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Promiscuity tends to be frowned upon by many societies that expect most members to havecommitted, long-term relationships.Among women, as well as men, inclination for sex outside committed relationships is correlated with a highlibido;[1] however, evolutionary biology, as well as social and cultural factors, have also been observed to influence sexual behavior and opinion.[2][3]
Studies have relatedsociosexual orientation tosex drive, especially in women, where the higher the sex drive the less restricted the sociosexual orientation, or interest in sex outsidecommitted relationships.[1] Nevertheless, pertaining to thenature and nurture debate, there is some data emphasizing cultural factors, more so for women than for men.[2][3] One review assessed that sociosexuality was affected almost equally byheredity and environment unshared with siblings; shared environment had relatively little effect.[4]
Men tend to have higher sociosexuality scores and be more unrestricted than women across a variety of cultures.[5][6] However, there is more variability in scores within each gender than between men and women, indicating that although the average man is less restricted than the average woman, individuals may vary in sociosexual orientation regardless of gender.[7]
Body esteem in women showed a significant positive correlation with sociosexual unrestrictedness.[8] So didhip-to-waist ratio and two measures ofvirilization.[8] Finally, still in the same study,alcohol consumption correlated, too, but it is unclear whether the latter promoted the former or vice versa, or if a third variable was at play.[8]
Bisexual women tend to be less restricted in their sociosexual attitudes than both homo- and heterosexual women. In sociosexual behavior also, bisexual women reported being more unrestricted, followed by homo- and then heterosexual women.[6]
Social power has been popularly associated with sexualinfidelity among men; experimental psychologists have linked power with sexual infidelity among women also. A Dutch study involving a large survey of 1,561 professionals, concluded that "The relationship between power and infidelity was the same for women as for men, and for the same reason. These findings suggest that the common assumption (and often-found effect) that women are less likely than men to engage in infidelity is, at least partially, a reflection of traditional gender-based differences in power that exist in society."[9]
Church-attending women score lower on promiscuity than other women, while men appear to lack this correlation.[10]
Men and women leadingpolyandrous lifestyles have higher levels oftestosterone. However, it is unclear whether higher levels of testosterone cause increased sex drive and in turn multiple partners or whether sexual activity with multiple partners causes the increase in testosterone.[11] Sociosexuality in women is positively correlated with two measures ofprenatal exposure toandrogens—rightdigit ratio, and scores on theVandenberg Mental Rotation test—providing some limited support to thevirilization hypothesis of female promiscuity[8] (see alsoPrenatal hormones and sexual orientation). The aforementioned hypothesis is not at all mutually exclusive with other hypotheses.
Libido is correlated with themenstrual cycle so that many women experience an increase in sexual desire several days immediately beforeovulation.[12] Testosterone levels rise gradually from about the 24th day of a woman's menstrual cycle until ovulation on about the 14th day of the next cycle.[13]
It is common for sex drive to diminish dramatically aftermenopause.[14] A number of studies, includingAlfred Kinsey's, have concluded that the average age group in which women are the most active sexually is their mid-thirties, one study liberally estimating 27–45 as the limits of the age group (the average man peaks later).[15] Women in this age group typically report having sexual fantasies greater in number and intensity, engaging in sexual activity more frequently, and being more interested in casual sex.[16]
One study insexual antagonism suggested a possible genetic link between femaleandrophilic promiscuity andmale androphilia:Samoan tribal women exhibited a correlation between reproductive output and the likeliness of having androphilic grandsons, though not nephews (see alsoFa'afafine).[17]
Rate ofmolecular evolution of the seminal protein geneSEMG2 correlates with levels of female promiscuity.[18]
Pathological overactivity of thedopaminergicmesolimbic pathway in the brain—forming either psychiatrically, duringmania,[19] or pharmacologically, as a side effect ofdopamine agonists, specificallyD3-preferring agonists[20][21]—is associated with variousaddictions[22][23] and has been shown to result among some subjects of either sex in overindulgent, sometimeshypersexual, behavior.[19][20][21]
Bateman's principle implies that females are choosy because there is little evolutionary advantage for them to mate with multiple males. However, observation of many species, fromrabbits tofruit flies, has shown that females have more offspring if they mate with a larger number of males.[24]Exceptions to Bateman's principle abound, as do hypotheses explaining the evolution of female promiscuity. Females in fact have a lot to gain, depending on the species.
