View source for Promiscuity

{{Short description|Practice of having casual sex frequently with different partners}}
{{Redirect|Promiscuous}}
'''Promiscuity''' is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different [[Sexual partner|partners]] or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners.<ref>{{cite web|title=Promiscuous - definition of promiscuous by the Free Online Dictionary|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/promiscuous|publisher=The Free Dictionary|access-date=21 September 2013}}</ref> The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by many cultures is the [[one-night stand]], and its frequency is used by researchers as a marker for promiscuity.<ref>{{cite web|title=UK's most promiscuous city in 'one night stand' poll revealed|url=http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/08/liverpool-named-uks-most-promiscuous-city-in-one-night-stand-poll-4254176/|website=Metro.co.uk|publisher=Associated Newspapers Limited|date=2014-01-08|author-first=Mark|author-last=Molloy}}</ref>

What sexual behavior is considered promiscuous varies between cultures, as does the prevalence of promiscuity. Different standards are often applied to different genders and civil statutes. [[Feminism|Feminists]] have traditionally argued a significant [[double standard]] exists between how men and women are judged for promiscuity. Historically, stereotypes of the promiscuous woman have tended to be pejorative, such as "the [[slut]]" or "the harlot", while male stereotypes have been more varied, some expressing approval, such as "the stud" or "the player", while others imply societal deviance, such as "the womanizer" or "the philanderer". A scientific study published in 2005 found that promiscuous men and women are both prone to derogatory judgment.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Marks | first1 = Michael | last2 = Fraley | first2 = R. | year = 2005 | title = The Sexual Double Standard: Fact or Fiction? | journal = [[Sex Roles (journal)|Sex Roles]] | volume = 52 | issue = 3–4| pages = 175–186 | doi=10.1007/s11199-005-1293-5| s2cid = 13018834 }}</ref> 

Promiscuity is common in many animal species.<ref name="Barash Lipton 2001"/> Some species have promiscuous [[mating system]]s, ranging from [[Polyandry in animals|polyandry]] and [[Polygyny in animals|polygyny]] to mating systems with no stable relationships where mating between two individuals is a one-time event. Many species form stable [[pair bond]]s, but still mate with other individuals outside the pair. In [[biology]], incidents of promiscuity in species that form pair bonds are usually called [[extra-pair copulations]].

==Motivations==
Accurately assessing people's [[human sexual behavior|sexual behavior]] is difficult, since strong social and personal motivations occur, depending on social [[Social control|sanctions]] and [[taboo]]s, for either minimizing or exaggerating reported sexual activity.

American experiments in 1978 and 1982 found the great majority of men were willing to have sex with women they did not know, of average attractiveness, who propositioned them. No woman, by contrast, agreed to such propositions from men of average attractiveness. While men were in general comfortable with the requests, regardless of their willingness, women responded with shock and disgust.<ref name="clarkhatfield1989">{{cite journal | url=http://www.elainehatfield.com/79.pdf | title=Gender Differences in Receptivity to Sexual Offers | author1=Clark, Russell D. III | author2=Hatfield, Elaine | journal=Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality | year=1989 | volume=2 | issue=1 | pages=39–55 | doi=10.1300/J056v02n01_04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518061135/http://www.elainehatfield.com/79.pdf | archive-date=2012-05-18 }}</ref>

The number of sexual partners people have had in their lifetimes varies widely within a population. We see a higher number of people who are more comfortable with their sexuality in the modern world. A 2007 nationwide survey in the United States found the median number of female sexual partners reported by men was seven and the median number of male partners reported by women was four. The men possibly exaggerated their reported number of partners, women reported a number lower than the actual number, or a minority of women had a sufficiently larger number than most other women to create a mean significantly higher than the median, or all of the above. About 29% of men and 9% of women reported to have had more than 15 sexual partners in their lifetimes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19374216|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011035252/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19374216/|archive-date=October 11, 2013|title=Average man sleeps with 7 women - Health - Sexual health - NBC News|work=NBC News|date=22 June 2007}}</ref> Studies of the spread of [[sexually transmitted infection]]s consistently demonstrate a small percentage of the studied population has 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 sexually transmitted infections is whether or not these groups copulate mostly at random with sexual partners from throughout a population or [[assortative mixing|within their social groups]].

