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Sexual Health Facts from Around the World
Provided by the Health & Science Advisory Board
The "factoids" below have been gathered by the professionals of WorldGroups' Health & Science Advisory Board, an inter-disciplinary team of leading academics, educators, theologians, therapists and medical professionals. The information offered in these factoids illustrates the many variations present in normal human sexual relationships around the globe. Whether the topic is courtship or attraction or sexual practices, healthy sexual interactions are as diverse and abundant, and as defining to human social, spiritual and cultural life, as the many languages of the world.
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- The dew drop of liquid before ejaculation is completely normal. Kinsey found that around 30% of American men had no pre-ejaculatory fluid at all; 25% made one drop; 10% had 2 drops; 35% made a bit more. So having or not having this fluid is normal.
- The Aranda people of Australia engage in sexual intercourse as often as 3 to 5 times per night, interspersed with sleep.
- Research has demonstrated that the majority of Americans do not consider oral sex to be "having sex."
- A 1996 study showed that 76% of newlyweds in Calcutta, India do not have sex on their wedding night.
-- "Sedate sex customs shed after wedding night," South China Morning Post, September 6, 1996.
- Island Pacific societies lead the world in allowing premarital sex for men and women -- 90% allow this practice.
- Research studies have demonstrated that 50-70% of women worldwide do not reach orgasm from penile thrusting alone. Most women need direct clitoral stimulation in order to orgasm.
- 20% of French people, in 1997, said they had no interest in sex.
-- "French get bored with endless sex," South China Morning Post, August 1, 1997.
- In much of South Asia, abstinence and chastity, especially for men, are believed to enhance spirituality and potency through retention of semen.
- Global research studies have reported that the length of the average erect penis ranges in size from 5 to 7 inches, and women aren’t all that concerned about it! In one study which asked women about sexual attractiveness factors, only 2% listed penis size as an important factor for them.
- In 1996, 46% of women in the United States said that a good night’s sleep was better than sex.
-- Marie Dewitt, The Harlequin Romance Report 1999.
- A study of 1600 American men has found that the average erect penis length is 5.5 inches, with most men falling between 4 and 7 inches in length. The average circumference was found to be 4.8 inches, with the majority of men being 4-6 inches around. For all the men, the range of lengths reported were from 1.6 to 10.1 inches and circumferences ranged from 1.2 to 7.4 inches.
- The Tiwi people of Northern Australia allow women to have multiple sexual partners, and by menopause, a woman has typically had at least two husbands and numerous extramarital relationships.
- Global studies have shown that the average size of testicles is 1 1/2 inches long by 1 inch wide. One may be slightly larger than the other, the left testicle usually hangs lower than the right. They hang lower when it is warm and get closer to the body when it is cold. This is to keep the testicles at a few degrees cooler than body temperature -- a key factor in maintaining healthy sperm.
- 44% of Brazilian women have confessed to faking orgasm.
-- "Rio top of league for sex," Eastern Express, April 9, 1996.
- The nape of the neck is the most exciting part of the body in traditional Japanese society.
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- Global research has shown that around 60% of females discover masturbation for themselves (that is, no one told them how or talked to them about it) while approximately 70% of males learn about masturbation from friends or another source.
- In the USA, 54% of men and 19% of women say they think about sex every day or several times a day. 4% of men and 14% of women say they think about sex less than once a month, or never.
-- Robert T. Michael, John H. Gagnon, Edward O. Laumann, Gina Kolata, "Sex in America: A definitive survey," National Health and Social Life Survey, NHSLS 1992.
- Chuckchee Siberian shamans must follow the commands of their spirits, even if they have to change sex and gender roles to the opposite sex and live as a woman.
- One survey revealed that 15% of Americans would rather watch television than have sex.
- In the UK, 22% of women consider shoulder blades to be the most attractive part of the male physique.
-- "The Truth About Women: Love and Sex," Meridian Broadcasting, May 11, 1999.
- Women among the Dani people of Irian Jaya, New Guinea are forbidden to engage in sexual relations for six years after giving birth (postpartum taboo).
- U.S. studies have shown that the so-called "seven year itch" actually is most likely to take place 4-5 years into a relationship, and is defined as the time when infidelity is most likely to take place.
- In 11 countries across all inhabited continents, men prefer women’s waist measurement to be 70% of their hip measurement.
-- D. Singh, "Adaptive significance of female physical attractiveness: role of waist to hip ratio," Journal Personal Social Psychology 1993; 65, pp.293, 307.
- According to Alfred Kinsey's study of male sexuality, the average American man’s first sexual experience is alone, masturbating and fantasizing about a woman.
- Research on American married couples has found that husbands think their wives want sex less frequently than they actually do, and wives think their husbands want sex more frequently than they actually do.
- 48% of Germans find body odor without perfume to be sexually stimulating.
