Hypergamy is real: Study suggests less young Finnish men are sexually active
12-09-2018, 10:31 PM
From the purplepilldebate sub on Reddit: to me it's a confirmation of hypergamy becoming more widespread through the years.
https://www.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebat...sed_study/
Interesting Finnish recurring survey-based study on sexuality in Finland (“FINSEX”) – What are PPD’s thoughts on the findings?
I sometimes lurk this subreddit because on average it tends to be a space for open-minded discussion with participants from both ends of the opinion spectrum, at least compared to many other subreddits that discuss similar topics within their echo chambers.
Sex and the intersexual dynamics between men and women obviously is one of the central, if not the central, discussion topics here and on related subreddits. Yet something that I often find myself wanting when reading various topics are actual statistics. For example, the 80/20 rule is a popular concept here and over at TRP, but the vast majority of topics discussing it are based on anecdotal evidence. Sure, naturally, due to the nature of the topic the evidence will predominantly be anecdotal and anecdotal evidence does not automatically equate untrue evidence. Even so, data collected in a more scientific manner would not hurt. Unfortunately, my own search for data on sex tells me that good data is hard to find. There does not seem to be a lot of academic research asking the “right” questions from a PPD/TRP perspective and whenever you stumble upon something interesting more often than not it tends to be some online survey from a non-academic entity (think condom manufacturer or women’s magazine).
Today I did however come across an interesting Finnish study on sexuality within the Finnish population. The study is called “FINSEX” and has been conducted by the Finnish organization “Väestöliitto”. Väestöliitto, “the Family Federation of Finland” in English, is a family welfare organization working in the social and health sector founded in 1941. Its members represent non-governmental non-profit organizations in the fields of family, health, children, women and youth. The study, which is based on a survey that was first carried out in 1971 and that has since been replicated in 1992, 1999, 2007 and 2015, consists of 120+ questions spanning over 30 different areas of sexuality. I found it interesting to see how the expression of our sexuality has changed for both genders from 1971 to present day and 2015, and I believe that the study may form a basis for an interesting discussion here at PPD.
The published study contains a large number of diagrams presenting the findings from a multitude of areas. Being from Finland does mean that the study unfortunately is in Finnish but I took the liberty of translating a selection of diagrams (40) that I found particularly interesting to English. (Thank you Google Translate!) I’ll post links to those translated diagrams below, together with links to the original source and the actual survey questionnaire.
Some findings that I found interesting, together with a few hypothetical statements/questions of my own in an effort to spark discussion, are:
Aged 18-24 women report more sexual partners than aged 18-24 men, median 5 partners for women and median 3 partners for men 2015. (Side note, interesting with a median for once! For some reason most similar studies insist on only reporting the mean.). Women’s median has been rising for each consecutive survey whereas men’s median has been decreasing. If instead looking at the mean and not the median men report more sexual partners than women at all ages.
What could be the reason(s) for this discrepancy? Is it due to the fact that women mature earlier sexually and on average lose their virginity earlier? Is it because women on average have an easier time finding sexual partners? Why is men’s average higher while their median partner count is lower, are a few men having lots of sexual partners and skewing the statistics? Could the average value be skewed as a result of a part (albeit a small one) of the sample group being made up of homosexual men, as homosexual men on average have more partners? Or is the faulty link simply that even in anonymous surveys some men tend to significantly over report their number of partners?
35% of women aged 18-24 report having had 2 or more sexual partners within the last year. For men only 19% report having had 2 or more sexual partners within the last year. 1992, 1999 and 2007 31-36% percent of women aged 18-24 have reported having had 2 or more sexual partners within the last year. 1992, 1999 and 2007 35-49% of men aged 18-24 reported having had 2 or more sexual partners within the last year.
Why the steep drop for men in 2015? A statistical anomaly? Or an effect of the broad adoption of online dating apps such as Tinder?
The graph depicting how many that have had 2 or more sexual partners within the last year is fairly even throughout the various age ranges for men whereas it falls with age for women to a higher degree. Why is this? Are women on average having more sexual partners than same aged men in their youth before eventually settling down whereas the same men that had a lot of partners in their youth continue to do so even as they age? Hypothetically, if one accepts the previous statement as true, these high partner count men could of course be settling down in long term relationships as well but be more prone to infidelity due to a number of factors.