A 2006 [[systematic review]] analyzing data from 59 countries worldwide found no association between regional sexual behavior tendencies, such as number of sexual partners, and sexual-health status. Much more predictive of sexual-health status are socioeconomic factors like poverty and mobility.<ref name="wellings2006">{{cite journal  |vauthors=Wellings K, Collumbien M, Slaymaker E, etal |title=Sexual behaviour in context: a global perspective |journal=Lancet |volume=368 |issue=9548 |pages=1706–28 |year=2006 |pmid=17098090 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69479-8 |s2cid=17649137 |url=https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/general/lancet_2.pdf}}</ref> Other studies have suggested that people with multiple casual sex partners are more likely to be diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections.<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Garcia JR, Seibold-Simpson SM, Massey SG, Merriwether AM | year = 2015 | chapter = Casual Sex: Integrating Social, Behavioral, and Sexual Health Research |veditors=DeLamater J, Plante RF |editor1-link=John DeLamater | title = Handbook of the Sociology of Sexualities | page = 215 | doi = 10.1007/978-3-319-17341-2_12 | publisher = Springer | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0d3yCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA215| isbn = 978-3-319-17341-2 | series = Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research }}</ref>

Severe and impulsive promiscuity, along with a compulsive urge to engage in illicit sex with attached individuals is a common symptom of [[borderline personality disorder]], [[histrionic personality disorder]], [[narcissistic personality disorder]], and [[antisocial personality disorder]] but most promiscuous individuals do not have these disorders.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hull |first1=J. W. |last2=Clarkin |first2=J. F. |last3=Yeomans |first3=F. |year=1993 |title=Borderline personality disorder and impulsive sexual behavior |journal=Psychiatric Services |volume=44 |issue=10 |pages=1000–1001 |doi=10.1176/ps.44.10.1000|pmid=8225264 }}</ref>

==Cross-cultural studies==
In 2008, a U.S. university study of international promiscuity found that [[Finns]] have had the largest number of sex partners in the industrialized world, and [[British people]] have the largest number among big western industrial nations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Most Promiscuous Countries 2022 |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-promiscuous-countries |website=worldpopulationreview.com |access-date=5 October 2022}}</ref> The study measured one-night stands, attitudes to [[casual sex]], and number of [[sexual partner]]s.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} A 2014 nationwide survey in the United Kingdom named Liverpool the country's most promiscuous city.<ref>{{cite web|title=Liverpool named UK's most promiscuous city|url=http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/08/liverpool-named-uks-most-promiscuous-city-in-one-night-stand-poll-4254176/|website=themetro.co.uk|publisher=Mark Molloy|date=2014-01-08}}</ref>

Britain's position on the international index "may be linked to increasing social acceptance of promiscuity among women as well as men". Britain's ranking was "ascribed to factors such as the decline of religious scruples about extramarital sex, the growth of equal pay and equal rights for women, and a highly sexualized popular culture".<ref name="Waite">{{cite news| url=http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/relationships/article5257166.ece | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008003832/http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/relationships/article5257166.ece | archive-date=October 8, 2009 | work=The Times | location=London | title=Britain on top in casual sex league | first=Roger | last=Waite | date=2008-11-30 | access-date=2010-05-22}}</ref><ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/3536598/Britain-is-among-casual-sex-capitals-of-the-Western-world-research-claims.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204030604/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/3536598/Britain-is-among-casual-sex-capitals-of-the-Western-world-research-claims.html | archive-date=2008-12-04 | work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | location=London | title=Britain is among casual sex capitals of the Western world, research claims | first1=Martin | last1=Beckford | first2=Alastair | last2=Jamieson | date=2008-11-30 | access-date=2010-05-22}}</ref><ref name="upi.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2008/11/30/British_top_promiscuity_study/UPI-98281228072500/|title=British top promiscuity study|work=UPI}}</ref> 

The top-10-ranking [[OECD]] nations with a population over 10&nbsp;million on the study's promiscuity index, in descending order, were the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Czechia, Australia, the United States, France, Turkey, Mexico, and Canada.<ref name="Waite"/><ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/><ref name="upi.com"/>
	
