Being in the SCA (though mostly peripherally) and having several friends in the SCA, I think it's safe to say that "it's all about sex" is too broad a generaliz

Being in the SCA (though mostly peripherally) and having several friends in the SCA, I think it's safe to say that "it's all about sex" is too broad a generalization. Certainly that is an aspect of it for some people, but from my experience the SCA is not significantly more "about sex" than Sci-fi, Anime, or Video-gaming fandoms--as at least one other person has already pointed out, it's there, but it's not the main focus. Perhaps more to your point, if these are mating dances, why do so many people who already have stable, long-term mates participate?