Women lose their virginity before men and both genders report lower and lower sexual debut ages. Respondents that reported having had intercourse for the first time 2005-2009 had an average age of 16,5 for women (down from 21,3 in 1937-1941) and 17.5 for men (down from 19,8 in 1937-1941).
Marginally more men than women now report having been in love with their first intercourse partner. This is a significant difference to 1937-1941. Back then 83% of women and 44% of men reported having been in love. In 2010-2014 48% of men (who have consistently hovered around 40-50%) reported having been in love with their first partner whereas 38% of women lost their virginity to someone that they were in love with.
Not only were more men than women in love with their first partner but the roles have also reversed between the genders when it comes to willingness to engage in sexual intercourse without being in love. 73% (up from 41% in 1971) of men aged 18-24 report that they are willing to have sex without love whereas the corresponding value for women aged 18-24 is 80% (up from 22% in 1971). Men catch up to women in the age group 25-34 though where both genders report an 80% willingness to engage in sex without love.
More young women than men have had sex with a foreigner, this applies both to sex with a foreigner in Finland and with a foreigner while on a trip abroad. Men do however catch up to and surpass women in both categories in the age groups 35-44 and 45-54. 9% of men aged 18-24 and 14% of women aged 18-24 have had sex with a foreigner while abroad whereas the corresponding numbers for men aged 45-54 and women aged 45-54 are 28% and 18% respectively.
Why do more young women than men have sexual relations with foreigners? A simple matter of access to sex? Why do men surpass women with age? Have more men made themselves comparatively attractive with age having increased their wealth and status? Or is the answer prostitution?
Positively, the reported rate of infidelity has decreased for both genders with each subsequent survey. Fewer people than ever seem to be cheating on their significant other. Men still cheat more than women but the difference is marginal. Living apart together seems to be a bad solution for anyone that values fidelity. About a third of respondents that identify with this relationship status across both genders report having cheated on their partner at least once within the last year.
Why is the rate of infidelity decreasing? Do we live in a culture today where fidelity is expected to a higher degree than during previous decades? Can the answer be found in the fact that fewer people today report being in relationships and that the average relationship length reportedly is becoming shorter?
An increase in pornography use across both genders. In 2007 80% of men aged 18-24 and 25% of women aged 18-24 reported having watched internet porn within the last year. In 2015 the corresponding numbers were 90% for men and 60% for women.
What effects is this having on the actual sex act (both casual and within committed relationships), relationships in general and the sexual market place i.e. the intersexual dynamics between the genders and also within the genders?
One answer to the question phrased in the previous paragraph can perhaps be found in the fact that for each subsequent survey higher percentages report having tried anal sex, approving of consensual sadomasochistic sex, and in general approving of what has in the past been considered more deviant sexual behaviour such as group sex.
Both genders report higher percentages of sexual attraction towards members of the same sex. Up from 9% in 1992 to 18% in 2015 for men aged 18-24 and from 6% in 1992 to 39% for women aged 18-24. In 1992 6% of women aged 18-24 reported having had a sexual experience with another woman, in 2015 that number had almost quadrupled reaching 23%.
What is the reason(s) for the substantial increase of sexual interest towards members of the same gender, especially among women? Is pornography the main cause? Is the change predominantly the result of changing and more liberal attitudes within society towards same-sex sexuality? Do women find the typical man today less attractive than the typical man a couple of decades ago and as a result of this divert part of their sexual attraction towards women?
Why has the increase in same-sex sexual attraction been larger for women than men? Are women naturally more predisposed towards bisexuality than men? Are men more homophobic and therefore less likely to admit to even themselves that they are attracted to other men? Is society more approving of bisexuality among women than men? Are women less approving, from a sexual attraction stand point, of bisexual men than men of bisexual women?
“Women primarily attracted to men” report higher percentages across a range of indicators for sexual activity than “women only attracted to men”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly men are much more approving of prostitution than women. Around 60-70% of men approve of prostitution whereas only around 25% of women agree that individuals should be allowed to earn money by selling sexual favours. Around 55-60% of men support the establishment of regulated brothels, for women the corresponding percentage is around 20%.
Why is this? Are women in general much more concerned with things such as human trafficking and other exploitation of human beings? Does the female rationale for their opposition towards prostitution have more biological causes, i.e. wanting to restrict men's access to sex?
tl;dr
“FINSEX” – Finnish study on sexuality in Finland. Recurring survey, conducted 1971, 1992, 1999, 2007 and 2015.
