The sexuality of the French has experienced “major changes” in recent years, reveals a vast investigation published this Wednesday by Inserm: sexual practices are now more varied, intercourse less frequent, first intercourse later, the number of sexual partners greater. The investigation also reveals a level of sexual violence “worrisome” : nearly one in three women report having experienced forced sex or an attempt.
The result of five years of work, this survey on the “context of sexualities in France 2023” is the fourth scientific investigation since 1970 to study emotional and sexual life in France and to place them in the context of societal changes. These developments “most of them are long-term, well before #Metoo”underlined Nathalie Bajos, sociologist and research director at Inserm, during the presentation of this survey.
“Worrying” sexual violence
The number of women reporting having experienced forced sexual intercourse or attempted forced intercourse has increased significantly in France in recent years. So, in 2023, 29.8% women aged 18 to 69 declared having experienced forced sex or an attempted forced sex, compared to 15.9% in 2006. The increase is particularly marked among young women (18-29 years old), going from 16.5% to 36.8%.
“These figures translate” at once “the lowering of a threshold of tolerance for intra-marital sexual violence” et “a greater capacity to qualify these facts and declare them in investigations”underlined Ms. Bajos. In menthis figure increases from 4.6% in 2006 to 8,7 % in 2023.
Social mobilization against forms of sexual violence has certainly “modified the normative frameworks of consent”but the investigation “paints a picture of the scale of this violence which remains worrying”, according to Nathalie Bajos, who describes a “more desired sexuality” and a “increasingly marked rejection of women’s sexual availability”. The survey notes a decrease among women, since 2006, in the frequency of sexual intercourse. accepted to please to his or her partner without really wanting it yourself.
The first later report
The median age at first sexual intercourse – that is, the age at which half of the population had their first intercourse – has increased slightly in recent years, reaching 18.2 years for women (compared to 17.3 years in the 2000s) and 17.7 years for men in 2023 (compared to 17.3 years in the 2000s). A slight reversal of trend compared to that observed between the early 1960s and the mid-2000s, when the median age had decreased, and which “is also observed in other countries”notes the study.
At the same time, the study notes that sex life has been prolonged : in 2023, 56.6% of women and 73.8% of men remain sexually active after age 50.
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More partners
The average number of lifetime sexual partners has increased, particularly among men. The study also underlines on this point that the gap between women and men “remains important“. Among women, it went from 3.4 partners on average in 1992 to 4.5 in 2006 and to 7.9 in 2023. For men, these figures are stable between 1992 and 2006 (11.2 and 11.9 respectively), and reach 16.4 partners on average in 2023.
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The frequency of reports decreasing
At the same time, certain indicators of sexual activity have decreased: in 2023, 77.2% of women and 81.6% of men reported having had sexual activity with a partner in the last 12 months. A figure is down compared to 2006 (82.9% for women and 89.1% for men) and 1992 (86.4% for women and 92.1% for men).
The frequency of sexual intercourse in the last four weeks also decreased, from 8.1 in 1992 to 6.0 in 2023 for women and from 9.0 in 1992 to 6.7 in 2023 for men.
The explanations “are multiple”, according to Inserm. Among them, the institute cites “periods without a stable partner will be more numerous in 2023 than in the past”the “questioning the sexual availability of women”the rise of sexuality which “in the digital space” or the Covid-19 pandemic, which “contributed to long-term damage to mental health, particularly among the youngest.” Finally, the survey highlights that the definition of “sexual intercourse” still mainly refers to vaginal or anal penetration. The decline in the frequency of sexual intercourse can therefore be put into perspective with the development of other forms of sexual experiences.
From now on, “it seems that the absence of sexual activity is experienced in a less problematic way than in the past among younger people“. Likewise, “the idea that men 'by nature' have greater sexual needs than women, which was the majority in 2006, will no longer be so in 2023“.
“Sexual satisfaction” slightly increasing
These changes “do not seem to affect sexual satisfaction” of the French. Women thus report in the same proportions as in 2006 being “very satisfied” of their sex life (45.3% versus 43.6%).
In men, “sexual satisfaction increased”even reports Ms. Bajos, going from 35% in 2006 to 39% in 2023. “All the talk of saying that equality between the sexes and feminism destabilizes men in their sexuality and virility is not what the survey shows.”
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More varied sexual practices
“The repertoire of sexual practices has significantly diversified over time”also analyzes Inserm. “More and more men and women report having experimented with sexual practices other than vaginal intercourse”such as masturbation, oral sex or anal sex.