A 2017 survey by Superdrug found that the United Kingdom was the country with the most sex partners with an average of 7, while Austria had around 6.5.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://onlinedoctor.superdrug.com/whats-your-number/|title = What's Your Number? |website=Onlinedoctor.superdrug.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/the-ideal-number-of-sexual-partners-for-men-women|title = The verdict is in: This is the ideal number of sexual partners to have in your lifetime|website=Mindbodygreen.com|date = 2 September 2017}}</ref> The 2012 Trojan Sex Life Survey found that African American men reported an average of 38 sex partners in their lifetime.<ref name="HuffPost 2012 v567">{{cite web | title=INFOGRAPHIC: What Turns African Americans On? | website=HuffPost | date=2012-07-19 | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trojans-charged-sex-life-survey-african-americans-infographic_n_1686041 | access-date=2023-06-23}}</ref> A study funded by [[condom]]-maker [[Durex]], conducted in 2006 and published in 2009, measured promiscuity by a total number of sexual partners. The survey found Austrian men had the highest number of sex partners globally, with 29.3 sexual partners on average. New Zealand women had the highest number of sex partners for females in the world with an average of 20.4 sexual partners. In all of the countries surveyed, except New Zealand, men reported more sexual partners than women.<ref name="Wylie">{{cite journal|last1=Wylie|first1= K.|title= A global survey of sexual behaviours|journal= Journal of Family and Reproductive Health |year=2009|volume=3|issue=23|pages=39–49|url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228641949 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/13/1191696214489.html New Zealand women most promiscuous], ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''</ref>

One review found the people from developed Western countries had more sex partners than people from developing countries in general, while the rate of STIs was higher in developing countries.<ref name="wellings2006" />

According to the 2005 Global Sex Survey by Durex, people have had on average nine sexual partners, the most in Turkey (14.5) and Australia (13.3), and the fewest in India (3) and China (3.1).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.data360.org/pdf/20070416064139.Global%20Sex%20Survey.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2011-04-18 |archive-date=2019-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129120155/http://data360.org/pdf/20070416064139.Global%20Sex%20Survey.pdf }}</ref>

According to the 2012 General Social Survey in the United States by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, Protestants on average had more sex partners than Catholics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nineteensixty-four.blogspot.com/2013/07/unmentionables-faith-and-sex-principles.html|title = Nineteen Sixty-four: Unmentionables?: Faith and Sex, Principle and Practice|date = 30 July 2013}}</ref> Similarly, a 2019 study by the Institute for Family Studies in the US found that of never married young people, Protestants have more sexual partners than Catholics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ifstudies.org/ifs-admin/resources/final-ifsresearchbrief-ayers-evangelicalsandsex8819.pdf|title=Current Sexual Practices of Evangelical Teens and Young Adults|author=David J. Ayers|website=Ifstudies.org|access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref>

==Female promiscuity==
{{Main|Female promiscuity}}
[[File:Grand Duchess Catherine Alexeevna by anonymous after Rotari (18th c, Russian museum).jpg|thumb|Empress [[Catherine the Great]], a crucial figure at the time of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], is popularly remembered for [[Legends of Catherine the Great|her promiscuity]].]]

In 1994, a study in the United States found almost all married heterosexual women reported having sexual contact only with their husbands, and unmarried women almost always reported having no more than one sexual partner in the past three months. Lesbians who had long-term partners reported having fewer outside partners than heterosexual women.<ref name="nejm">{{cite journal |last1=Friedman |first1=Richard C. |last2=Downey |first2=Jennifer I. |date=October 6, 1994 |title=Homosexuality |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |volume=331 |issue=14 |pages=923–30 |doi=10.1056/NEJM199410063311407 |pmid=8078554 |doi-access=free}}</ref> More recent research, however, contradicts the assertion that heterosexual women are largely monogamous. A 2002 study estimated that 45% to 55% of married heterosexual women engage in sexual relationships outside of their marriage,<ref name="Atwood">{{cite journal |last=Atwood |first=Joan D. |author2=Limor Schwartz |year=2002 |title=Cyber-Sex: The New Affair Treatment Considerations |journal=Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=37–56 |doi=10.1300/J398v01n03_03 |s2cid=147203411}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=November 2019}} while the estimate for heterosexual men engaging in the same conduct was 50–60% in the same study.<ref name="Atwood" />

