SSSS

What SSSS does

SSSS (The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1957 and registered in the State of New York, with a mailing address in Rego Park, NY. The Society serves an international, interdisciplinary community of sexuality professionals across personas including researchers, clinicians and therapists, educators, public health professionals, advocates, and graduate/undergraduate students. Its flagship asset is The Journal of Sex Research (JSR), an interdisciplinary scholarly journal published continuously since 1965 by Taylor & Francis, which carries a 2026 JCR Impact Factor of 3.0 (ranked 30/275 in Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary) and a 2024 CiteScore of 6.0. The Society operates a portfolio of 11+ awards and grants, including the Hugo G. Beigel Award, Bonnie and Vern L. Bullough Book Award, Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award, Fellow of the Society Award, Lester A. Kirkendall Outstanding Mentor Award, Student Paper Award, Social Justice/Public Policy Award, Outstanding Theoretical Paper Award, Student Research Grants (up to $1,500 graduate / $1,000 undergraduate), and Travel Grants for Early Career Professionals from Marginalized Groups.

The Society's business model is membership-subscription based, with Professional membership priced at $199/year and Student membership at $99/year, each providing access to the Journal of Sex Research (standalone value $310/year), discounted conference registration, awards eligibility, continuing education credits (APA, AASECT, NCHEC), mentorship programs, voting rights, and Discord community access. Annual conferences (the 2026 Annual Conference is virtual, November 9-13) and Summer Colloquia (the 2026 Summer Colloquium focuses on 'AI and the Future of Sex Science' in Chicago) generate incremental registration revenue. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the sexscience.org website and the GlueUp membership platform. Digital infrastructure is modest: the recently beta-launched Kink Literature Database (November 2025) is hosted on the Zotero platform, built by the SSSS BDSM/Kink Special Interest Group as a free searchable catalog of academic Kink/BDSM literature to PRISMA standards. The organization has 1-10 employees and relies on volunteer Board leadership and partnership with Taylor & Francis for journal publishing and select award funding.

Name

SSSS

Legal name

The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, Inc.

Website

https://sexscience.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SSSS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional society (founded 1957) that serves an international, interdisciplinary community of sexuality researchers, clinicians, educators, and students through membership subscriptions, the Journal of Sex Research (published since 1965), annual conferences, awards, and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD), Conference Proceedings & Research Reports Publishing (EDAGAFAL)

Keywords

• Professional scientific society
• Sexuality research journal
• Scholarly membership organization
• Interdisciplinary academic conferences
• Peer-reviewed sex science

Headquarters

HQ city

Rego Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from Professional ($199/year) and Student ($99/year) members, with optional printed journal add-on ($15/year). Membership benefits include access to The Journal of Sex Research, conference discounts, awards and grants, Discord community, mentorship programs, and continuing education credits.
2. Journal of Sex Research: The official journal of SSSS, published by Taylor & Francis. Subscription value of $310 annually is included with membership. The journal generates revenue through institutional subscriptions and has a 2026 JCR Impact Factor of 3.0.
3. Annual Conferences and Events: Annual conferences and summer colloquia generate revenue through registration fees. The 2026 Summer Colloquium focuses on 'AI and the Future of Sex Science' in Chicago.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SSSS operates as an international, interdisciplinary 501(c)(3) non-profit professional society that advances the scientific study of sexuality through member dues, scholarly publishing, conferences, and grants. Its central offering is The Journal of Sex Research (JSR), an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal published since 1965, alongside the Kink Literature Database (a Zotero-hosted free scholarly catalog), an annual conference and summer colloquia, and a tiered membership program (Professional $199/year, Student $99/year) bundled with journal access, continuing education credits, mentorship, and a Discord community.

