Sexual Promiscuity Research

Sexual promiscuity may be defined as the practice of having casual sex frequently with numerous and/or indiscriminate partners (Schmitt 2004). Such practices may be stereotypically applied to the behavior of college age students. The influencers of sexual promiscuity are many; however, a vast amount of research has been conducted to analyze the particular relationship between gender and promiscuity. Another relationship to examine is that between an individuals sexual practices and relationship status. Because sexual promiscuity holds a typically negative stigma while also being popularized by its perceived commonality, research of the motivators of sexual lewdness aims to provide insight on socially acceptable (or unacceptable) human behavior. In regard to the relationship between gender and sexual practices, there is an evident gender discrepancy. The discrepancy stems from the common research finding that men have a higher number of self-reported lifetime sexual partners than women (Wiederman 2001). The gender discrepancy has been found to be significantly different between males and females. According to …show more content…
First-year university students were surveyed. Questions addressed topics such as sexual activeness, condom use, gender role attitudes, and double standards (Lefkowitz et. al. 2014). To clarify, the double standard is the belief that men should be allowed (even encouraged) to have more sexual freedom than women (Lefkowitz et al. 2014). Such a belief may stem from the age-old practice of female oppression. Perhaps, society has not evolved as far as hoped. Nonetheless, the researchers concluded that compared to women, men had a greater number of sexual partners, advocated the sexual double standard, and believed that typical gender roles should be practiced