Promiscuity

Promiscuity is the practice of having casual sex frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual
partners.[1] The term can carry a moral judgment if the social ideal for sexual activity is monogamous relationships. A common
example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by many cultures is the one-night stand, and its frequency is used by researchers as a
marker for promiscuity.[2]

What sexual behavior is considered promiscuous varies between cultures, as does the prevalence of promiscuity. Different standards
are often applied to different genders and civil statuses. Feminists have traditionally argued a significant double standard exists
between how men and women are judged for promiscuity. Historically, stereotypes of the promiscuous woman have tended to be
negative, such as "the slut" or "the harlot", while male stereotypes have been more varied, some expressing approval, such as "the
stud" or "the player", while others imply societal deviance, such as "the womanizer" or "the philanderer". A scientific study
published in 2005 found that promiscuous men and women are judged equally harshly.[3] However, later studies show evidence for a
double standard.[4][5][6]

Promiscuity is common in many animal species.[7] Some species have promiscuous mating systems, ranging from polyandry and
polygyny to mating systems with no stable relationships where mating between two individuals is a one-time event. Many species
form stable pair bonds, but still mate with other individuals outside the pair. In biology, incidents of promiscuity in species that form
pair bonds are usually calledextra-pair copulations.

Contents
Humans
Global studies
Male promiscuity
Female promiscuity
Religious views
Evolution
Primitive promiscuity
Other animals
See also
References
Bibliography

Humans
Accurately assessing people's sexual behavior is difficult, since strong social and personal motivations occur, depending on social
sanctions and taboos, for either minimizing or exaggerating reported sexual activity
.

American experiments in 1978 and 1982 found the great majority of men were willing to have sex with women they did not know, of
average attractiveness, who propositioned them. No woman, by contrast, agreed to such propositions from men of average
attractiveness. While men were in general comfortable with the requests, regardless of their willingness ("Why do we have to wait
until tonight?", "[I'm sorry], I'm married"), women responded with shock and disgust ("You've got to be kidding", "What is wrong
with you? Leave me alone").[8]
The number of sexual partners people have had in their lifetimes varies widely within a population. A 2007 nationwide survey in the
United States found the median number of female sexual partners reported by men was seven and the median number of male
partners reported by women was four. The men possibly exaggerated their reported number of partners, women reported a number
lower than the actual number, or a minority of women had a sufficiently larger number than most other women to create a mean
significantly higher than the median, or all of the above (see Pareto principle). About 29% of men and 9% of women reported to have
had more than 15 sexual partners in their lifetimes.[9] Studies of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases consistently demonstrate
a small percentage of the studied population has more partners than the average man or woman, and a smaller number of people have
fewer than the statistical average. An important question in the epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections is whether or not
these groups copulate mostly at random (with sexual partners from throughout a population) or within their social groups (assortative
mixing).

A 2006 systematic review (analyzing data from 59 countries worldwide) found no association between regional sexual behavior
tendencies, such as number of sexual partners, and sexual-health status. Much more predictive of sexual-health status are
socioeconomic factors like poverty and mobility.[10] Other studies have suggested that people with multiple casual sex partners are
[11]
more likely to be diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections.

Severe and impulsive promiscuity, along with a compulsive urge to engage in illicit sex with attached individuals is a common
symptom of borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder but most promiscuous
individuals do not have these disorders.[12]

Global studies
In 2008, a U.S. university study of international promiscuity found that Finns have had the largest number of sex partners in the
industrialized world, andBritish people have the largest number among big western industrial nations. The study measured one-night
stands, attitudes to casual sex, and number of sexual partners.[13][14][15] A 2014 nationwide survey in the United Kingdom named
.[16]
Liverpool the country's most promiscuous city

Britain's position on the international index "may be linked to increasing social acceptance of promiscuity among women as well as
men". Britain’s ranking was "ascribed to factors such as the decline of religious scruples about extramarital sex, the growth of equal
[13][14][15]
pay and equal rights for women and a highly sexualised popular culture".

The top-10-ranking OECD nations with a population over 10 million on the study's promiscuity index, in descending order, were the
United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Australia, the United States, France, Turkey, Mexico, and
Canada.[13][14][15]

A nonscientific survey conducted in 2007 by condom-maker Durex measured promiscuity by a total number of sexual partners. The
survey found Austrian men had the highest number of sex partners of males globally with 29.3 sexual partners on average. New
Zealand women had the highest number of sex partners for females in the world with an average of 20.4 sexual partners. In all of the
[17]
countries surveyed, except New Zealand, men reported more sexual partners than women.