One possible explanation for hypersexuality is child sexual abuse (CSA) trauma. Many studies have examined the correlation between CSA and [[risky sexual behavior]]. Rodriguez-Srednicki and Ofelia examined the correlation of CSA experienced by women and their self-destructive behavior as adults using a questionnaire. The diversity and ages of the women varied. Slightly fewer than half the women reported CSA while the remainder reported no childhood trauma. The results of the study determined that self-destructive behaviors, including hypersexuality, correlates with CSA in women.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rodriguez-srednicki |first=Ofelia |date=2002-04-23 |title=Childhood Sexual Abuse, Dissociation, and Adult Self-Destructive Behavior |journal=Journal of Child Sexual Abuse |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=75–89 |doi=10.1300/j070v10n03_05 |issn=1053-8712 |pmid=17522001 |s2cid=30198394 |doi-access=free}}</ref> CSA can create sexual schemas that result in risky sexual behavior.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schloredt |first1=Kelly A. |last2=Heiman |first2=Julia R. |date=June 2003 |title=Perceptions of sexuality as related to sexual functioning and sexual risk in women with different types of childhood abuse histories |journal=Journal of Traumatic Stress |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=275–84 |citeseerx=10.1.1.572.1113 |doi=10.1023/a:1023752225535 |issn=0894-9867 |pmid=12816341 |s2cid=9603046}}</ref> This can play out in their sexual interactions as girls get older. The sexual behaviors of women that experienced CSA differed from those of women without exposure to CSA. Studies show CSA survivors tend to have more sexual partners and engage in higher risk sexual behaviors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Noell |first1=John |last2=Rohde |first2=Paul |last3=Seeley |first3=John |last4=Ochs |first4=Linda |date=January 2001 |title=Childhood sexual abuse, adolescent sexual coercion and sexually transmitted infection acquisition among homeless female adolescents☆, ☆☆ |journal=Child Abuse & Neglect |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=137–48 |doi=10.1016/s0145-2134(00)00223-4 |issn=0145-2134 |pmid=11214808}}</ref>  <!-- READ THIS BEFORE EDITING: The list of slang terms is not intended to include every single term ever used. If you believe that the list would be genuinely improved by an addition, please propose it on the article's talk page. Obscure or regional slang will likely be removed. Thank you. -->

Since at least 1450, the word '[[slut]]' has been used, often pejoratively, to describe a sexually promiscuous woman.<ref>{{OEtymD|slut}}</ref> In and before the [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan]] and [[Jacobean era]]s, terms like "strumpet" and "whore" were used to describe women deemed promiscuous, as seen, for example, in [[John Webster]]'s 1612 play ''[[The White Devil]]''.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Thornhill and Gangestad found that women are much more likely to sexually fantasize about and be attracted to [[Extra-pair copulation|extra-pair men]] during the fertile phase of the [[menstrual cycle]] than the [[luteal phase]], whereas attraction to the primary partner does not change depending on the [[menstrual cycle]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Thornhill |first1=Randy |url=https://archive.org/details/evolutionarybiol00thor |title=The evolutionary biology of human female sexuality |last2=Gangestad |first2=Steven W. |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534098-3 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/evolutionarybiol00thor/page/n254 244–45] |url-access=limited}}</ref> A 2004 study by Pillsworth, Hasselton and Buss contradicted this, finding greater in-pair sexual attraction during this phase and no increase in attraction to extra-pair men.<ref name=":0" />

In Norwegian students, Kennair et al. (2023) found no signs of a sexual double standard in short-term or long-term mating contexts, nor in choosing a friend, except that women's self-stimulation was more acceptable than men's.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Andrew G. Thomas, David M. Buss ja Mons Bendixen |date=27 March 2023 |title=Examining the Sexual Double Standards and Hypocrisy in Partner Suitability Appraisals Within a Norwegian Sample |journal=Evolutionary Psychology |volume=21 |issue=1 |doi=10.1177/14747049231165687 |pmc=10303487 |pmid=36972495 |s2cid=257772494 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Male promiscuity==
[[File:John Wilmot.jpg|thumb|[[John Wilmot]], a notorious libertine<ref name="Freudenburg 2005 p. 261">{{cite book | last=Freudenburg | first=K. | title=The Cambridge Companion to Roman Satire | publisher=Cambridge University Press | series=Cambridge Companions to Literature | year=2005 | isbn=978-1-139-82657-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72MgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA261 | access-date=2023-03-14 | page=261}}</ref>]]
[[File:Alessandro Longhi presunto ritratto di Casanova (1774?).png|thumb|[[Giacomo Casanova]] was famously promiscuous.|alt=]]
=== Heterosexual/straight men ===
<!--READ THIS BEFORE EDITING: for purposes of accuracy, please try to cite probability sample surveys. Convenience sample surveys which are not representative of the wider population can be misleading. -->A 1994 study in the United States, which looked at the number of sexual partners in a lifetime, found 20% of heterosexual men had one partner, 55% had two to 20 partners, and 25% had more than 20 sexual partners.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Seidman|first1= S. N.|last2=Rieder|first2= R. O.|title=A review of sexual behavior in the United States|journal=Am J Psychiatry|date=1994|volume=151|issue= 3|pages=330–41|doi=10.1176/ajp.151.3.330|pmid= 7619092}}</ref> More recent studies have reported similar numbers.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lehmiller|first=J. J. | date=2012| url=http://www.lehmiller.com/blog/2012/6/8/sex-question-friday-whats-your-number.html|title=What's Your Number? | work=The Psychology of Human Sexuality}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, a nationally representative study in 2013 found that 33.9% of heterosexual men had 10 or more lifetime sexual partners. Among men between 45 and 54 years old, 43.1% reported 10 or more sexual partners.<ref>{{Cite journal|url= |title=Changes in Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles in Britain Through the Life Course and Over Time: Findings From the National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal)|last1=Ch|first1=Mercer|last2=C|first2=Tanton|date=2013-11-30|journal=Lancet|page=1784|language=en|pmid=24286784|last3=P|first3=Prah|last4=B|first4=Erens|last5=P|first5=Sonnenberg|last6=S|first6=Clifton|last7=W|first7=Macdowall|last8=R|first8=Lewis|last9=N|first9=Field|volume=382|issue=9907|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62035-8|pmc=3899021}}</ref>

