Promiscuity: Difference between revisions
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During the [[English Restoration]] period (1660-1688), the term ''rake'' was used glamorously: the ''Restoration rake'' is a carefree, witty, sexually irresistible aristocrat typified by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]'s courtiers, the [[John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester|Earl of Rochester]] and the [[Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset|Earl of Dorset]], who combined riotous living with intellectual pursuits and patronage of the arts. The Restoration rake is celebrated in the [[Restoration comedy]] of the 1660s and the 1670s. After the reign of Charles II, and especially after the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688, the rake was perceived as negative and became the butt of moralistic tales in which his typical fate was [[debtor's prison]], permanent [[venereal disease]], and, in the case of [[William Hogarth]]'s ''[[A Rake's Progress]]'', venereally-caused [[insanity]] and internment to [[Bethlem Royal Hospital|Bedlam]]. |
During the [[English Restoration]] period (1660-1688), the term ''rake'' was used glamorously: the ''Restoration rake'' is a carefree, witty, sexually irresistible aristocrat typified by [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]'s courtiers, the [[John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester|Earl of Rochester]] and the [[Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset|Earl of Dorset]], who combined riotous living with intellectual pursuits and patronage of the arts. The Restoration rake is celebrated in the [[Restoration comedy]] of the 1660s and the 1670s. After the reign of Charles II, and especially after the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688, the rake was perceived as negative and became the butt of moralistic tales in which his typical fate was [[debtor's prison]], permanent [[venereal disease]], and, in the case of [[William Hogarth]]'s ''[[A Rake's Progress]]'', venereally-caused [[insanity]] and internment to [[Bethlem Royal Hospital|Bedlam]]. |
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===Female promiscuity=== |
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Since at least [[1450]], the word [[slut]] has been used to describe a sexually promiscuous woman. |
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===Nature versus nurture controversy=== |
===Nature versus nurture controversy=== |
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Revision as of 22:49, 4 October 2008
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Promiscuity refers to sexual behavior of a man or woman who casually has sex with many partners.
Human promiscuity
What sexual behavior is considered socially acceptable, and what behavior is "promiscuous", varies much among different cultures. In some cultural contexts, a person who copulates with someone other than their spouse is considered promiscuous, while in another culture a married or unmarried person's sexual behavior may not be considered promiscuous.
Accurately assessing people's sexual behavior is difficult, since there are strong social and personal motivations, depending on social sanctions and taboos, for either minimizing or exaggerating reported sexual activity. Extensive research has produced mathematical models of sexual behavior comparing the results generated with the observed prevalence of STDs to statistically estimate the probable sexual behavior of the studied population.
The number of sexual partners an individual has varies within a lifetime, and varies widely within a population. In the U.S., seven women is the median number of lifetime female sexual partners; four men is the median number of male partners for women; 29 percent of men and 9 percent of women report to have had more than 15 sexual partners.[1] Studies of the spread of STDs consistently demonstrate that a small percentage of the studied population have more partners than the average man or woman, and a smaller number of people have fewer than the statistical average. An important question in the epidemiology of venereal diseases is whether or not these groups copulate mostly at random (with sexual partners from throughout a population) or within their social groups (assortative mixing).
A 2006 comprehensive global study (analysing data from 59 countries worldwide) found no firm link between promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases.[2] This contradicts other studies.[3][4]
Male promiscuity
Womanizers, players, skirt-chasers and rakes have love affairs with women or men they will not marry or commit themselves to. Typically, the love affairs are sexually motivated, with varying emotional connection and attachment. The names of real and fictional seducers have become eponyms for such promiscuous men. The most famous are the historical Casanova (1725-1798),[5] the fictional Don Juan who first appeared in the 17th century, Lothario from Nicholas Rowe's 1703 play The Fair Penitent, How I Met Your Mother's Barney Stinson, and perhaps most famously, Ian Fleming's literary and film character James Bond.
During the English Restoration period (1660-1688), the term rake was used glamorously: the Restoration rake is a carefree, witty, sexually irresistible aristocrat typified by Charles II's courtiers, the Earl of Rochester and the Earl of Dorset, who combined riotous living with intellectual pursuits and patronage of the arts. The Restoration rake is celebrated in the Restoration comedy of the 1660s and the 1670s. After the reign of Charles II, and especially after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the rake was perceived as negative and became the butt of moralistic tales in which his typical fate was debtor's prison, permanent venereal disease, and, in the case of William Hogarth's A Rake's Progress, venereally-caused insanity and internment to Bedlam.
Nature versus nurture controversy
Evolutionary psychologists propose that a conditional tendency for promiscuity is inherited from our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Male promiscuity, they say, was advantageous because it allowed males to father more children. Female promiscuity, on the other hand, is said to have allowed female ancestors to have children with superior genetic potential. Those who oppose evolutionary psychology, such as those in the radical science movement, propose that humans are born with no significant dispositions for or against promiscuity, or for or against any number of other social behaviors.[citation needed]
In the animal world
In the animal world, some species of animals, including birds such as swans, once believed monogamous, are now known to engage in extra-pair copulations. Although social monogamy occurs in about 90 percent of avian species and about 3 percent of mammalian species, investigators estimate that 90 percent of socially monogamous species exhibit individual promiscuity in the form of extra-pair copulations.[6][7][8]
Two examples of promiscuous animals are the primates chimpanzees and bonobos. These species live in social groups consisting of several males and several females. Each male copulates with many females, and vice versa. In bonobos, the amount of promiscuity is particularly striking because bonobos use sex to alleviate social conflict as well as to reproduce.
See also
References
- ^ New survey quantifies the sex we’re having MSNBC
- ^ Wellings K, Collumbien M, Slaymaker E; et al. (2006). "Sexual behaviour in context: a global perspective". Lancet. 368 (9548): 1706–28. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69479-8. PMID 17098090.
{{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|author=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Promiscuity fuels spread of HIV/AIDS BBC
- ^ Relation between sexual promiscuity, drugs abuse and HIV infection in Buenos Aires, Argentina. study available at National Library of Medicine
- ^ Julie Coleman (1999). Love, Sex and Marriage: A Historical Thesaurus. Rodopi. ISBN 9042004339.
- ^ Reichard, U.H. (2002). Monogamy—A variable relationship. Max Planck Research, 3, 62-67.
- ^ Lipton, Judith Eve; Barash, David P. (2001). The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-4004-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Research conducted by Patricia Adair Gowaty. Reported by Morell, V. (1998). "Evolution of sex: A new look at monogamy". Science. 281 (5385): 1982–1983. doi:10.1126/science.281.5385.1982. PMID 9767050.