What does PPD have to say about the findings, are they in line with what you would have expected?
What, if any, societal effects do the changes in sexual behaviour across both genders have?
https://www.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebat...sed_study/
Interesting Finnish recurring survey-based study on sexuality in Finland (“FINSEX”) – What are PPD’s thoughts on the findings?
I sometimes lurk this subreddit because on average it tends to be a space for open-minded discussion with participants from both ends of the opinion spectrum, at least compared to many other subreddits that discuss similar topics within their echo chambers.
Sex and the intersexual dynamics between men and women obviously is one of the central, if not the central, discussion topics here and on related subreddits. Yet something that I often find myself wanting when reading various topics are actual statistics. For example, the 80/20 rule is a popular concept here and over at TRP, but the vast majority of topics discussing it are based on anecdotal evidence. Sure, naturally, due to the nature of the topic the evidence will predominantly be anecdotal and anecdotal evidence does not automatically equate untrue evidence. Even so, data collected in a more scientific manner would not hurt. Unfortunately, my own search for data on sex tells me that good data is hard to find. There does not seem to be a lot of academic research asking the “right” questions from a PPD/TRP perspective and whenever you stumble upon something interesting more often than not it tends to be some online survey from a non-academic entity (think condom manufacturer or women’s magazine).
Today I did however come across an interesting Finnish study on sexuality within the Finnish population. The study is called “FINSEX” and has been conducted by the Finnish organization “Väestöliitto”. Väestöliitto, “the Family Federation of Finland” in English, is a family welfare organization working in the social and health sector founded in 1941. Its members represent non-governmental non-profit organizations in the fields of family, health, children, women and youth. The study, which is based on a survey that was first carried out in 1971 and that has since been replicated in 1992, 1999, 2007 and 2015, consists of 120+ questions spanning over 30 different areas of sexuality. I found it interesting to see how the expression of our sexuality has changed for both genders from 1971 to present day and 2015, and I believe that the study may form a basis for an interesting discussion here at PPD.
The published study contains a large number of diagrams presenting the findings from a multitude of areas. Being from Finland does mean that the study unfortunately is in Finnish but I took the liberty of translating a selection of diagrams (40) that I found particularly interesting to English. (Thank you Google Translate!) I’ll post links to those translated diagrams below, together with links to the original source and the actual survey questionnaire.
Some findings that I found interesting, together with a few hypothetical statements/questions of my own in an effort to spark discussion, are:
Aged 18-24 women report more sexual partners than aged 18-24 men, median 5 partners for women and median 3 partners for men 2015. (Side note, interesting with a median for once! For some reason most similar studies insist on only reporting the mean.). Women’s median has been rising for each consecutive survey whereas men’s median has been decreasing. If instead looking at the mean and not the median men report more sexual partners than women at all ages.
What could be the reason(s) for this discrepancy? Is it due to the fact that women mature earlier sexually and on average lose their virginity earlier? Is it because women on average have an easier time finding sexual partners? Why is men’s average higher while their median partner count is lower, are a few men having lots of sexual partners and skewing the statistics? Could the average value be skewed as a result of a part (albeit a small one) of the sample group being made up of homosexual men, as homosexual men on average have more partners? Or is the faulty link simply that even in anonymous surveys some men tend to significantly over report their number of partners?
35% of women aged 18-24 report having had 2 or more sexual partners within the last year. For men only 19% report having had 2 or more sexual partners within the last year. 1992, 1999 and 2007 31-36% percent of women aged 18-24 have reported having had 2 or more sexual partners within the last year. 1992, 1999 and 2007 35-49% of men aged 18-24 reported having had 2 or more sexual partners within the last year.
Why the steep drop for men in 2015? A statistical anomaly? Or an effect of the broad adoption of online dating apps such as Tinder?
The graph depicting how many that have had 2 or more sexual partners within the last year is fairly even throughout the various age ranges for men whereas it falls with age for women to a higher degree. Why is this? Are women on average having more sexual partners than same aged men in their youth before eventually settling down whereas the same men that had a lot of partners in their youth continue to do so even as they age? Hypothetically, if one accepts the previous statement as true, these high partner count men could of course be settling down in long term relationships as well but be more prone to infidelity due to a number of factors.
Women lose their virginity before men and both genders report lower and lower sexual debut ages. Respondents that reported having had intercourse for the first time 2005-2009 had an average age of 16,5 for women (down from 21,3 in 1937-1941) and 17.5 for men (down from 19,8 in 1937-1941).
