Ever heard of synesthesia? Experienced it? How about sexual synesthesia? We may not be aware of how we experience the world differently from others until we start to compare and contrast. Let’s explore synesthesia and see if it resonates with you?
What is Synesthesia?
Synesthesia is a psychological phenomenon that happens when you experience one of your senses through another sense. It’s a bit of a jumbling of perception. For example, often people who have synesthesia, also known as “synesthetes”, will associate a color with a number, so when they see the number two, they might sense the color blue, while four is green. There doesn’t seem to be rhyme or reason for the associations, but they’re certainly there.
Synesthesia is entirely harmless. Many say that having it enhances their experiences of the world. It’s reported that only about 2-4% of people are synesthetes, but that’s likely an underestimation. Because it is how they’ve always seen the world, many don’t know they have it until someone describes it. Beyond that, relatively little is understood about it, other than that it is likely genetic as it seems to run in families.
How Does Synesthesia Affect Sex?
Synesthesia affects people at different times in different ways. Not every synesthete will experience it during sex. Shea Andreone wrote a piece for Giddy that had an eye opening account of how she experiences sexual synesthesia. She explains how different it can be for each individual: “…I learned that a friend of mine sees different colors for each letter of the alphabet. Her daughter experiences colors for letters and numbers. Another person mentioned that music comes with color and sometimes a taste. But my sound and colors only come during intimate moments and not in aisle six of the grocery store when a great song comes through the speakers.”
If you have sexual synesthesia, while you experience pleasure, you might perceive vivid color in your mind, images, smells, or even tastes! Here is another excerpt of Andreone describing her experience: “I began to notice that in different positions, I would see a different color—not through my eyes, but through feeling. When on my stomach, I would see the blue scene; on my back, I would see bright red. On top, greens and yellows. I could also hear different styles of music playing like a soundtrack. Stories, some of them strange, would sometimes accompany the colors.”
She finishes her piece by saying that it’s helpful to know about her synesthesia, but also acknowledges that labeling something can take a little of the magic out of it. Luckily, not much is known about it. Everybody experiences sexual pleasure differently and we can never fully know what goes on in another human’s mind or body.
Play With Your Senses
Not a synesthete but want to play with your senses? There are lots of fun toys you can use to enhance your pleasure and combine sensations. Here are a few ideas for you to get started:
- Playtronica makes musical gadgets that can create musical sounds with human touch. This could make for some fun foreplay!
- The Violet Wand and its many attachments can make touch electric. You can experience pleasure in all sorts of new ways with this toy.
- Explore playing with textures, smells, sounds and visuals in your bedroom, or wherever you have sex. Invite your imagination out to play!
Synesthesia is a fascinating phenomenon, and whether we have it or not, there’s always room for enhancing or changing up our sexual experiences. If you’re looking for help on your sexual journey, please reach out!