More numerous partners, more varied practices, less frequent relationships… The sexuality of French men and women has undergone “major changes” in ten years, according to a vast survey* carried out by Inserm and the ANRS published this Wednesday. The result of five years of work, this scientific survey is the fourth since 1970 to study emotional and sexual life in France. What to remember? We gave you a little summary.
A later loss of virginity
If we made love earlier in the 2000s compared to the 1960s (going from first sexual intercourse to 20.1 years on average compared to 17.3 years for women, and from 18.8 to 17.3 years for men), the situation is now reversed. According to Inserm, the first sexual intercourse for a woman today takes place at 18.2 years old and 17.7 years old for a man.
Less frequent sex
We've been saying it for a while now but the figures confirm it: the French make love less. In 1992, 86.4% of women aged 18 to 69 had had sexual intercourse in the past year. They will only be 77.2% in 2023. Among men, we go from 92.1% in 1992 to 81.6% in 2023.
More sexual partners
If the French make love less and become sexually active later, they do, however, have more sexual partners than their elders. In 2023, women will have 7.9 sexual partners on average during their lifetime. A figure which has more than doubled compared to 1992 (3.4 in 1992 and 4.5 in 2006). Men always have more sexual partners than their female counterparts. If the figures remained stable between 1992 and 2006 (11.2 and 11.9 respectively), they then increased, reaching 16.4 partners on average in 2023.
More varied reports
Whether it is masturbation, fellatio, cunnilingus or sodomy, more and more men and women report having experimented with sexual practices other than vaginal intercourse. If only 63.2% of women declared having already given fellatio in 1992, this number will now be 84.4% in 2023. As for men, 75.3% declared having already received one in 1992, compared to 90.5% in 2023 Similar trends are observed regarding cunnilingus, increasing among women from 72.1% in 1992 to 86.9% in 2023 and among men from 77.8% to 87.7%.
The practice of anal penetration has also increased, from 23.4% in 1992 to 38.9% in 2023 among women. The increase is more marked among men, going from 29.6% to 57.4%. Finally, on the masturbation side, 72.9% of women aged 18 to 69 reported having already masturbated in 2023 (compared to 42.4% in 1992 and 56.5% in 2006). Among men of the same age, this practice has been integrated into the sexual repertoire for a long time (82.8% in 1992 to 92.6% in 2023).
No more same-sex relationships
Same-sex attraction is reported more often today than in previous surveys. In 2023, 13.4% of women and 7.6% of men aged 18-89 report having been attracted to people of the same sex during their lifetime and 1.5% of women and 0.6% of men by people regardless of their gender. These findings are more marked among young people aged 18-29, with 32.3% of women and 13.8% of men reporting an attraction to people of the same sex and 4.3% and 1.7% respectively. % to report attraction to people regardless of their gender.
An observation that we also find in sexual relationships. In 2023, 8.8% of women and 8.9% of men aged 18 to 89 report having had at least one same-sex partner during their lifetime. These experiences are even more common among 18-29 year olds, with 14.8% of women affected and 9.3% of men.
Sexuality also online
The Inserm survey shows that 33% of women and 46.6% of men have already had an “online sexual experience” with another person. It can be anything from a simple connection to a dating site to exchanging intimate images or videos. This figure is even higher among young people and sexual minorities.
Contraceptive use on the decline
Contraceptive use at first sexual intercourse has declined since 1992. Only 87.2% of women and 92.3% of men who started having sex between 2019 and 2023 used contraception. Same trend regarding condom use at first intercourse (75.2% among women and 84.5% among men).
An increase in forced sex
Between 2006 and 2023, reports of sexual violence increased significantly: in 2006, 15.9% of women aged 18-69 reported having experienced forced sex or attempted forced sex, a figure which almost doubled to reach 29 .8% in 2023.