Many species once thought monogamous, including such birds asswans, are now known to engage inextra-pair copulation.
Thierry Lodé found possible evolutionary explanations forpolyandry relating tosexual conflict, including mate competition andinbreeding avoidance.[25] The following list is incomplete.
Evolutionary psychologists have theorized that taboos against female promiscuity evolved on the basis ofpaternity anxiety.[30]DNA tests being yet to be invented, it was impossible to accurately determine paternity, unlike maternity. A male risked spendingpaternal investment on offspring who carried genetic material of another male rather than of his own. Evolutionarily, this translated intosexual jealousy and complex preventive customs (e.g.,female genital mutilation,[31]menstrual taboos[32]).
Female promiscuity is a recurring theme in mythologies and religions. In the Middle East,sacred prostitution, usually in honor of GoddessAstarte, had been prevalent before the 4th century when EmperorConstantine I attempted to replace pagan traditions withChristianity.[33] InGreek mythology,nymphs are portrayed as dangerous nature spirits sexually uninhibited with humans; hence, theVictorian medical termnymphomania.Imperial Rome is popularly seen as being sexually profligate,[34][35] and certain Roman empresses—such asTheodora I,Messalina andJulia the Elder—gained in their lifetime a reputation of extreme promiscuity.
On the field of pleasure she [Empress Theodora] was never defeated. Often she would go picnicking with ten young men or more, in the flower of their strength and virility, and dallied with them all, the whole night through. ... and even thus found no allayment of her craving ... And though she flung wide three gates to the ambassadors ofCupid, she lamented that nature had not similarly unlocked the straits of her bosom, that she might there have contrived a further welcome to his emissaries.
— Procopius,Secret History.Chapter IX: How Theodora, the most depraved of all courtesans, won his love
TheBible features many female personages identified as being promiscuous, among them theWhore of Babylon,Princess Jezebel,Prophetess Jezebel,Gomer,Rahab,Salome, andPotiphar's unnamed wife.
Yet she [Oholibah] became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. / There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.
— The Bible (NIV),The Book of EzekielXXIII:19–20
Many cultures have historically laid much restriction on sexuality, most emphatically against immoderate expression of sexuality by women.[citation needed] In contrast, some recent ethical philosophies—both secular (coming fromindividualism andsex-positive feminism) and religious (e.g.,Wicca,Thelema,LaVeyan Satanism)—either tolerate it or outright celebrate it.
We believe that it is fundamentally a radical political act to deprivatize sex. So much oppression in our culture is based on shame about sex: the oppression of women, of cultural minorities, oppression in the name of the (presumably asexual) family, oppression of sexual minorities. We are all oppressed. We have all been taught, one way or another, that our desires, our bodies, our sexualities, are shameful. What better way to defeat oppression than to get together in communities and celebrate the wonders of sex?
— Dossie Easton,Catherine Liszt,The Ethical Slut. Chapter XXII: Group Sex, Public Sex, Orgies…
Public opinion has fluctuated over the centuries, with such downturns asNew England Puritanism (1630–1660) and theVictorian era (1837–1901), whenhypersexuality was often treated as an exclusively female disorder, diagnosed on the grounds of as little as masturbation alone (seehere).[36] Up until the late 20th century, women could be incarcerated for promiscuous behavior in so-calledMagdalene asylums, the last of which was closed in Ireland in 1996.[37][38][39] From 1897 to 1958,Ontario used theFemale Refuges Act to incarcerate women felt to be "incorrigible".
