Toward a classification of sex and sexual behavior

This paper presents a classification of sexual behaviors bases on Foa and Foa's resource exchange theory. They postulated six classes of resources: information, services, possessions, money, love, and status. We expanded and applied this theory to sexual behavior through three modalities: 1) Doing (information and services), which relates to sex as performance; 2) Having (possessions and money), which relates to sex as product; and 3) Being (love and status), which relates to sex as presence. Implications of this framework for sexual deviations, empirical verification, diagnostic evaluation, and therapeutic interventions are discussed.