Interactive Source: "Exploring 'The Charmed Circle' of Sexuality": Dr Rebecca Jones and Dr Diana Teggi explore the ins and outs of Gayle Rubin's 'Charmed Circle', with a focus on sexual activity in old age.

A few excerpts from the Open University Interactive Source (link on the right):

Gayle Rubin is an American anthropologist who researches sexuality and gender. In the early 1980s she described how societies tend to think about sexual activity in hierarchical ways, with some forms of sex seen as morally preferable to others.

---------

Different people draw their own personal charmed circle differently. What some people think is 'outer limits' other people think is good ordinary sex.

But whilst making judgements about 'good' and 'bad' types of sex is very common, it can be useful and interesting to reflect on your own views and experiences.

Sexual hierarchies change over history, often in relation to the introduction of new technologies, Viagra being a case in point. The charmed circle may look very different in a few generations time. As attitudes continue to shift, and new practices emerge, who knows what it might include in the future?