-- Ingelore Ebberfeld, Botenstoffe der Liebe -- ber das innige Verhältnis von Geruch und Sexualität, Frankfurt/M.: Campus 1998, p. 252.
- Brazilians say that what occurs behind closed doors is transgression, and the anus is the most forbidden and tempting erotic orifice of all.
- In one U.S. research study involving married people who were having affairs, the husbands said they liked their wives better than their mistresses -- but the wives said they liked their lovers better than their husbands.
- 90% of Thai men have had sex before marriage.
-- Surasak Taneepanichskul, "Sexual behavior of Thai male before marriage," Poster, 14th World Congress of Sexology.
- The sub-incised penis (split down the underside from the base to head) in traditional Australian aboriginal societies enhances potency and is believed to symbolize the man’s mother and father kinship groups.
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- Global research has reported that the average extramarital affair lasts one year.
- In China, ceremonies are held that marry the dead, to prevent them from being lonely in heaven.
-- AFP, "Sex imbalance sees females outnumbered 120-100," South China Morning Post, January 8, 1999, p.8.
- Throughout the world, fertility and sexuality for women, and valor and responsibility for men, generally characterize the initiation ceremonies of human societies.
- In a global study of individuals involved in extramarital affairs, only 17% of the men and 10% of the women intended to leave their spouses.
- In the US, after a divorce men experience, on average, a 42% increase in their standard of living. By contrast, women experience an average 70% decrease in their standard of living.
-- Linda Kozak, National Organization of Women, reported by Victoria McKee in "Real-life soap can clean out bank accounts," South China Morning Post June 27, 1989, p. 20.
- Comanche Indian men wear g-strings of braided cord to provide magical protection for their genitals.
- U.S. research has revealed that husbands and wives who perceived high similarity between themselves and their spouses were much more satisfied with their sexual relationships and their marriages than were spouses who experienced less similarity. So perhaps more often than not, opposites do not last, even if they may attract.
- Outdoor workers in Texas, U.S.A. were shown to have 32% lower sperm concentration in summer than in winter.
-- R.J. Levine et al "Differences in the quality of semen in outdoor workers during summer and winter," Journal of Medicine, July 5, 1990; 323(1), pp 12-16.
- The Sambia people of Papua New Guinea say that when a man is going into war he has an erect penis. This symbolizes his aggression and his sexual right to take semen from a warrior he slays in order to capture the man’s power.
- Research has reported that after the first two years of marriage, the average American couple has sex 2-3 times per week. After 10 or more years of marriage, 63% of couples have sex at least once per week.
- An Italian study of infertile men found that their sperm count was highest around 5:00 PM.
-- A. Cagnacci et al, "Diurnal variation of semen quality in human males," Human Reproduction January 1999, 14(1), pp. 106-109.
- Societies vary greatly in the length of time devoted to foreplay before sexual intercourse, from virtually nothing at all to the Ponapean people’s practice of literally hours spent before orgasm.
- A global research study on arousal reported that 40% of men found natural female genital fragrance sexually arousing.
- Family planning resources in Malaysia have found that 2% of couples seeking fertility treatments have never consummated their marriage.
-- "Sexual Ignorance," South China Morning Post, October 19, 1999, p. 13.
- Global research reveals that the more attractive a woman and her partner believe she is, the more varied the couple’s sex life will be.
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- Not all human societies recognize the practice of stimulation of female breasts as part of foreplay, whether because of nudity or some other form of sexual excitement that takes precedence.
- Research in the U.S. has shown that 45% of men prefer some light when having sex while only 17% of women report this as a preference.
- A study of Latin American doctors found that 41% of their sexual knowledge was obtained from personal experience, and only 5% from university studies.
-- "Doctors and Medical students giving advice in Latin America, 1989," Population Information Program, Center for Communication Program, Johns Hopkins University.
- The preferred sexual position in many human societies is face to face -- a woman below and a man on top -- according to the influential studies of Ford and Beach.
- Research has reported that 80% of American men are pleased when women take the sexual initiative.
- 78% of men attending clinics in India reported that they were concerned about premature ejaculation.
-- K.K. Verma, B.K. Khaitan, and O.P. Singh, "The frequency of sexual dysfunctions in patients attending a sex therapy clinic in north India," Archive Sexual Behavior, June 1998 27(3), pp. 309-14.
- Hidatsa Indian culture allows a man sexual access to his wife’s sister when his wife is in a state of advanced pregnancy.
- Research all over the world has shown that the happiest couples are those in relationships where both partners feel comfortable initiating and refusing sex.
- U.S. research has reported that heterosexual men who perform oral sex on their female partners are happier with their sex lives than men who don’t.
- Gond women of India are believed to have special magical powers during menstruation.
- Global research reveals that, in general, marital and sexual satisfaction are more closely tied for men than they are for women.
