[M]Various jurisdictions place restrictions on[/M] certain sexual acts, such as incest, sexual activity with minors, prostitution, rape, zoophilia, sodomy, premarital and [M]extramarital sex.[/M]
Intercourse (also copulation, Latin coitus) is a sexual activity in which two or more people have sexual intercourse. This usually happens with direct contact between the genitals, for example by the penis penetrating the vagina, but anal sex and oral sex are also variants of intercourse. Intercourse is divided by, among others, Masters and Johnson into four phases: the arousal phase, the plateau phase, the orgasm phase and the relaxation phase. Intercourse can be performed for various reasons, such as wanting to achieve sexual pleasure or wanting to have children. To avoid pregnancy during heterosexual intercourse, contraceptives can be used. Using a condom during intercourse also protects against sexually transmitted diseases.
The equivalent for animals is called mating, while stimulation of one's own genitals is called masturbation. Depictions of intercourse in art are sorted into eroticism and pornography, two of the most popular genres, ever since the publication of the Kama Sutra sometime between the first century BC. and the 500s.
Problems with having intercourse include vestibulitis, impotence and mental trauma. People who have not had intercourse are counted as virgins.