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Females |
| 25% by age 15 | 26% by age 15 |
| 37% by age 16 | 40% by age 16 |
| 46% by age 17 | 49% by age 17 |
| 62% by age 18 | 70% by age 18 |
| 69% by age 19 |
77% by age 19 |
| 85% by age 20-21 | 81% by age 20-21 |
| 89% by age 22-24 | 92% by age 22-24 |
(Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005)
Average age of first intercourse, by gender
| Males | Females |
| 16.9 | 17.4 |
(AGI, 2002).
Average age of first intercourse, by ethnicity
| White | Black | Hispanic | Asian American | Other |
| 16.6 | 15.8 | 17.0 | 18.1 | 17.4 |
BDSM
The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, a national organization committed to supporting the equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression, conducted an informal survey of SM practitioners in 1998-1999. The demographics below are from this survey.
GENDER
ORIENTATION
Men
51%
Heterosexual
40%
Women
46%
Homosexual
22%
Transgender
1%
Bisexual
36%
Intersexual
2%
No Response
4%
EMPLOYMENT
AGE
INCOME
Student
8%
18-22
3%
Under $ 10K
7%
Part time
5%
23-29
15%
$10-24K
17%
Full time
62%
30-44
49%
$25-49K
37%
Self employed
22%
45-64
31%
Over $50K
39%
Unemployed
1%
Over 65
2%
Retired
2%
5-10% of the U.S. engages in SM for sexual pleasure on at least an occasional basis (Lowe, 1983).
12% of females and 22% of males reported erotic response to a SM story (Kinsey, Martin, Gebhard, 1953).
55% of females and 50% of males reported having responded erotically to being bitten (Kinsey, Martin, Gebhard, 1953).
14% of men and 11% of women have had some sexual experience with sadomasochism (Janus & Janus, 1993).
11% of men and 17% of women reported trying bondage (Lowe, 1983).
Contraception
62% of the 62 million women aged 15-44 are currently using a contraceptive method (AGI, 2002).
Among U.S. women who practice contraception, the Pill is the most popular choice (30.6%), followed by tubal sterilization (27.0%), and the male condom (18.0%).(AGI, 2002).
27% of teenage women using contraceptives choose condoms as their primary method. (AGI, 2002).
FantasyMen's sexual fantasies tend to be more sexually explicit than women's; women's fantasies tend to be more emotional and romantic (Zurbriggen & Yost, 2004). In one study, men's fantasies mentioned a partner's sexual desire and pleasure more frequently than did women's fantasies (Zurbriggen & Yost, 2004). 54% of men think about sex everyday or several times a day, 43% a few times per month or a few times per week, and 4% less than once a month (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994). 19% of women think about sex everyday or several times a day, 67% a few times per month or a few times per week, and 14% less than once a month (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
Frequency of sex
18-29 year olds have sex an average of 112 times per year, 30-39 year olds an average of 86 times per year, and 40-49 year olds an average of 69 times per year (Piccinino, Mosher, 1998).
23% of non-married men reported they have never had sex in the past year, 25% reported only a few times in the past year, 26% reported a few times in the past month, 19% reported 2-3 times a week, and 7% reported 4 or more times a week (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
32% of non-married women reported they have never had sex in the past year, 23% reported only a few times in the past year, 24% reported a few times in the past month, 15% reported 2-3 times a week, and 5% reported 4 or more times a week (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
1% of married men reported they have never had sex in the past year, 13% reported only a few times in the past year, 43% reported a few times in the past month, 36% reported 2-3 times a week, and 7% reported 4 or more times a week (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
3% of married women reported they have never had sex in the past year, 12% reported only a few time in the past year, 47% reported a few times in the past month, 32% reported 2-3 times a week, and 7% reported 4 or more times a week (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
13% of married couples reported having sex a few times per year, 45% reported a few times per month, 34% reported 2-3 times per week, and 7% reported 4 or more times per week (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
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HIV/AIDSAt the end of 2003, an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons in the United States were living with HIV/AIDS, with 24-27% undiagnosed and unaware of their HIV infection (Glynn & Rhodes, 2005).