One review found the people from developed Western countries had more sex partners than people from developing countries in
[10]
general, while the rate of STIs was higher in developing countries.

According to the 2005 Global Sex Survey by Durex, people have had on average nine sexual partners, the most in Turkey (14.5) and
[18]
Australia (13.3), and the least in India (3) and China (3.1).

Male promiscuity
A 1994 study in the United States, which looked at the number of sexual partners in a lifetime, found 20% of heterosexual men had
only one partner, 55% had two to 20 partners, and 25% had more than 20 partners.[19] More recent studies have reported similar
numbers.[20]
 A 1989 study found a very high number of partners (over 100) to be present though rare among
homosexual males.[21] General Social Survey data indicates that the distribution of partner
numbers among men who have sex exclusively with men and men who have sex exclusively with
women is similar, but that differences appear in the proportion of those with very high number of
partners, which is larger among gay men, but that in any case makes up a small minority for both
groups.[22] OkCupid discovered a similar pattern in the data collected from its vast number of
users, published in 2010: the median number of self-reported lifetime sexual partners for both gay
and straight men was six; however, a small minority of gay men (2%) were having a
disproportionate share of all self-reported gay sex (23%).[23] According to updated OkCupid data
published in 2014, gay male users self-reported a lower median of lifetime sex partners than

Portrait of Giacomo straight male users: four for gay men and five for straight men.[24] A 2007 study reported that two
Casanova large population surveys found "the majority of gay men had similar numbers of unprotected
[25][26]
sexual partners annually as straight men and women."

The words 'womanizer', 'playboy', 'stud', 'player', 'ladies' man', 'lady killer', and 'rake' may be used in reference to a man who has
romantic affairs or sexual relations, or both, with women, and who will not be monogamous. The names of real and fictional seducers
have become eponymous for such promiscuous men. The most famous are Lord Byron, John F. Kennedy, Errol Flynn, Warren
Beatty, Wilt Chamberlain, Howard Hughes, and the historical Giacomo Casanova (1725–98).[27] Others include Elvis Presley, Frank
Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Steve McQueen. Famous historical fictional seducers include Don Juan, who first appeared in the 17th
century, the fictional Vicomte de Valmont from Choderlos de Laclos's 18th-century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous
Liaisons), and Lothario from Nicholas Rowe's 1703 play The Fair Penitent. More recent fictional characters who can be considered
womanizers include Tony Soprano, James Bond, Chuck Bass, James T. Kirk, Tony Stark, Glenn Quagmire, Joe Quimby, Bruce
Wayne, Charlie Harper, Sam Malone, Joey Tribbiani, Popeye Doyle, Donald Draper, Hank Moody, Fonzie, Barney Stinson, Tim
Riggins and Drake Parker.

During the English Restoration period (1660–88), the term 'rake' was used glamorously: the Restoration rake is a carefree, witty,
sexually irresistible aristocrat typified by Charles II's courtiers, the Earl of Rochester and the Earl of Dorset, who combined riotous
living with intellectual pursuits and patronage of the arts. The Restoration rake is celebrated in the Restoration comedy of the 1660s
and the 1670s. After the reign of Charles II, and especially after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the rake was perceived negatively
and became the butt of moralistic tales in which his typical fate was debtor's prison, permanent venereal disease, and, in the case of
William Hogarth's A Rake's Progress, syphilis-induced insanityand internment in Bedlam.

Female promiscuity
In 1994, a study in the United States found almost all married heterosexual women reported
having sexual contact only with their husbands, and unmarried women almost always reported
having no more than one sexual partner in the past three months. Lesbians who had a long-term
partner reported having fewer outside partners than heterosexual women.[21] More recent
research, however, contradicts the assertion that heterosexual women are largely monogamous. A
2002 study estimated that 45% to 55% of married heterosexual women engage in sexual
relationships outside of their marriage.[28] While the estimates for heterosexual males in the same
study were greater (50–60%), the data indicate a significant portion of married heterosexual
[28]
women have or have had sexual partners other than their spouse, as well.
Empress Catherine II is
Since at least 1450, the word 'slut' has been used, often pejoratively, to describe a sexually remembered in popular
promiscuous woman.[29] In and before the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, terms like "strumpet" culture for her sexual
and "whore" were used to describe women deemed promiscuous, as seen, for example, in John promiscuity.
Webster's 1612 play The White Devil.
Thornhill and Gangestad found that women are much more likely to sexually fantasize about and be attracted to extra-pair men
during the fertile phase of themenstrual cycle than the luteal phase (see Ovulatory shift hypothesis), whereas attraction to the primary
partner does not change depending on the menstrual cycle.[30] A 2004 study by Pillsworth, Hasselton and Buss contradicted this,
[31]
finding greater in-pair sexual attraction during this phase and no increase in attraction to extra-pair men.