Following theIndustrial Revolution (1760~1840), as Western countries underwentindustrialization andurbanization, education and employment opportunities were increasing for women. This environment gave rise in the late 19th century to the feminist ideal called "theNew Woman"—a personification of female economic, sexual and other autonomy—which had a profound influence on feminism well into the 20th century. It was not until theMarried Women's Property Act 1882 that female British citizens were no longer legally compelled, upon marriage, to transfer all their property to their husbands. Thewomen's movement was closelyallied with thefree love movement, whose advocates had a strong belief that a woman ought to be herselfsovereign over her body.
Laws against adultery [were]based upon the idea that woman is a chattel, so that to make love to a married woman is to deprive the husband of her services. It is the frankest and most crass statement of a slave-situation. To us, every woman ... has ... an absolute right to travel in her own orbit. There is no reason why she should not be the idealhausfrau, if that chance to be her will. But society has no right to insist upon that standard. It was, for practical reasons, almost necessary to set up such taboos in small communities, savage tribes, where the wife was nothing but a general servant, where the safety of the people depended upon a high birth-rate. But to-day woman is economically independent, becomes more so every year. The result is that she instantly asserts her right to have as many or as few men or babies as she wants or can get; and she defies the world to interfere with her. More power to her!
— Aleister Crowley,The Law is for All, the New Comment 1:41
TheRoaring Twenties have been described as "a time when gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession."[40] Popular at that time was a female subculture called "flappers", who flouted social and sexual norms and were considered a significant challenge to Victoriangender roles.[41] But these sentiments were then overshadowed by theGreat Depression.[42]Despite this, the 1925 silent filmThe Red Kimono, sympathetic toward its promiscuous protagonist, was subject to severe censorship,[43] and led to a landmark legal case,Melvin v. Reid.
The 1950s in America is stereotyped to have been sexually repressed, though not as severely as the Victorian era. Female promiscuity in particular became substantially more accepted inWestern culture after thesexual revolution of the 1960s, which resonated with thehippie movement. It also became more prevalent a theme inmass media, including cinema (e.g.,Sex and the City) and music (e.g.,Erotica byMadonna).
Madonna has been at the forefront of thegender neutrality movement in terms of promiscuity since becoming a globally recognized entertainer in the 1980s. In addition to her sexually explicit song lyrics and occasional nude self exposures during live performances and almost being arrested inToronto,Ontario, Canada, on 29 May 1990 for simulating masturbation in public,[44] her bookSex released on 21 October 1992 was a commercially successful nude pictorial of her and various famous celebrities engaging in scenes of purported promiscuity, further enhancing her vision of gender equality in this regard.
There has been an increase in awareness ofdiscrimination on grounds of promiscuity—apparent or actual—which at least since year 2010 has been calledslut shaming.[45][46] On 3 April 2011,[47] theSlutWalk movement—protesting against explaining or excusingrape by referring to any aspect of a woman'sappearance[48] and later, by extension, calling for sexual freedom in general—began inToronto,Ontario, Canada, and went on to spread throughout the world.[49]
In the Islamic world, the "Ummah", female promiscuity is a major fear. A woman is obliged, in some countries legally,[50] to wear a veil, such as aburqa or aniqab—in its own right, a symbol of "modesty" and "namus", i.e. female sexual restraint[51]—so as toprevent the woman from having her body visible to any men other than her family or her sole husband.[52]
When a Muslim woman is found to have engaged in extra-marital relations, she falls under the risk of being executed, either by a governmental institution[53] or by natural persons. In the latter case, a common scenario, sometimes even among Muslims residing in Western countries, is familyhonor killing: the woman's relatives feel that she brought shame on their family, so they resort to homicide as a form of atonement.[54] Otherwise, the woman may be given the penalty of capital punishment by a court,[53][55] in accordance with the customs ofSharia Islamic law, whichis based on the Islamic scriptures of theQuran and onSunnah. For "zina", adultery, the Quran prescribesflogging 100 times in public;[56] the Sunnah adds stoning ("Rajm") to death if it was extra-marital.[57]
On 20 April 2010,Iranian Islamic cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi provoked transnational ridicule by blaming promiscuous women for causing earthquakes.[58] Six days later, on 26 April, the AmericanBoobquake gathering, organized by theblogger Jennifer McCreight and attended by 200,000 participants,[59][60] was held in response to it.