The cumulative estimated number of diagnoses of AIDS through 2003 in the United States is 929,985. (CDC, 2003)
Estimated numbers of diagnoses of AIDS, by race or ethnicity:
Race or Ethnicity Estimated # of AIDS Cases in 2003 Cumulative Estimated # of AIDS Cases, Through 2003 White, not Hispanic 12,222 376,834 Black, not Hispanic 21,304 368,169 Hispanic 8,757 172,993 Asian/Pacific Islander 497 7,166 American Indian/Alaska Native 196 3,026 Estimated number of diagnoses of AIDS among adults by exposure category.
Exposure Category Estimated # of AIDS Cases, in 2003 Male Female Total 17,969 - 17,969 6,353 3,096 9,449 1,877 - 1,877 5,133 8,127 13,260 281 276 557
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Homosexuality
The Kinsey Institute: Prevalence of Homosexuality
In a national survey, 90% of men aged 18-44 considered themselves to be heterosexual, 2.3% as homosexual, 1.8% as bisexual, and 3.9% as 'something else' (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005).
Among women aged 18-44 in the same survey, 90% said they were heterosexual, 1.3% homosexual, 2.8% bisexual, and 3.8% as 'something else' (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005).
The incidence rate of homosexual desire for men is 7.7% and 7.5% for women (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
6.2% of men and 4.4% of women are attracted to people of the same sex (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
4% of men and 2% of women consider themselves homosexual while 5% of men and 3% of women consider themselves bisexual (Janus & Janus, 1993).
88.2% of adolescent youths as a Minnesota junior/senior high school described himself or herself as heterosexual, while 1.1% described himself or herself as bisexual or homosexual, and 10.7% were not sure of their sexual orientation (Remafedi, 1992).
Infidelity
11% of adults who have ever been married or cohabited have been unfaithful to their partner (Treas & Giesen, 2000). Infidelity is influenced by many social and demographic factors. All of the following were associated with an increased risk of infidelity: having been part of a couple for a long time; having had a high number of prior sex partners; being male or black; living in a central city; and thinking about sex several times a day (Treas & Giesen, 2000). Respondents who reported that their relationships were "pretty happy" and "not
too happy" were two and four times more likely, respectively, to have reported extramarital sex than respondents who reported that they were "very happy" with their relationships (Atkins et al., 2001).More than 80% of women and 65 to 85% of men report that they had no partners other than their spouse while they were married (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994). 94% of married men and women had only one sex partner (their spouse) in the past 12 months, 4% had 2-4 partners, and 1% had over 5 partners (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
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Internet Pornography
In a national study, 14% of people reported having used a sexually explicit website ever (Buzzell, 2005).
In the same study, 25% of men reported visiting a pornographic site in the previous 30 days; 4% of women reported visiting pornographic sites in the same timeframe. (Buzzell, 2005) .
Only 8% of men and women using the Internet for sexual reasons reported significant problems typically associated with compulsive disorders (Cooper, Scherer, Boies, Gordon, 1999).
In a study of Internet addiction of 396 "addicts", as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV, the average time spent on the Internet for nonacademic and nonprofessional purposes was 38 hours per week (Cooper, Scherer, Boies, Gordon, 1999).
Males have been found to make up two thirds of users of sexually explicit Internet sites and account for 77% of on-line time (Cooper, Scherer, Boies, Gordon, 1999).
51% of women reported they never download sexual material (Cooper, Scherer, Boies, Gordon, 1999).
Masturbation
In a study of undergraduate college students, 98% of men and 44% of women reported having ever masturbated (Pinkerton, Bogart, Cecil, & Abramson, 2002).
Among undergraduate students, men reported masturbating an average of 12 times per month, while women reported an average of 4.7 times per month (Pinkerton, Bogart, Cecil, & Abramson, 2002).
In a study of African-American women aged 15 to 64, 62% reported that they had masturbated at some point during their lives (Robinson, Bockting, & Harrell, 2002).
About 60% of men and 40% of women reported masturbating in the past year (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
Nearly 85% of men and 45% of women who were living with a sexual partner reported masturbating in the past year (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
35% of American men aged 18-39 do not masturbate while 37% masturbate sometimes, and 28% one or more times per week (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
53% of men and 25% of women masturbated for the first time by ages 11 to 13 (Janus & Janus, 1993).
5% of men and 11% of women have never masturbated (Janus & Janus, 1993).