Religious views

Evolution
Evolutionary psychologists propose that a conditional human tendency for promiscuity is inherited from hunter-gatherer ancestors.
Promiscuity increases the likelihood of having children, thus "evolutionary" fitness. According to them, female promiscuity is
advantageous in that it allows females to choose fathers for their children who have better genes than their mates, to ensure better
care for their offspring, have more children, and as a form of fertility insurance.[32] Male promiscuity was likely advantageous
because it allowed males to father more children.

Primitive promiscuity
Primitive promiscuity (or original promiscuity) was the (largely discredited) 19th-century hypothesis that humans originally lived
in a state of promiscuity or "hetaerism" prior to the advent of society as we understand it.[33][34][35][36][37] Hetaerism is a theoretical
early state of human society (as postulated by 19th-century anthropologists) which was characterized by the absence of the institution
of marriage in any form and in which women were the common property of their tribe and in which children never knew who their
fathers were.

Other animals
Many animal species, such as bonobos[38] and chimpanzees, are promiscuous as a rule; they do not form pair bonds. Although social
monogamy occurs in about 90% of avian species and about 3% of mammalian species, an estimated 90% of socially monogamous
species exhibit individual promiscuity in the form ofextra-pair copulations (copulation outside the pair bond).[7][39][40]

In the animal world, some species, including birds such as swans and fish such as Neolamprologus pulcher, once believed
monogamous, are now known to engage in extra-pair copulations. One example of extra-pair fertilization (EPF) in birds is the black-
.[41]
throated blue warblers. Though it is a socially monogamous species, both males and females engage in EPF

The Darwin-Bateman paradigm, which states that males are typically eager to copulate while females are more choosy about whom
to mate with, has been confirmed by ameta-analysis.[42]