Product overview

SSSS (The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality) is a professional membership organization, not a technology product company. Its core offerings consist of The Journal of Sex Research (JSR) as the flagship scholarly publication, the Kink Literature Database (hosted on Zotero), and an annual conference. SSSS also administers numerous awards (Hugo G. Beigel Award, Bullough Book Award, Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award, Distinguished Service Award, Fellow of the Society, Kirkendall Mentor Award, Student Paper Award, Social Justice Award, Outstanding Theoretical Paper Award) and grants (Student Research Grants for graduate/undergraduate students, Travel Grants for early-career professionals from marginalized groups). The portfolio is complemented by a membership program offering journal access, continuing education, and community features including a Discord server.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Journal of Sex Research (JSR) Official interdisciplinary journal of SSSS, published since 1965 by Taylor & Francis, providing a peer-reviewed forum for empirical studies, theoretical articles, literature reviews, commentaries, and the Annual Review of Sex Research across psychology, sociology, medicine, and humanities. Included with SSSS membership (standalone value $310/year) with access to archives from Volume 1, Issue 1.
• Kink Literature Database Free searchable catalog of Kink/BDSM academic literature including articles, books, survey reports, datasets, theses, and conference proceedings from the 18th century to present, hosted on Zotero and built following PRISMA standards by the SSSS BDSM/Kink Special Interest Group.
• Annual Conference Major annual event (2026: Virtual, November 9-13) bringing together scholars, clinicians, educators, advocates, and students to share research and advance the scientific study of sexuality. Members receive discounted registration; travel grants support early-career professionals from marginalized groups.
• SSSS Membership Program Professional ($199/year) and Student ($99/year) membership programs providing access to The Journal of Sex Research, discounted conference registration, Discord community, mentorship opportunities, continuing education credits (APA, AASECT, NCHEC), committee eligibility, and voting rights. Optional $15/year printed journal add-on. Applications processed through GlueUp platform.
• Summer Colloquium Recurring summer scientific colloquium; the 2026 edition focuses on 'AI and the Future of Sex Science' and is held July 24, 2026 in Chicago, USA.

Quantifiable outcome

• Journal Impact Factor: 3.0 (2026), ranked 30/275 in Social Sciences Interdisciplinary and 48/184 in Psychology Clinical
• +3 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Taylor & FranciscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1965Taylor & Francis is the publisher of The Journal of Sex Research (JSR), SSSS's official journal since 1965. Taylor & Francis funds two SSSS awards: the Hugo G. Beigel Award ($1,500 to first author) and the Student Paper Award. This is a foundational partnership for SSSS's publication and awards infrastructure.
• ZoterocoreTechnology or IntegrationZotero serves as the hosting platform for the SSSS Kink Literature Database, a free searchable catalog of academic literature on Kink/BDSM. Zotero's institutional features and low cost make it ideal for this scholarly resource.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• International Academy of Sex Research (IASR): The most direct scholarly peer to SSSS, IASR is an international scientific society dedicated to sexuality research with its own peer-reviewed journal (Archives of Sexual Behavior) and annual conference serving an overlapping researcher and clinician community.
• Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR): SSTAR is a multidisciplinary community of clinicians and researchers focused on sex therapy, with annual meetings and publications that overlap substantially with SSSS's clinical and research membership.
• International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM): ISSM advances sexual medicine globally through journals (Journal of Sexual Medicine) and member societies, overlapping with SSSS on the medical-research side of sexuality science and competing for clinician members.
• American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT): AASECT certifies sex educators, counselors, and therapists and provides continuing education — directly overlapping SSSS's clinician segment and AASECT-accredited CE offerings while addressing a more practitioner-oriented audience.
• International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH): ISSWSH is a multidisciplinary, academic, and clinical organization dedicated to women's sexual health, operating journals and annual meetings that overlap with SSSS's clinical-researcher membership base.

Broad incumbents

• American Public Health Association (APHA): APHA is a broad incumbent in public health with a Sexual and Reproductive Health section, overlapping with SSSS's public health professional segment through conferences, journals, and continuing education, but at much larger scale.
• World Association for Sexual Health (WAS): WAS is a broader global advocacy and science umbrella promoting sexual health and rights worldwide, with a wider remit than SSSS but overlapping on the interdisciplinary sexuality-science community and convening international congresses.
• Kinsey Institute (Indiana University): The Kinsey Institute is a long-established research institute on sexuality, gender, and reproduction with archives, journals, and public programming that broadly overlaps SSSS's research-and-education mission at an institutional rather than membership-society level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sex_science
• Facebookfacebook.com/SocietyForTheScientficStudyofS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sexscience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SSSS