Opinion: What does Normal Mean?

[Blueswan]

We talk all the time about how we're strange or less-than ideal, and we all have times when we think that if others knew X about me, I'd be ostracized. But to me, our idea of 'normal' is usually skewed in some way (see beauty industry).

So what's your idea of normal what it comes to sex/relationships? What about society's ideas?

[Mo]

Now that I've done sex ed for several years, and talked a lot with friends about our own sex lives and preferences, I must admit that "normal" seems like a near-useless term when it comes to sex and relationships - there's just so much variation in people's bodies, desires, preferences, identities, and so on that a median value is pretty much impossible to determine and wouldn't be much help if we could. We have an article here that sums up my feelings pretty well!
I feel like a lot of the time when people ask "is this normal?" or "am I normal?" the question underneath it is often "is it ok to be this way?" and overwhelmingly the answer is yes.