Number of Partners
Males 30-44 report an average of 6-8 female sexual partners in their lifetime (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005).
Females 30-44 report an average of 4 male sexual partners in their lifetime (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005).
3% of men have had zero sexual partners since the age of 18, 20% have had 1 partner, 21% have had 2-4 partners, 23% have had 5-10 partners, 16% have had 11-20 partners, and 17% have had 21 or more partners (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
3% of women have had zero sexual partners since the age of 18, 31% have had 1 partner, 36% have had 2-4 partners, 20% have had 5-10 partners, 6% have had 11-20 partners, and 3% have had 21 or more partners (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
20% of American men and 31% of American women have had one sex partner in their lifetime (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
56% of American men and 30% of American women have had 5 or more sex partners in their lifetime (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
Orgasm
Women are much more likely to be nearly always or always orgasmic when alone than with a partner. However, among women currently in a partnered relationship, 62% say they are very satisfied with the frequency/consistency of orgasm (Davis, Blank, Hung-Yu, & Bonillas, 1996).
Many women express that their most satisfying sexual experiences entail being connected to someone, rather than solely basing satisfaction on orgasm (Bridges, Lease, & Ellison, 2004).
75% of men and 29% of women always have orgasms with their partner (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
About 40% for both men and women said they were extremely pleased physically and extremely emotionally satisfied (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
25% of men and 14% of women reported that simultaneous orgasm is a must (Janus & Janus, 1993).
10% of men and 18% of women reported a preference for oral sex to achieve orgasm (Janus & Janus, 1993).
Penis Size
According to Gebhard and Johnson (1979), the average erect penis of males in the US is 5-7 inches and the average circumference is 4-6 inches. See Penis Bibliography for more information.
More recent data (not yet published) indicates an average penis length is between 5 to 6 inches.
A study of 300 men (unpublished) conducted by Kinsey Institute researcher Dr. Erick Janssen from 1989-1993 returned a mean penis circumference of 122 mm (approximately 4.8 inches). More details of the study are available here.
For a discussion of the facts and myths about penis enlargement, please visit the Male Sex Questions section of our Kinsey Confidential website.
Pregnancy
Roughly six million U.S. women become pregnant per year. About two-thirds of these pregnancies result in live births and roughly 25% in abortions; the remainder end in miscarriage. (AGI, 2005).
The U.S. teen pregnancy rate fell by 27 percent between 1990 and 2000, from 116.3 pregnancies per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 to 84.5. This data includes live births, abortions, and fetal losses. Pregnancy data includes live births, induced abortions, and fetal losses (NCHS, 2004).
6 in 10 teen pregnancies occur among 18-19 year-olds (AGI, 1999).
Almost 1 million teenage women, 10% of all women aged 15-19 and 19% of those who have had intercourse, become pregnant each year (AGI, 1999).
Prostitution
Average prostitution arrests are comprised of 70% female prostitutes, 20% percent male prostitutes and 10% customers (Alexander, 1987).
.In 1983, 125,600 people were arrested for prostitution while in 1994, that number dropped to 98,190 people (Meier, Geis, 1997).
69% of white males had at least one experience with a prostitute (Kinsey, Martin, Gebhard, 1948).
STIsPercent of men and women, aged 15-44 reporting any sexually-transmitted infection, other than HIV
Males 3.2% of ages 15-19 10.5% of ages 15-19 7.1% of ages 20-24 13.4% of ages 20-24 4.8% of ages 25-29 16.5% of ages 25-29 9.3% of ages 30-34 18.6% of ages 30-34 9.0% of ages 35-44 19.2% of ages 35-44 The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 19 million new sexually-transmitted infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24 (Weinstock, Berman , Cates, 2004). .
Chlamydia remains the most reported infections disease in the US; It is estimated that there are approximately 2.8 million new cases of chlamydia in the United States each year (Weinstock, Berman , Cates, 2004).
Gonorrhea is the second most commonly reported infectious disease in the United States, with 330,132 cases reported in 2004 (Weinstock, Berman , Cates, 2004).
Like chlamydia, gonorrhea is substantially under diagnosed and under reported, and approximately twice as many new infections are estimated to occur each year as are reported (Weinstock, Berman , Cates, 2004).
