What's your libido type?

What's your libido type?

Find your sexual combination—and your partner's as well—by looking at your libido

By Bonnie Schiedel

Sandra Pertot, an Australian sex therapist and clinical psychologist, and author of When Your Sex Drives Don’t Match, developed the concept of 10 libido types. Do you see yourself in one—or more—of them?

Sensual

Snapshot: You find emotional intimacy more important during sex than physical performance.
What’s behind it: Sex connects you emotionally with your partner. It is the physical expression of your relationship.
Advice: If your partner turns you down, you may feel rejected. Ask your partner to say no more gently.

Dependent

Snapshot: You need sex to feel loved and reassured, or to deal with stress.
What’s behind it: You learned in adolescence to use sex and masturbation to deal with boredom or frustration.
Advice: Look for positive, non-sexual ways to cope with negative feelings.

Stressed

Snapshot: You feel desire, but avoid sex because you’re worried you can’t please your partner.
What’s behind it: Your self-doubt may stem from a difficult time, such as illness, when sex was not a priority.
Advice: Talk to your partner (and maybe a counsellor) about expectations when it comes to sex.

Detached

Snapshot: You’re not worried about whether you have sex; it’s easier to satisfy sexual needs with masturbation.
What’s behind it: You’re distracted by other demands in your life such as work.
Advice: Discuss ways to deal with life pressures, and build intimacy through non-sexual “couple time.”

Erotic

• What do your sexual fantasies say about you?
• Sexually mismatched?

Snapshot: You feel an emotional closeness only with someone who is sexually passionate.
What’s behind it: To you, sex is the most important part of a relationship, and you need to feel hotly desired.
Advice: Have fun, but also pay attention to your partner’s needs (which may include plain old vanilla sex).

Addictive

Snapshot: Your find it difficult to resist sex with other partners despite being in a relationship.
What’s behind it: You are likely using sex to bolster low self-esteem or to enhance high self-esteem.
Advice: Counselling is a must.

Reactive

Snapshot: You get satisfaction only from pleasing your partner.
What’s behind it: You’re comfortable with your sex drive but pleasure comes mainly from giving pleasure to others.
Advice: To ensure you too get sexual satisfaction, tell (or show) your partner what you want.

Entitled

Snapshot: You feel you should get the sex life you want because you’re in a committed relationship.
What’s behind it: You may be placing too much emphasis on the hot sex you think everyone else is having.
Advice: A reality check may help: Very few couples have sex every day!

Compulsive

Snapshot: You find it difficult to become aroused or enjoy sex unless it involves a special situation or object.
What’s behind it: Researchers aren’t sure why fetishes—from mild to extreme—develop, but they generally form early.
Advice: Talk to a counsellor if your fetish is negatively affecting your, or your partner’s, sex life.

Disinterested

Snapshot: It wouldn’t bother you if you never had sex again.
What’s behind it: You may have progressed from “stressed” libido, or you may have a naturally low interest in sex.
Advice: To boost your desire, focus on one good reason to have sex, rather than all the reasons not to.

Many people have a mixed libido type. (The “erotic/sensual” combo is the most common, Pertot says.) Look at your and your partner’s libido types not as a fixed label, but a starting point. “Once you accept your sexuality more confidently, you can focus on what’s right for you both rather than on what’s missing.”