Embodied experiences are strongly felt, but hard to communicate or verbalize. This article examines people’s articulation and sense-making of their sexual sensations, during interviews, to gain insight into what we refer to as a “perceptual loop” between embodied sensations, body-sensorial knowledge, and social meanings. We employ a combination of interactionist and practice theory to study sex as an embodied practice that unfolds in interactions. We analyze this using in-depth interviews with 34 Dutch women and men about their sexual interactions. We focus on how they make sense, with their partner and with the interviewer, of their embodied experiences within an interview setting that requires them to verbalize their experience. Participants communicated these embodied sensations by (1) using multi-interpretable sensory wordings; (2) drawing comparisons between different sexual sensations; and (3) referring to other sensory sensations, and by exemplifying their effect (e.g. breathing, shrieking). We argue that to analyze people’s verbalized understanding of their sensations, we need to attend to an ongoing feedback process: sex both shapes and is shaped by social meaning and cultural knowledge. Embodied sensations are not the material onto which the social is mapped. Instead, embodied practices and interactions mediate and shape the social, leading to body-sensorial knowledge. While sex, as an intense embodied practice, is a strategic case to show this process, this “perceptual loop” between embodied practice and body-sensorial knowledge occurs in all human (inter)actions.

中文翻译：

---

言语感觉：理解具体的性体验

具身的体验会被强烈地感受到，但很难交流或用语言表达。本文检查了人们在访谈中对其性感觉的表达和意义建构，以深入了解我们所说的具身感觉、身体感官知识和社会意义之间的“知觉循环”。我们结合互动论和实践理论来研究性作为一种在互动中展开的具体实践。我们通过对 34 位荷兰女性和男性的性互动进行深入访谈来分析这一点。我们关注他们如何与他们的合作伙伴和面试官一起理解他们在面试环境中的具体经历，这需要他们用语言表达他们的经历。参与者通过 (1) 使用多种可解释的感官措辞来传达这些体现的感觉；(2)比较不同的性感觉；(3) 提及其他感官感觉，并举例说明它们的效果（例如呼吸、尖叫）。我们认为，要分析人们对其感觉的口头理解，我们需要关注一个持续的反馈过程：性既塑造了社会意义和文化知识，又受其塑造。具身的感觉不是社会被映射到的材料。相反，具体化的实践和互动调解和塑造社会，导致身体感官知识。虽然性作为一种强烈的具身实践，是展示这一过程的战略案例，但具身实践和身体感官知识之间的这种“感知循环”发生在所有人类（互动）行为中。并举例说明它们的效果（例如呼吸、尖叫）。我们认为，要分析人们对其感觉的口头理解，我们需要关注一个持续的反馈过程：性既塑造了社会意义和文化知识，又受其塑造。具身的感觉不是社会被映射到的材料。相反，具体化的实践和互动调解和塑造社会，导致身体感官知识。虽然性作为一种强烈的具身实践，是展示这一过程的战略案例，但具身实践和身体感官知识之间的这种“感知循环”发生在所有人类（互动）行为中。并举例说明它们的效果（例如呼吸、尖叫）。我们认为，要分析人们对其感觉的口头理解，我们需要关注一个持续的反馈过程：性既塑造了社会意义和文化知识，又受其塑造。具身的感觉不是社会被映射到的材料。相反，具体化的实践和互动调解和塑造社会，导致身体感官知识。虽然性作为一种强烈的具身实践，是展示这一过程的战略案例，但具身实践和身体感官知识之间的这种“感知循环”发生在所有人类（互动）行为中。性既塑造社会意义和文化知识，又受其塑造。具身的感觉不是社会被映射到的材料。相反，具体化的实践和互动调解和塑造社会，导致身体感官知识。虽然性作为一种强烈的具身实践，是展示这一过程的战略案例，但具身实践与身体感官知识之间的这种“感知循环”发生在所有人类（互动）行为中。性既塑造社会意义和文化知识，又受其塑造。具身的感觉不是社会被映射到的材料。相反，具体化的实践和互动调解和塑造社会，导致身体感官知识。虽然性作为一种强烈的具身实践，是展示这一过程的战略案例，但具身实践和身体感官知识之间的这种“感知循环”发生在所有人类（互动）行为中。