The syphilis rate in the United States has been increaseing over the past four years. Between 2003 and 2004 alone, the national primary and secondary syphilis rate increased 8 percent, driven largely by new infections among men (CDC, 2004).
By the age of 24, one in three sexually active people will have contracted an STI (KFF, 1998).
At least 65 million people, more than one in 5 Americans, are believed to be infected with a viral STI other than HIV (NCHSTP, 1998).
Sex Practices
90% of men and 86% of women have had sex in the past year, 27% of men and 19% of women have had oral sex in the past year, 23% of men and 11% of women have bought X-rated movies or videos, and 10% of men and 9% of women have had anal sex in the past year. (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, Michaels, 1994).
Sexual Assault/Rape
In one 7 month period, 16.6 college women out of 1000 experienced a completed rape and 11 college women out of 1000 experienced an attempted rape (Fisher, Cullen, Turner, 2000).
2.8% of college women experience rape, either completed or attempted (Fisher, Cullen, Turner, 2000).
In 9 out of 10 of these cases, the rapist was someone the victim knew, such as a boyfriend, friend, or acquaintance (Fisher, Cullen, Turner, 2000).
22.8% of college rape-victims are multiple-rape victims (Fisher, Cullen, Turner, 2000).
Less than 5% of rapes were reported to law enforcement officials (Fisher, Cullen, Turner, 2000).
Teen Sexual Activity
At the ages 15–17, about 13 percent of males and 11 percent of females had had heterosexual oral sex but not vaginal intercourse. (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005)
At ages 18–19, about 11 percent of males and 9 percent of females had had oral sex but not vaginal intercourse. (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005)
Among men aged 15-19 years, 45.1% reported no partners in the last 12 months, 62.2% reported one partner of the opposite sex in the last 12 months, and 17.6% reported two or more partners of the opposite sex in the previous year. (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005)
Among women aged 15-19 years, 42.9% reported no partners in the last 12 months, 30.5% reported one partner of the opposite sex in the last 12 months, and 16.8% reported two or more partners of the opposite sex in the previous year. (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005)
Among men aged 15-19, 2.4% reported having had same-sex sexual contact in the previous 12 months. (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005)
Among women aged 15-19, 7.7% reported having had same-sex sexual contact in the previous 12 months. (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005)
Between 1990 and 1998, gonorrhea rates among adolescents aged 15-19 decreased by 50% (DHHS, 2000).
Approximately 25% of the 15 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections occur among teenagers (CDC, 2000a).
FAQ Bibliography
Alexander, Priscilla. Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry. 1987. San Francisco: Cleis Press
Atkins, DC, Baucom, DH, & Jacobson, NS (2001). Understanding infidelity: Correlates in a national random sample. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(4), pp. 735-749.
Boyers, DB, Kegeles, SM. AIDS risk and prevention among adolescents. 1991. Soc Sci Med Vol. 33(1), pp. 11-23.
Bridges, S.K., Lease, S.H., Ellison, C.R. (2004). Predicting sexual satisfaction in women: Implications for counselor education and training. Journal of Counseling & Development, Vol. 82(2), 158-166).
Buzzell, T (2005). Demographic characteristics of persons using pornography in three technological contexts. Sexuality & Culture, 9(1), pp. 28-48.
Cates, Willard. "Estimates of the Incidence and Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the United States." 1999. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Volume 26(4).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tracking the Hidden Epidemic: Trends in STDs in the United States. 2000a. www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/Stats_Trends/Trends2000.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trends in Reportable Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the United States. 2004. www.cdc.gov/std/stats/trends2004.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Basic Statistics: Cumulative AIDS Cases. 2000b. www.cdc.gov/hiv/stats/cumulati.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report: HIV Infection and AIDS in the United States, 2003. www.cdc.gov/hiv/stats.htmContraceptive Use. 2004. Alan Guttmacher Institute. New York: AGI. http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_contr_use.html
Cooper, A., Scherer, C., Boies, S., Gordon, B. Sexuality on the Internet: From Sexual Exploration to Pathological Expression. 1999. Vol. 30(2), pp. 154-164. www.apa.org/journals/features/pro302154.pdf
Davis, C.M., Blank, J., Hung-Yu, L., & Bonillas, Consuelo (1996). Characteristics of vibrator use among women. Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 33(4), 313-320.