Regarding masturbation, the evolution is particularly obvious among women: in 1992, 42.4% of women declared having already masturbated, this figure will rise to 72.9% in 2023. Among men, “this practice is integrated into sexual repertoires for a long time” and the evolution is less marked.
The percentage of people “having already experienced fellatio (performed or received) during their life” also increased, from 63.2% in 1992 to 78.3% in 2006 and 84.4% in 2023 among women, and from 75.3% to 85.5% and 90.5% among men.
Of the “Similar trends are observed for the experience of cunnilingus (performed or received)” : among women, this figure increased from 72.1% in 1992 to 83.7% in 2006 and 86.9% in 2023, and among men from 77.8% to 85.7% and 87.7% .
The “anal penetration practice” has also increased over time among women, from 23.4% in 1992 to 35.2% in 2006 and 38.9% in 2023. The increase is “more marked in men”going from 29.6% to 46.3% and 57.4%.
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Digital “revolution”
With technological advances, “online sexual activities have grown massively” over the last 20 years. In 2023, 33% of women and 46.6% of men have had a online sexual experience with another person. This could include, for example, having connected to a dating site, having met a sexual partner online, or having exchanged intimate images or videos.
Practices “more frequent” among the youngest. Among those under 30, 39.4% of women and 43.5% of men have already met a sexual partner. through a site or application.
More varied sexual orientations
The proportion of people who had at least one partner of the same sex over the course of life increased, reaching 8.8% among women and 8.9% among men. In 2023, 1.3% of women and 2.3% of men aged 18-89 define their sexuality as homosexual, 2.8% of women and 2.3% of men say they are bisexual and 1.5% of women and 0.6% of men consider themselves pansexual.
The “questioning heterosexuality” is more common among younger generations, according to the Inserm study, “these having grown up, unlike their parents and grandparents, in a period of strong evolution in the rights and social visibility of LGBTQA+ people”.
“The questioning of heterosexuality is also more remarkable among women”, analyzes the institute. “There is more to gain for them” to move towards another sexuality “particularly due to persistent inequalities and violence within heterosexual couples”. For the first time, “Women report more experiences with people of the same sex than men”, underlines Nathalie Bajos.
Gender change
In total in France, one in a thousand people (0.1% of the population) declares having taken steps to change their gender. And 2.3% of women and 2.4% of men say they have already thought about it. “People aged 18 to 29 are the most numerous in this case. testifying to a “increasing reflexivity of younger generations regarding their gender affiliation”.
Social acceptance of homosexuality and transidentity is progressing: 69.6% of women and 56.2% of men consider that homosexuality is a sexuality like any other, 41.9% of women and 31.6% of men consider that transidentity is an identity like any other.
Less prevention
In 2023, 75.2% of women and 84.5% of men use a condom during their first sexual intercourse, decreasing figures. However, condom use had increased significantly. “striking” during the 1980s and 1990s, “when prevention campaigns were deployed to combat the spread of HIV infection”. A decline which “could contribute to the increase in STI rates reported since the early 2000s”warns Inserm.
Especially since at the same time, “vaccination coverage” against the sexually transmitted infections “remains insufficient”particularly among men and older people. Thus, vaccination coverage against hepatitis B reaches 63.5% for women aged 15-29 compared to 52.9% for men of the same age. Among those over 50, less than half of the population is vaccinated against hepatitis B.
Concerning papillomavirusescoverage is increasing among young people (61.3% among young women aged 15-19 and 32.9% of young men of the same age). Estimates “below objectives” French and “below the level reached in many European countries”. On this point, campaigns in schools “proves to be the most effective strategy”.
Loss of interest in the pill
Contraception is in “mutation“, notes the study. If contraceptive coverage remains stable (91% of women aged 18 to 49 use a means of contraception), the “distribution of contraceptive methods is evolving”with a decline in pill use and an increase in IUD and condom use. The intrauterine device (IUD or IUD) has thus become the most used method of contraception (27.7%), followed by the pill (26.8%) and the condom (18.6%).
A change that reveals “a growing disaffection towards the pill”, in the wake of the controversies surrounding 3rd and 4th generation pills. In 2005, more than half of women (55.8%) used the contraceptive pill, a proportion which fell to 36.4% in 2016, then to 26.8% in 2023.
Other methods (withdrawal, calculation of dates, ogino, diaphragm) represent 7.5% of practices, and the use of the contraceptive implant remains marginal, with 4.4% of users.
