Liberal attitudes could mean Brits are sleeping with more people than ever – a fifth of women admit to having at least two lovers a year
It is claimed that the average Briton has four sexual partners in their lifetime.
However, detailed new research shows that this figure may be far below standard.
Increasingly liberal attitudes mean one in five women now admit to having multiple sexual partners in a year. For men, this figure is even higher: almost one in three.
The findings came from a BMC Health survey of 30,000 sexually active men and women aged 16 to 44 over 20 years.
The research aimed to identify changes in sexual behavior between 1990 and 2010 and found that the percentage of women with two or more lovers in the previous twelve months rose from 9.9 percent to 22.1 percent.
Increasingly liberal attitudes mean one in five women now admit to having multiple sexual partners in a year. For men, this figure is even higher: almost one in three. Stock image
The results also showed that the number of men with multiple lovers increased by almost two-thirds between 1990 and 2000, from 19.5 percent to 32.1 percent.
But there was little change during the second decade, suggesting that such lifestyles have reached a plateau among the male population. In contrast, the share of women with two or more partners continued to rise between 2000 and 2010.
“Significant changes in sexual lifestyle have been observed in Britain, as well as in other high-income countries, partly reflecting a trend in the liberalization of attitudes towards sex and sexuality,” said the researchers from University College London and other centers.
It was suggested that reduced concern about the threat of HIV and AIDS could also be a factor. Data published last year in response to a YouGov survey showed that the average Brit – or, more specifically, the average Brit willing to discuss the subject – has had four sexual partners.
The typical number over a lifetime is five for men and three for women.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study also found clear differences by age.
People aged 60 or older reported having an average of three lovers, while people aged 40 to 59 claimed to have had six. Meanwhile, the 30-something generation averaged five people, with more than one in five (21 percent) of those aged 40 to 59 claiming to have slept with at least fifteen people.
Additionally, one in six (17 percent) of respondents willing to reveal their number of sexual partners say they have slept with only one person over the course of their lives. Reportedly, 13 percent of men said they had only had one lover, compared to 21 percent of women.
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