See also
Cottaging
Emotional promiscuity
Female promiscuity
Monogamy
Polygamy
Polyandry
Polygynandry
Polyamory
Prostitution
Sexual addiction
Sociosexual orientation
Sperm competition
Swinging
References
1. "Promiscuous - definition of promiscuous by the Free Online Dictionary"
(http://www.thefreedictionary.com/promiscuo
us). The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
2. "UK's most promiscuous city in 'one night stand' poll revealed"(http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/08/liverpool-named-uks-m
ost-promiscuous-city-in-one-night-stand-poll-4254176/) . Metro.co.uk. Associated Newspapers Limited.
3. Marks, Michael; Fraley, R. (2005). "The Sexual Double Standard: Fact or Fiction?".Sex Roles. 52 (3-4): 175–186.
doi:10.1007/s11199-005-1293-5(https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11199-005-1293-5) .
4. Erin A. Vogel (2012). "Attachment Theory and the Sexual Double Standard"(http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewc
ontent.cgi?article=1155&context=psych_honproj) . Illinois Wesleyan University Honors Project.
5. " "Would You Go To Bed With Me Tonight?": Stigma and the Sexual Double Standard - - - Sc
ience of Relationships"
(http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2013/11/21/would-you-go-to-bed-with-me-tonight-stigma-and-the-sexu
al-do.html). scienceofrelationships.com.
6. "Motives for the Sexual Double Standard: A T
est of Female Control Theory"(https://spsptalks.wordpress.com/2013/0
6/20/motives-for-the-sexual-double-standard-a-test-of-female-control-theory/)
. SPSP.
7. Lipton, Judith Eve; Barash, David P
. (2001). The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People
.
San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-4004-4.
8. Clark, Russell D. III; Hatfield, Elaine (1989)."Gender Differences in Receptivity to SexualOffers" (http://www.elaineh
atfield.com/79.pdf) (PDF). Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality. 2 (1): 39–55. doi:10.1300/J056v02n01_04(htt
ps://doi.org/10.1300%2FJ056v02n01_04).
9. "Average man sleeps with 7 women - Health- Sexual health - NBC News"(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/1937421
6/). msnbc.com.
10. Wellings K, Collumbien M, Slaymaker E, et al. (2006). "Sexual behaviour in context: a global perspective"(http://ww
w.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/general/lancet_2.pdf) (PDF). Lancet. 368 (9548): 1706–28.
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69479-8(https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0140-6736%2806%2969479-8) . PMID 17098090
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17098090). Lay summary (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6101970.stm)–
BBC (1 November 2006).
11. Garcia JR, Seibold-Simpson SM, Massey SG, Merriwether AM (2015). "Casual Sex: Integrating Social, Behavioral,
and Sexual Health Research". InDeLamater J, Plante RF. Handbook of the Sociology of Sexualities(https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=0d3yCQAAQBAJ&pg=P A215). Springer. p. 215. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17341-2_12(https://do
i.org/10.1007%2F978-3-319-17341-2_12).
12. Hull, J. W.; Clarkin, J. F.; Yeomans, F. (1993). "Borderline personality disorder and impulsive sexual behavior".
Psychiatric Services. 44 (10): 1000–1001. doi:10.1176/ps.44.10.1000(https://doi.org/10.1176%2Fps.44.10.1000).
13. Waite, Roger (2008-11-30)."Britain on top in casual sex league"(http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/w
omen/relationships/article5257166.ece). The Times. London. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
14. Beckford, Martin; Jamieson, Alastair (2008-11-30)."Britain is among casual sex capitals of the W
estern world,
research claims" (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/3536598/Britain-is-among-casual-sex-capitals-of-the
-Western-world-research-claims.html). The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
15. "British top promiscuity study"(http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2008/11/30/British_top_promiscuity_study/UPI-982
81228072500/). UPI.
16. "Liverpool named UK's most promiscuous city"(http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/08/liverpool-named-uks-most-promiscuou
s-city-in-one-night-stand-poll-4254176/). themetro.co.uk. Mark Molloy.
17. New Zealand women most promiscuous(http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/13/1191696214489.html) The
Sydney Morning Herald
18. http://www.data360.org/pdf/20070416064139.Global%20Sex%20Survey.pdf, page 6
19. Seidman, S. N.; Rieder, R. O. (1994). "A review of sexual behavior in the United States".Am J Psychiatry. 151: 330–
341. doi:10.1176/ajp.151.3.330 (https://doi.org/10.1176%2Fajp.151.3.330).
20. Lehmiller, J. J. (2012). "What's Your Number?" (http://www.lehmiller.com/blog/2012/6/8/sex-question-friday-whats-yo
ur-number.html). The Psychology of Human Sexuality.
21. Friedman, Richard C.; Downey, Jennifer I. (October 6, 1994). "Homosexuality" (http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/ful
l/331/14/923#R10). New England Journal of Medicine. Massachusetts Medical Society. 331 (14): 923–930.
doi:10.1056/NEJM199410063311407(https://doi.org/10.1056%2FNEJM199410063311407) . PMID 8078554 (https://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8078554).
22. Tim Fisher (November 1, 2006).A Response to David Glesne, Regarding Promiscuity Statisticsin the context of his
book, Understanding Homosexuality(http://timrfisher.tripod.com/dgstats.htm)(Report).
23. Christian Rudder (October 12, 2010). "Gay Sex vs. Straight Sex"(http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/gay-sex-vs-strai
ght-sex/). OkCupid.
24. Christian Rudder (2014).Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One's Looking). Crown. p. 180. ISBN 978-
0385347372. "The number of reported lifetime sex partners among all four groups is essentially the same. The
median for gay men and straight women is four; for lesbians and straight men, it's five, but just barely
..."
25. "Sexual Behavior Does Not Explain Varying HIV Rates Among Gay And Straight Men"(http://www.medicalnewstoda
y.com/articles/82330.php). Medical News Today.
26. Goodreau SM, Golden MR (October 2007)."Biological and demographic causes of high HIV and sexually
transmitted disease prevalence in men who have sex with men"(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC259
8698). Sex Transm Infect. 83 (6): 458–62. doi:10.1136/sti.2007.025627
(https://doi.org/10.1136%2Fsti.2007.025627). PMC 2598698 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC259869
8) . PMID 17855487 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17855487).
27. Julie Coleman (1999).Love, Sex and Marriage: A Historical Thesaurus(https://books.google.com/?id=lfSC4fpiW64C
&pg=PA286&dq=Womanizer). Rodopi. ISBN 90-420-0433-9.
28. Atwood, Joan D.; Limor Schwartz (2002). "Cyber-Sex The New Af fair Treatment Considerations".Journal of Couple
& Relationship Therapy: Innovations in Clinical and Educational Interventions
. 1 (3): 37–56.
doi:10.1300/J398v01n03_03(https://doi.org/10.1300%2FJ398v01n03_03).
29. Harper, Douglas. "slut" (http://www.etymonline.com/?term=slut). Online Etymology Dictionary.
30. Thornhill, Randy; Gangestad, Steven W. (2008). The evolutionary biology of human female sexuality
. New York:
Oxford University Press. pp. 244–245.ISBN 978-0-19-534098-3.
31. Thornhill, Randy; Gangestad, Steven W. (2008). The evolutionary biology of human female sexuality
. New York:
Oxford University Press. p. 245.ISBN 978-0-19-534098-3.
32. Anthony Browne Women are promiscuous, naturally. Some Scientists now believe infidelity is a genetic mechanism
for creation of healthy children.(https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/sep/03/anthonybrowne.theobserver)The
Observer, September 3, 2000.
33. Westermarck, chap. 3 p. 103-4
34. Bachofen, Das Mutterrecht, pp. xix-xx, 10
35. Bachofen, Antiquarische Briefe pp.20-
36. McLennan, Morgan, Lord Avebury, Giraud-Teulon, Lippert, Kohler, Post, Wilken, Kropotkin, Wilutzky
37. Bloch, Iwan Sexual Life of Our Time, pp. 188-194
38. de Waal, Frans B. M. (March 1995). "Bonobo Sex and Society"(https://web.archive.org/web/20120127051545/http://
www.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/uploads/media/Bonobo_sex_01.pdf)(PDF). Scientific American. 272 (3): 58–64.
Bibcode:1995SciAm.272c..82W(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995SciAm.272c..82W) .
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0395-82(https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fscientificamerican0395-82) . PMID 7871411 (http
s://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7871411). Archived from the original (http://www.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/upl
oads/media/Bonobo_sex_01.pdf)(PDF) on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
39. Reichard, U.H. (2002)."Monogamy—A variable relationship"(https://web.archive.org/web/20110311080753/http://w
ww.mpg.de/1028786/W001_Biology-Medicine_062_067.pdf) (PDF). Max Planck Research. 3: 62–7. Archived from
the original on March 11, 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
40. Research conducted byPatricia Adair Gowaty. Reported by Morell, V. (1998). "Evolution of sex: A new look at
monogamy". Science. 281 (5385): 1982–1983. doi:10.1126/science.281.5385.1982(https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscie
nce.281.5385.1982). PMID 9767050 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9767050).
41. Chuang, H.C.; Webster, M.S.; Holmes, R.T. (1999). "Extrapair Paternity and Local Synchrony in the Black-Throated
Blue Warbler". The Auk. 3. 116 (3): 726–736. doi:10.2307/4089333 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F4089333).
42. http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/2/e1500983.full

