What Sex Is Supposed to Sound Like: Adults’ Retrospective Expectations of Sexual Vocalizations at Sexual Debut

Sexual Script Theory posits that individuals develop expectations about sexual behavior through various agents of sexual socialization (i.e., peers, family, media, other cultural influences). Although previous research has examined expectations surrounding sexual debut, little is known about expectations regarding sexual vocalizations during individuals’ first partnered sexual experience. Thus, the current qualitative study explored adults’ retrospective recollections of the expectations they held regarding sexual vocalizations at the time of their sexual debut. A sample of 313 sexually experienced adults responded to an open-ended question asking them to retrospectively recall whether they had expected themselves or their partner(s) to make sounds (e.g., moans, dirty talk, sighs) during their first sexual encounter and to explain why or why not. Overall, 83.1% of participants retrospectively reported expecting vocalizations to occur. Thematic analysis identified three overarching themes: (1) vocalizations, (2) vocalization modifiers, and (3) sources of sexual socialization. These retrospective accounts suggest that expectations regarding sexual vocalizations are an important but understudied component of broader sexual scripts. Although based on adults’ retrospective reconstructions of their expectations, the findings have implications for sex education, clinical practice, and future prospective research.