Is sex really a biological necessity?

For years we have heard that sex is a biological need. Like eating, sleeping, or breathing. But beware: it is a myth. No one has ever died from not having sex.

When the body needs something to survive, it makes it quite clear. If you need to eat, you are hungry. If you need to sleep, you are sleepy. If you need to breathe... well, the body isn't very subtle here. Physiological needs generate an alert because, if we don't meet them, our life is at stake. With sex, this doesn't happen, or at least the signal we receive is neither unpleasant nor does it kill us. You can go years without practicing it – or your whole life – and remain perfectly alive.

In fact, many people do not have sex, either by choice or by life circumstances, and this does not imply any health problem in itself. We are the result of sex, yes. But this does not make practicing it an individual biological obligation.

The problem with this myth is that it is often used to pressure. Especially in heterosexual contexts, where for a long time it has been justified that men "need" sex almost as if it were a medical emergency. This is where mythical phrases like "how can you leave me like this?" come from. Well, easy: by going home. No one will spontaneously combust from an accumulation of sexual desire.

This does not mean that sex cannot be important. It is for many people. But it is one thing to desire it and another to need it to survive. What is widely recognized by psychology as a human need is connection, affection, intimacy, or feeling loved and validated.

So no, sex is not a biological need. It is an experience, a desire, a form of pleasure and connection. And precisely for this reason, it should stem from desire, not pressure.