- In 18th-century France, parmesan and gorgonzola cheese were commonly used as aphrodisiacs.
-- Alan Hull Walton, Aphrodisiacs from legend to prescription, A Study of Aphrodisiacs through the Ages, London, 1958.
- In various cultures, asparagus has long been considered an aphrodisiac due to its phallic shape.
-- Charles Henry Connell, Aphrodisiacs in Your Garden, Arthur Barker, 1966.
- Palauan women in the Pacific have tattooing over their hands, feet, legs and breasts that extends to the mons veneris, because if they do not, no man will give them a second look.
- The average American woman reports that she wants to receive more oral sex.
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- Spanish fly (a powder made from the Cantharis beetle) works by irritating the bladder and urethra. In France, the Marquis de Sade mixed it into sweets.
-- Alan Hull Walton, Aphrodisiacs from legend to prescription, A Study of Aphrodisiacs through the Ages, London, 1958.
- Masturbation as a category of human sexuality is not universal in all cultures. For example, it is nonexistent among the Sambia people of Papua New Guinea -- perhaps the product of an extreme emphasis on conservation of semen.
- Heterosexual men who receive oral sex are happier with their sex lives and relationships than men who do not receive oral sex, U.S. studies show.
- Virginity and chastity are so prized in some cultures, especially in the Middle East, that women are killed if they violate the taboo -- their families are dishonored and must seek blood revenge on the lover as well.
- Research has shown that, all over the world, couples with equal relationships report more frequent intercourse with the woman on top. Couples with traditional sexual values are more likely to limit intercourse to the "missionary" (man on top) position.
- Marshallese Islanders in Micronesia allow a woman to have sex with her sister’s husband, while a Comanche man may have sex with his brother’s wife.
- A large U.S. survey revealed that women don’t always need to experience orgasm to report feeling "extremely physically pleased" and orgasm is not necessarily enough for men to report that they feel "extremely physically pleased."
- Mandarin Chinese gentlemen in the 19th century, according to the sexologist Kraft-Ebbing, would experience instant ejaculation merely by touching the bound foot of a high status Chinese woman of the times.
- Semen normally comes in various shades of white, yellow or gray. Immediately after ejaculation it is creamy, sticky and thick. It then becomes more liquid and eventually dries after exposure to air.
- Research suggests that most educated young American couples engage in oral sex about half the time they have sex.
- The Trobriand Islanders in the Southwest Pacific bite each others’ eyelashes at the peak of excitement during sexual intercourse.
- Worldwide, men aged 40-50 often need longer and more intense stimulation to achieve and maintain erection and to reach orgasm than they did previously.
- According to the myth of Parthenogenesis among the natives of southeastern Papua New Guinea, humans were first created as hermaphrodites, and only later (through sexual intercourse) became men and women.
- Global research has revealed that the majority of men and women engage in sexual fantasy during masturbation and partnered sex some or all of the time. This is completely natural and enhances sexual activity.
- By the late 19th century as many as 60% of all middle class American men belonged to secret societies restricted to men only. These apparently helped secure their masculinity and sexual insecurity.
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- Several global studies have reported that although 90% of women have their breasts stimulated during sexual activity with their partners, only about 50% actually enjoy it and find it arousing. 11% of women regularly stimulate their breasts during masturbation, and 1% can achieve orgasm from breast stimulation alone. Many women say they engage in it because it brings pleasure to their partners. Many men report that they enjoy nipple and breast stimulation.
- Throughout all cultures and times, rites of passage introduce sexuality to people by teaching about the morals of sex and the sexuality of morals.
- The frequency of sexual interaction in your relationship is "normal," natural and healthy if both partners in the relationship are satisfied with the rate. That’s true in every society -- whether you are having sex 5 times a day, once a year on your anniversary, or any amount in between.
- In the early part of the 20th century, especially in the U.S., the automobile became widely associated not only with mobility but also with the creation of a private space for sexual relations between men and women, not regulated by family chaperones.
- Throughout the globe, in general, human males rely more on visual stimulation for sexual arousal. Human females rely more on touch.
- Homosexuality in Latin societies is demarcated by activo (active) and passivo (passive) roles, associated with male and female sexual scripts. This heritage dates back to colonial times.
- Ejaculate, or semen, includes fluids from the seminal vesicles produced in the testicles, fluid from the prostate gland, and sperm. Two-thirds comes from the seminal vesicles and one-third from the prostate gland; only a tiny drop of the volume of semen is sperm.
- In many societies, sexual energy is a force determined by gender, age, and prior experience, and is associated with orifices such as the mouth or vagina, connecting sex with food.
- Each ejaculation of semen usually includes between 120 million and 600 million sperm.
- Traditional Tahitian villages each contained a mahu (third gender person), typically a man dressing and acting as a woman, who enjoyed sexual relations with other men, even men of high status such as the king.
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