Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Everybody's NOT doing it

I have spoken candidly about my sex education in the past. And, as sporadic as it may have been, it is nothing compared to my Mother's introduction to the topic, which took place when a nun drew a giant penis on the blackboard with pink chalk (because, really, what other color chalk would you use?).

Times have changed: In the course of their upbringing, millennials have had a tremendous amount of access to information about sex and sexuality. Granted, they may still come across "facts" that are just as heart-wrenchingly inaccurate as the drivel I once overheard Tiffany and David discussing in the sixth grade school yard, but overall, their level of knowledge has resulted in this statistic:

Most millennials will have fewer sexual partners than their parents had.

San Diego State University analyzed 40 years of self-reported responses about sexual behavior from 33,000 Americans and found that on average millennials will have 8 partners over their lifetimes, which is 2 partners fewer than Generation Xers and 4 partners fewer than Baby Boomers.

The study didn't try to dissect the reason why millennials are having fewer partners (but not necessarily less sex), but lots of experts have been weighing in, citing everything from the overprotective bubble around millennials (so they don't have as much opportunity for premarital sex) to the fact that theirs is the first generation to grow up with a constant onslaught of safe-sex messaging, which may have paid off.

None of this research is finite of course: It will be interesting to see if this trend still holds true 10 years from now.

What's the first safe-sex message you remember hearing/seeing? Reminisce with me in the comments.

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