Japan wasn't as soon to be reached by thesexual revolution, originating in the American 1960s. The documentaryJapan – Female Sexuality touched on the subject from a 1990s perspective, and reported the trend to be increasing.[61]
Althoughpolygyny is more common, some tribal societies are traditionallypolyandrous.
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The use ofdemographical methods insexological research was pioneered by the American zoologistAlfred Kinsey, who published two books—Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) andSexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953)—collectively known as theKinsey Reports. The reports defied the expectations of the public and paved the way for thesexual revolution of the 1960s.
Accurately assessing people's sexual behavior is difficult, since there are strong social and personal motivations, depending on socialsanctions andtaboos, for either minimizing or exaggerating reported sexual activity. Women tend to undervalue the number of their sex partners whereas men tend to overestimate the number of theirs.[citation needed]
In a 1994 study in the United States, 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.[62] More recent research, however, contradicts the assertion that heterosexual women are largelymonogamous. A 2002 study estimated that 45% to 55% of married heterosexual women engage in sexual relationships outside their marriage.[63] While the estimates for heterosexual males in the same study were greater (50–60%), the data indicates that a significant portion of married heterosexual women have or have had sexual partners other than their spouse as well.[63]
One international study found women to be more variable than men in their sex drive.[2] International measurements of promiscuity are inconsistent from study to study, varying by the methodology used. Due to practical reason—the inability to survey a country's entire population—all studies of this class areinductive, generalizing about the general population based on assessments of sample groups supposed to be representative of the larger population being studied.
For example, in a non-scientific study conducted by the condom-making companyDurex, British women reported fewer partners than British men, while the only country where women reported more sex partners than men did wasNew Zealand (20.4 versus 16.8), which was also the country where women reported more sex partners than did women from all other countries surveyed.[64] To further complicate matters, a well-known study in general sociosexuality that surveyed 14,059 people across 48 countries, placed New Zealand, which came right beforeSlovenia, second toFinland; theUnited States, in the unisex scores of the same study, came in 22nd.[65]
Sexual relations with multiple males are termedpolyandry. It has a more specific meaning in zoology, where it refers to a type ofmating system, and in anthropology, where it refers to a type ofmarriage. Sexual relations with multiple females are termedpolygyny, but in zoology it can only be applied to heterosexual relations.Polyamory is sometimes defined asnon-monogamy with consent of all parties involved, if within or withoutcommitted relationships. Attitudinal differences concerning sex outside committed relationships are referred to under the termsociosexual orientation or simplysociosexuality.
Since at least 1450, the wordslut has been used, often pejoratively, to describe a sexually promiscuous woman.[66] In and before theElizabethan andJacobean eras, terms like "strumpet" and "whore" were used to describe women deemed promiscuous, as seen for example inJohn Webster's 1612 playThe White Devil.
Discrimination targeting individuals, specifically women, for sexual behavior deemed excessive, has been referred to, since at least spring of 2010, with theneologismslut shaming (also hyphenated, asslut-shaming).[45][46]
Cuckold fetish is colloquial for aparaphilia in which sexual gratification is gained from maintenance or observation of sexual relations by a woman with a man or a number of men besides her husband, boyfriend or long-term male sex partner.
The popular slangcougar refers to a woman who seeks sexual relations with considerably younger men.
The termfallen woman was used to describe a woman who has "lost her innocence", and fallen from the grace of God. InVictorian Britain especially, the meaning came to be closely associated with the "loss or surrender of a woman's chastity". Its use was an expression of the belief that to be socially and morally acceptable a women's sexuality and experience should be entirely restricted to marriage, and that she should also be under the supervision and care of an authoritative man.
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