Fisher, B., Cullen, F., Turner, M. The Sexual Victimization of College Women. 2000. www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/nij/182369.txt
Get "In the Know": 20 Questions About Pregnancy, Contraception and Abortion. 2005. Alan Guttmacher Institute. http://agi-usa.org/in-the-know/index.html.
Glynn M, Rhodes P. Estimated HIV prevalence in the United States at the end of 2003. National HIV Prevention Conference; June 2005; Atlanta. Abstract 595. www.cdc.gov/hiv/stats.htm#hivest
Henshaw, SK. U.S. Teenage pregnancy statistics with comparative statistics for women aged 20- 24. 1999. New York: AGI.
Janus, S., and Janus, C. The Janus Report on Sexual Behavior. 1993. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Kaiser Family Foundation, American Social Health Association. Sexually Transmitted Diseases in America: How Many Cases and at What Cost? 1998. CA: KFF and ASHA. www.kff.org/content/archive/1445/std_rep.pdf
Kinsey, A., Pomeroy, W., Martin, C., and Gebhard, P. Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. 1953. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.
Laumann, E., Gagnon, J.H., Michael, R.T., and Michaels, S. The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. 1994. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (Also reported in the companion volume, Michael et al, Sex in America: A Definitive Survey, 1994).
Lowe, Walter. The Playboy Readers' Sex Survey. 1983.
Mosher WD, Chandra A, Jones J. Sexual behavior and selected health measures: Men and women 15–44 years of age, United States, 2002. Advance data from vital and health statistics; no 362. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2005.
Meier, Robert, Geis, Gilbert. Victimless crime?: prostitution, drugs, homosexuality, and abortion. 1997. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing.
National Center for HIV, STD, & TB Prevention. Critical Need to Pay Attention to HIV Prevention for African Americans. 1998. www.cdc.gov/nchstp/hiv_aids/pubs/facts/afram.htm
National Center for Health Statistics. 1995 National Survey of Adolescent Males. www.agi-usa.org/pubs/fb_teen_sex.html#sa
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. 1999 Violence and Discrimination Survey. www.ncsfreedom.org/library/viodiscrimsurvey.htm
National Center for Health Statistics. 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg.htm
Piccinino, LJ, Mosher, WD. Trends in contraceptive method use in the United States: 1982-1994. 1998. Family Planning Perspectives. Vol. 30(1): 4-10 & 6, Table 1.
Pinkerton, S.D., Bogart, L.M., Cecil, H., & Abramson, P.R. (2002). Factors associated with masturbation in a collegiate sample. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, Vol. 14(2/3), pp. 103-121.
Remafedi, G et al, "Demography of Sexual Orientation in Adolescents," 1992. Pediatrics, Vol. 89, No. 4, p. 714.
Robinson, B.E., Bockting, W.O, & Harrell, T. (2002). Masturbation and sexual health: An exploratory study of low-income African-American Women. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, Vol. 14(2/3), pp. 85-102.
Sexual and Reproductive Health: Women and Men. 2002. Alan Guttmacher Institute. New York: AGI. http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_10-02.html
Sex and America's Teenagers. 1994. Alan Guttmacher Institute. New York: AGI. www.plannedparenthood.org/library/sexuality/AdolescSexual.html
Teenage pregnancy: overall trends and state-by-state information. 1999. Alan Guttmacher Institute. New York: AGI.
Treas, J & Gieden, D (2000). Sexual infidelity among married and cohabiting Americans. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62(1), pp. 48-60.
Upchurch et al. Gender and Ethnic Differences in the Timing of First Sexual Intercourse. 1998. www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3012198.html
United States Department of Health and Human Services. Health People 2010. January 2000. Washington.
Ventura, SJ, Abma, JC, Mosher, WD, & Henshaw, S. (2004). Estimated pregnancy rates for the United States, 1990-2000: An Update. National Vital Statistics Reports, 52 (23). www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr52/nvsr52_23.pdf
Weinstock H, Berman S, Cates W. Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2004;36(1):6-10. www.cdc.gov/std/stats/trends2004.htm
Zurbriggen, EL & Yost, MR (2004). Power, desire, and pleasure in sexual fantasies. Journal of Sex Research, 41(3), pp. 288-300.Last updated Feb 23, 2007.
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