for,” says this psychologist.
“Sometimes people put up with each other because they don’t see each other very often,” says Molero, “and sometimes we have a hard time understanding that each stage of life has its own goals, and that sometimes they coincide and other times they don’t. We should also not forget that the years make us more inflexible, less willing to adopt changes or tolerate things that make us uncomfortable.”
The protective sky (1990), Wild games (1998), And your mom too (2001) or A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). The cinema has given us numerous examples of how if there is desire and running water, heat should not be an impediment to sex. So let’s not blame it.
#summer #time #sex
