Nathalie Bajos, sociologist (Inserm-EHESS), and Armelle Andro, demographer (Université Paris-1), are part of the research team which made public, on Wednesday November 13, the first results of the survey on “context of sexualities in France” (Inserm, ANRS-Infectious Diseases). It is the fourth of its kind, after the editions of 1970, 1992 and 2006. The result of five years of work, it is based on the responses of more than 31,500 people aged 15 to 89, interviewed, between November 2022 and December 2023, on their practices, their representations and their sexual trajectories – among others. From the thousands of responses collected, the two experts deliver their first analyzes on the mutations of “sexual landscape”which is moving towards a “greater equality between sexes and sexualities”even if, they temper, “inequalities, violence and discrimination” persist.
Nearly twenty years separate us from the previous survey on sexualities in France. What characterizes this one?
Nathalie Bajos: One of the very striking results is what could be described as “contemporary paradox of sexuality”. It is characterized by an increasing diversity of sexual practices and partners, at the same time as a lower intensity of sexual activity. We have, for example, on the one hand the extension of sexual repertoires (such as more frequent recourse to masturbation, oral, anal penetration), an increasing number of partners, practices which extend into spaces digital and, on the other, a certain number of declining indicators, such as the frequency of sexual intercourse – less marked among people in a relationship. To summarize: greater diversity but less intensity.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Frequency of sexual relations: “When I say that we make love very little and that things are going well in our relationship, it helps others to confide”
Read later
Armelle Andro: The frequency of sexual intercourse has decreased over time for both sexes and in all age groups: people who have had sexual intercourse during the year report, on average, 6 intercourse in the last four weeks. for women, 6.7 for men – compared to, respectively, 8.6 and 8.7 reports in 2006. And yet, sexual satisfaction does not decrease; on the contrary, it is slightly increasing. And women always say they are a little more satisfied than men. In 2023, 45.3% of women and 39% of men say they “very satisfied” of their sex life.
You have 76.91% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
