The sexual vocabularies of heterosexual and homosexual males and females for communicating erotically with a sexual partner.

This study explored what terminology constitutes an erotic or arousing language for male and female, heterosexual and homosexual, and the extent to which that language is used with a sexual partner. Five sexual references were included: male genitalia, female genitalia, lovemaking/coitus, oral-genital contact, and hand-genital contact. Respondents consisted of 120 urban midwestern university students, 30 in each gender and sexual orientation category. Sexual orientation was as powerful a predictor as gender for language that was considered erotic. Lesbians and gay males more often than heterosexual females and males used erotic or arousing vocabulary with a spouse or lover. Gay males more often used slang with a spouse or lover than did heterosexual males and heterosexual females. Implications for sexual arousal based upon communication are discussed.