International Journal of Sexual Health

Sexual Pleasure

The International Journal of Sexual Health (IJSH) invites submissions for a forthcoming Special Issue on Sexual Pleasure to be published in 2027. 

Sexual pleasure is increasingly recognized as a fundamental aspect of sexual rights, sexual health, and overall human well-being. Global initiatives such as the WAS Declaration on Sexual Pleasure (2019/2021) and the first IJSH special issue on Sexual Pleasure (2021, Issue 4) have helped to build important momentum around this topic. While the first special issue focused primarily on conceptual work, this second IJSH special issue will emphasize empirical research. 

We invite diverse, interdisciplinary contributions that critically engage with the concept of sexual pleasure across a wide range of contexts, identities, and experiences. 

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: 

• Sexual pleasure and relationship dynamics, consent, and structural inequalities: We welcome empirical studies that investigate how relationship dynamics, consent practices, and structural inequalities—such as those based on gender, sexual orientation, race, class, or ability—shape the experience, expression, and accessibility of sexual pleasure. 
• Measurement and tracking of sexual pleasure. We encourage contributions that explore innovative methods, instruments, and frameworks for measuring and tracking sexual pleasure across diverse populations and contexts. 
• Pleasure-inclusive sexual education and its outcomes. Contributions could address school-based programs, informal education initiatives, community outreach, and digital education formats that address sexual pleasure and provide evaluation data. 
• Clinical approaches to enhancing sexual pleasure. Submissions may include clinical trials, case studies, or evaluations of interventions addressing the enhancement of sexual pleasure across diverse sociodemographic groups, lifestyles, and relationship types. 
• Sexual pleasure in relation to disease or vulnerabilities. We welcome papers that explore sexual pleasure in the context of illness, trauma, neurodiversity, or other vulnerabilities, focusing on its challenges, transformative potential, and relevance for sexual health and well-being. 
• Technological innovations and sexual pleasure. We invite submissions that examine how emerging technologies — including sex toys, dating apps, virtual reality (VR) systems, or artificial intelligence (AI) agents — are shaping the experience, accessibility, and conceptualization of sexual pleasure. 
• Media representations of sexual pleasure. This area invites empirical analyses of how sexual pleasure is portrayed in various forms of media — such as film, television, advertising, literature, social media, and AI-generated information. 
• Sexual pleasure across the lifespan. We seek contributions that explore how the experience and meaning of sexual pleasure evolve across different stages of life — including childhood, adolescence, adulthood, midlife, and older age. 
• Experiences and understandings of sexual pleasure in diverse global contexts. We invite research that highlights the cultural, social, political, and legal dimensions of sexual pleasure across various regions of the world. Comparative studies, community-based research, and explorations of indigenous, local, or marginalized understandings of sexual pleasure are particularly welcome. 

Types of Submissions Welcome: 

• Original articles (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods) 
• Review articles 
• Brief Reports