Many studies examine sexuality in cultures outside the United States. Some have been general studies that examine knowledge levels and attitudes in different populations; others have evaluated specific areas such as pregnancy, rape, homosexuality, or sex education. Many times these studies are done by researchers in other countries, but some have also been done by American researchers.
Of all the topics that have been studied cross-culturally, we have probably learned the most about how societies’ values and culture influence sexuality. Every culture develops its own rules about which sexual behaviors are encouraged and which will not be tolerated. In 1971, Donald Marshall and Robert Suggs published a classic anthropological study, entitled Human Sexual Behavior, which examined how sexuality was expressed in several different cultures. This study remains one of the largest cultural studies ever done on sexuality. Following are some of its interesting findings:
• Masturbation is rare in preliterate cultures (those without a written language).
• In the majority of societies, foreplay is engaged in prior to sexual intercourse.
• Foreplay is usually initiated by males.
• Sexual intercourse is most commonly engaged in at night prior to falling asleep.
• Female orgasmic ability varies greatly from culture to culture.
More recent studies on cross-cultural sexuality have yielded other interesting results. A comprehensive study of sexual behavior entitled the Analyse des Comportements Sexuels en France (ACSF) was done in 1992. Funded by a $2.5 million grant from France’s Health Ministry and the National AIDS Research Agency, it examined the sexual practices of over 20,000 people between the ages of 18 and 69. Interviews were done primarily by telephone, and the majority of those people contacted agreed to participate (an impressive response rate of 76.5% was obtained). Findings revealed that many teenagers do not use condoms during sexual intercourse because they are too expensive; that rates of extramarital sexual behavior are decreasing; and that the average French heterosexual engages in sex approximately two times per week. This was the largest study done in France in over 20 years.
In 2001, results gathered from the ACSF were compared to the National Health and Social Life Study (NHSLS) done in the United States. Overall, patterns of sexual conduct were similar (Gagnon, 2001). However, there were some areas of difference. The French were found to form monogamous sexual partnerships earlier and to remain in these partnerships for a longer time period than the Americans. The French also had fewer sexual partners over their lifetime and higher frequencies of sexual behavior.