A 2003 representative study in Australia found that heterosexual men had a median of 8 female sexual partners in their lifetime. For lifetime sexual partners: 5.8% had 0 partners, 10.3% had 1 partner, 6.1% had 2 partners, 33% had between 3 and 9 partners, 38.3% had between 10 and 49 partners and 6.6% had more than 50 female sexual partners.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=de Visser |first1=Richard O. |last2=Smith |first2=Anthony M. A. |last3=Rissel |first3=Chris E. |last4=Richters |first4=Juliet |last5=Grulich |first5=Andrew E. |date=2003-04-01 |title=Sex in Australia: Heterosexual experience and recent heterosexual encounters among a representative sample of adults |journal=Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=146–154 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-842X.2003.tb00802.x |issn=1326-0200|doi-access=free |pmid=14696705 }}</ref>

A 2014 representative study in Australia found that heterosexual men had a median of 7.8 female sexual partners in their lifetime. For lifetime sexual partners: 3.7% had 0 partners, 12.6% had 1 partner, 6.8% had 2 partners, 32.3% had between 3 and 9 partners, 36.9% had between 10 and 49 partners and 7.8% had more than 50 female sexual partners.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rissel |first1=Chris |last2=Badcock |first2=Paul B. |last3=Smith |first3=Anthony M. A. |last4=Richters |first4=Juliet |last5=de Visser |first5=Richard O. |last6=Grulich |first6=Andrew E. |last7=Simpson |first7=Judy M. ±←|date=2014 |title=Heterosexual experience and recent heterosexual encounters among Australian adults: the Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships |journal=Sexual Health |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=416–426 |doi=10.1071/SH14105 |issn=1448-5028 |pmid=25376995 |hdl=1959.4/unsworks_13791 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

== Gay men and MSM ==
{{Main|Men who have sex with men}}
<!--READ THIS BEFORE EDITING: for purposes of accuracy, please try to cite probability sample surveys. Convenience sample surveys which are not representative of the wider population can be misleading. -->
Research by [[J. Michael Bailey]] has found that homosexual and heterosexual men share a similar level of interest in casual sex. However, compared to gay men, straight men are limited in their ability to have sex with multiple females. According to Bailey, "These facts suggest that women are responsible for the pace of sex. Gay and straight men both want casual sex, but only straight men have the brake of women's sexually cautious nature to slow them."<ref name=":6" />

The 2013 British [[National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles|NATSAL]] study found that gay men had a median of 19 lifetime sexual partners.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Mercer |first1=Catherine H. |last2=Prah |first2=Philip |last3=Field |first3=Nigel |last4=Tanton |first4=Clare |last5=Macdowall |first5=Wendy |last6=Clifton |first6=Soazig |last7=Hughes |first7=Gwenda |last8=Nardone |first8=Anthony |last9=Wellings |first9=Kaye |last10=Johnson |first10=Anne M. |last11=Sonnenberg |first11=Pam |date=July 2016 |title=The health and well-being of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Britain: Evidence from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) |url=https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/s12889-016-3149-z.pdf |journal=BMC Public Health |language=en |volume=16 |issue=1 |page=525 |doi=10.1186/s12889-016-3149-z |issn=1471-2458 |pmc=4936006 |pmid=27386950 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In the previous year, 45.8% of gay men reported having 1 sexual partner, 21.3% reported having between 2 and 4, 7.3% reported having between 5 and 9, and 19.6% reported having 10 or more sexual partners. 6% of gay men had 0 sexual partners.<ref name=":4" /> 71.1% of gay men had more than 10 sexual lifetime sexual partners.<ref name=":4" />

