Definition:
Intercourse is a term traditionally used to describe penile-vaginal penetration, and is used in medicine synonymously with the term coitus. More broadly the term intercourse gets used to describe genital sex involving penetration of an orifice (e.g. vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, oral intercourse).
In medical texts intercourse almost always refers to sex between a man and a woman, ignoring the fact that sex between all genders may or may not involve penetration. For this reason more contemporary sex education materials that strive to be less heterocentric use more specific terms to describe sex play (e.g. “penetration play” “genital touching”).
Also Known As: intercourse, penile-vaginal intercourse, penetration play