Marginally more men than women now report having been in love with their first intercourse partner. This is a significant difference to 1937-1941. Back then 83% of women and 44% of men reported having been in love. In 2010-2014 48% of men (who have consistently hovered around 40-50%) reported having been in love with their first partner whereas 38% of women lost their virginity to someone that they were in love with.
Not only were more men than women in love with their first partner but the roles have also reversed between the genders when it comes to willingness to engage in sexual intercourse without being in love. 73% (up from 41% in 1971) of men aged 18-24 report that they are willing to have sex without love whereas the corresponding value for women aged 18-24 is 80% (up from 22% in 1971). Men catch up to women in the age group 25-34 though where both genders report an 80% willingness to engage in sex without love.
More young women than men have had sex with a foreigner, this applies both to sex with a foreigner in Finland and with a foreigner while on a trip abroad. Men do however catch up to and surpass women in both categories in the age groups 35-44 and 45-54. 9% of men aged 18-24 and 14% of women aged 18-24 have had sex with a foreigner while abroad whereas the corresponding numbers for men aged 45-54 and women aged 45-54 are 28% and 18% respectively.
Why do more young women than men have sexual relations with foreigners? A simple matter of access to sex? Why do men surpass women with age? Have more men made themselves comparatively attractive with age having increased their wealth and status? Or is the answer prostitution?
Positively, the reported rate of infidelity has decreased for both genders with each subsequent survey. Fewer people than ever seem to be cheating on their significant other. Men still cheat more than women but the difference is marginal. Living apart together seems to be a bad solution for anyone that values fidelity. About a third of respondents that identify with this relationship status across both genders report having cheated on their partner at least once within the last year.
Why is the rate of infidelity decreasing? Do we live in a culture today where fidelity is expected to a higher degree than during previous decades? Can the answer be found in the fact that fewer people today report being in relationships and that the average relationship length reportedly is becoming shorter?
An increase in pornography use across both genders. In 2007 80% of men aged 18-24 and 25% of women aged 18-24 reported having watched internet porn within the last year. In 2015 the corresponding numbers were 90% for men and 60% for women.
What effects is this having on the actual sex act (both casual and within committed relationships), relationships in general and the sexual market place i.e. the intersexual dynamics between the genders and also within the genders?
One answer to the question phrased in the previous paragraph can perhaps be found in the fact that for each subsequent survey higher percentages report having tried anal sex, approving of consensual sadomasochistic sex, and in general approving of what has in the past been considered more deviant sexual behaviour such as group sex.
Both genders report higher percentages of sexual attraction towards members of the same sex. Up from 9% in 1992 to 18% in 2015 for men aged 18-24 and from 6% in 1992 to 39% for women aged 18-24. In 1992 6% of women aged 18-24 reported having had a sexual experience with another woman, in 2015 that number had almost quadrupled reaching 23%.
What is the reason(s) for the substantial increase of sexual interest towards members of the same gender, especially among women? Is pornography the main cause? Is the change predominantly the result of changing and more liberal attitudes within society towards same-sex sexuality? Do women find the typical man today less attractive than the typical man a couple of decades ago and as a result of this divert part of their sexual attraction towards women?
Why has the increase in same-sex sexual attraction been larger for women than men? Are women naturally more predisposed towards bisexuality than men? Are men more homophobic and therefore less likely to admit to even themselves that they are attracted to other men? Is society more approving of bisexuality among women than men? Are women less approving, from a sexual attraction stand point, of bisexual men than men of bisexual women?
“Women primarily attracted to men” report higher percentages across a range of indicators for sexual activity than “women only attracted to men”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly men are much more approving of prostitution than women. Around 60-70% of men approve of prostitution whereas only around 25% of women agree that individuals should be allowed to earn money by selling sexual favours. Around 55-60% of men support the establishment of regulated brothels, for women the corresponding percentage is around 20%.
Why is this? Are women in general much more concerned with things such as human trafficking and other exploitation of human beings? Does the female rationale for their opposition towards prostitution have more biological causes, i.e. wanting to restrict men's access to sex?
tl;dr
“FINSEX” – Finnish study on sexuality in Finland. Recurring survey, conducted 1971, 1992, 1999, 2007 and 2015.
What does PPD have to say about the findings, are they in line with what you would have expected?
What, if any, societal effects do the changes in sexual behaviour across both genders have?