Empirical phenomenology of heterosexual interactions(Case study: students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran)

Sexual desire and sexual interaction with the opposite sex, as one ofthe first natural desires of human beings, is satisfied through definitenorms of different cultures, mainly marriage. However, some of theheterosexual relationships happen outside of the marital framework; theyare regulated based on personal norms and continued with differentmethods of justification and secrecy. The current paper aims to identifythe motivations of premarital heterosexual relationships by means ofphenomenological analysis of premarital heterosexual experiences amongstudents of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. 22 students were selectedas participants of the study. Five types of relationship with the oppositesex, namely, verbal relationship without affection, one-sided emotionalrelationship, mutual emotional relationship, emotional-physicalrelationship and emotional-sexual relationship were selected as a basis tocreate five general meanings of “opportunity motivation, experiencing adifferent relationship, desire for marriage, love and belonging, and sexualpleasure”. The results indicate that, sexual and social needs areintertwined; and this interlinking and its subsequent justifications havecreated a positive coverage for these types of premarital relationships tocontinue among participants. Moreover, sexual differences andsociocultural situations are among the factors which influence theformation of heterosexual relationships, matching different types ofmotivations and relationships among two sexes.