Bibliography
Chakov, Kelly Nineteen Century Social Evolutionism
Fortes, Meyer (2005) Kinship and the Social Order: The Legacy of Lewis Henry MorganISBN 0-202-30802-2 pp. 7–
8
 Lehrman, Sally The Virtues of Promiscuity (2002)
Lerner, Gerda (1986) Women and History vol. 1: The Creation of Patriarchy [1] ISBN 978-0-19-503996-2
Lerner, Gerda The Origin of Prostitution in Ancient MesopotamiaSigns, Vol. 11, No. 2 (Winter, 1986), pp. 236–254
Schmitt, David P. Sociosexuality from Argentina to Zimbabwe: A 48-nation study of sex, culture, and strategies of
human mating Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2005) 28, 247-311
Miller, Gerrit S. Jr. (1931) The Primate Basis of Human Sexual BehaviorThe Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 6, No.
4 (Dec., 1931), pp. 379–410
Westermarck, Edward [1891] (2003) History of Human Marriage Part 1Kessinger Publishing ISBN 0-7661-4618-9
Weston, Kath (1998) Long Slow Burn: Sexuality and Social ScienceISBN 0-415-92043-4
Woock, Randy (2002) Promiscuous Women Should Be Praised
Rinaldi, Robin, The Wild Oats Project: One Woman's Midlife Quest for Passion at Any Cost , Sarah Crichton Books
(March 17, 2015), hardcover, 304 pages ISBN 978-0-374-29021-4

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Promiscuity&oldid=824611551

This page was last edited on 8 February 2018, at 12:14.

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.