“…But, sex and intimate relationships between humans -ranging from flirting and courtship rituals, to partnered masturbation or sexual intercourse -can be sensitive and risky (Dir, Coskunpinar, & Cyders, 2014;Scott-Sheldon et al, 2013). These can also be particularly difficult to navigate safely and ethically in laboratory settings or natural environments (cf., Binik, Mah, & Kiesler, 1999;Masters, Johnson, & Kolodny, 1977;Masters, Johnson, Kolodny, & Weems, 1980;Munck, 1999;Price, Jansen, & Weick, 2020;Riley & Scott, 1999;Rosewarne, 2017;Rosoff, 2018;Shirmohammadi et al, 2018;Watter, 2020;Zhang et al, 2019). Hence, to protect research participants, and ensure that their studies comply with the ethical guidelines set by governments and research ethics boards, sex researchers must often rely on proxy or indirect methods to explore human sexuality.…”