What sex life is like for teenagers today?

18.09.2012 | By: Alex F.

Sex life of young people is changing radically. They start having sex earlier and with more people, and women take the leading role.

One of the important changes about the rituals of sexual seduction of today’s adolescents is a quicker transition from the innocent first kiss to sexual intercourse. (PhotoXpress)

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One of the important changes about the rituals of sexual seduction of today’s adolescents is a much more distinctive and quicker transition from the innocent first kiss to the first sexual intercourse. Today things are happening much quicker. The focus on sexual desire, particularly on the genitals, is the main characteristic of today’s sex in comparison with the past.

Women gained power

Today women are much more aware of a right to their own sexual activity, including sexual intercourse at the age they consider appropriate. Questions addressed to mothers or even grandmothers have almost disappeared and a debate with their peers is in the forefront. The age limit of girls who start having sex has also lowered. In the USA, it was found in the 1980s that there is no considerable difference between girls and boys as regards early sexual experiences. Girls as well as boys participate in pre-marital sex.

Data show that the number of teenagers, both boys and girls, who had five different sexual partners before the age of 18 is increasing, whereas the figure for girls increases more rapidly.

This field of research was also examined by Schmidt, who was interested in changes to the sex life of adolescents between the years of 1970 and 1990 in West Germany. And what did he find?

- Sexual intercourse and “petting” in early youth, which was a typical trend in the 1960s, no longer appeared later.

- In 1990, the level of masturbation and autoerotic was lower than in 1970 in both sexes. The level of general sexual activity was lower in boys and the number of sexual partners was also lower in both sexes, compared to 1970.

- Problems with “petting”: girls included in the study conducted in 1990 complained about quality. Likewise, sex or autoerotic didn’t mean as much as it meant to the girls surveyed 20 years, since 20-30% of them were more satisfied with the first sexual intercourse and masturbation.

- The initiative to have sex: both sexes admit that today it’s up to women, or it happens much more often than in the past. This refers to the last “petting” and sexual intercourse as well as the first sexual intercourse. Girls are definitely gaining more control in heterosexual relationships. In 1970, for example, 85% of girls said that “his desire” had been the main reason for the first intercourse, but in 1990 the figure fell to 28%. As it seems, girls are taking more firm decisions and are lees willing to adapt to boys’ desires. In short, they are less willing to accept the traditional division of roles within a family as opposed to girls in 1970.

- Opens internal link in current window The intertwining of sex and love: surprisingly, today boys associate sex with love more than in 1970. In girls, this association is still very strong. However, they both put more emphasis on a steady and loving relationship than their peers in the past. They also fall in love sooner than in 1970 and more often describe the relation towards their partners within the “scope of love”. Data show that sex doesn’t happen by chance because love is a pre-condition to have the first sexual intercourse. Virginity has become a valuable thing.

- Fidelity: always has been, and still remains, an important value. Compared to 1970, the figure has increased in both sexes.

- The role of parents: if in the past they didn’t even think of children as living being with needs, today a lot more parents know when their children had the first sexual intercourse.

- The other side of emancipation? Girls gained power as regards imposing their will in connection with the course of a relationship, but they are much more dissatisfied and deprived of comfort.

The research is somewhat old, but it’s still an important account of the development of women’s will to make decisions relating to sex. Today the picture is clear. Women can easily lead men on because they are well aware that a woman is a prestigious subject and men find it difficult to resist prestige.