A 2014 study in Australia found gay men had a median of 22 lifetime sexual partners (''sexual partner'' was defined as kissing, touching or intercourse).<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Grulich|first1=Andrew|last2=de Visser|first2=Richard|last3=Badcock|first3=Paul|last4=Smith|first4=Anthony|last5=Heywood|first5=Wendy|last6=Richters|first6=Juliet|last7=Rissel|first7=Chris|last8=Simpson|first8=Judy|date=2014-11-01|title=Homosexual experience and recent homosexual encounters: the Second Australian Study of Health and Relationships|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267929896|journal=Sexual Health|publisher=CSIRO|volume=11|issue=5|pages=439–50|doi=10.1071/SH14122|pmid=25376997|hdl=1959.4/unsworks_13787|hdl-access=free}}</ref> 37.8% of gay men had more than 50 sexual partners.<ref name=":5" /> In the past year, 50.1% of gay men reported having either 0 or 1 partner, while 25.6% reported 10 or more partners.<ref name=":5" />

Convenience sample research on gay sexual behavior may overrepresent promiscuous respondents.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Bancroft|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CpMYXcxIEbQC&pg=PR14|title=Researching Sexual Behavior: Methodological Issues|date=1997|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-33339-1|pages=xiv, 270|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Wardle |first1=Lynn D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HYfdMZEKIp4C&q=edward+laumann+1994+mean+42+partners&pg=PA113 |title=Marriage and Same-sex Unions: A Debate |last2=Duncan |first2=William C. |last3=Strasser |first3=Mark |last4=Coolidge |first4=David Orgon |date=2003 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-97653-8 |page=113 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Prah|first1=Philip|last2=Hickson|first2=Ford|last3=Bonell|first3=Chris|last4=Mcdaid|first4=Lisa|last5=Erens|first5=Bob|last6=Riddell|first6=Julie|last7=Wayal|first7=Sonali|last8=Nardone|first8=A|last9=Sonnenberg|first9=Pam|last10=Johnson|first10=Anne|last11=Mercer|first11=Catherine|date=2015-09-01|title=P11.02 Representing men who have sex with men (msm) in britain: evidence from comparative analyses of the latest convenience and probability surveys|url=https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/2535237/1/Men-who-have-sex-with-men-in-Great-Britain.pdf|journal=Sexually Transmitted Infections|volume=91|pages=A174.1–A174|doi=10.1136/sextrans-2015-052270.452|doi-access=free}}</ref> This is because gay men are a small portion of the male population, and thus many surveys rely on [[convenience sampling]]. Examples of this type of sampling includes surveying men on dating apps such as [[Grindr]], or finding volunteers at gay bars, clubs and saunas. Convenience samples often exclude gay men who are in relationships, men who do not use dating apps or men who do not attend gay venues.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Dodds|first1=J P|last2=Mercer|first2=C H|last3=Mercey|first3=D E|last4=Copas|first4=A J|last5=Johnson|first5=A M|date=2006|title=Men who have sex with men: a comparison of a probability sample survey and a community based study|journal=Sexually Transmitted Infections|volume=82|issue=1|pages=86–87|doi=10.1136/sti.2005.015248|issn=1368-4973|pmc=2563827|pmid=16461615}}</ref> For example, the British and European convenience surveys included approximately five times as many gay men who reported "5 or more sexual partners" than the nationally representative NATSAL study did.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://na.eventscloud.com/file_uploads/fec7af64dc4c887d918bdc0c78671614_PhilipPrah_124.pdf|title=Representing men who have sex with men (MSM) in Britain: Evidence from comparative analyses of the latest convenience & probability surveys|last=Prah|first=Philip|date=September 2015|website=natsal.ac.uk}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> [[Sampling (statistics)|Probability sample]] surveys are more useful in this regard, because they seek to accurately reflect the characteristics of the gay male population. Examples include the [[National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles|NATSAL]] in the United Kingdom and the [[General Social Survey]] in the United States.

According to [[John Corvino]], opponents of gay rights often cite convenience sample research on promiscuity.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Soble|first=Alan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4HdpN1xnl5EC&q=weinberg&pg=PA139|title=The Philosophy of Sex: Contemporary Readings|date=2002|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-1346-4|pages=139, 145|language=en}}</ref> Psychologist [[J. Michael Bailey]] has stated that social conservatives use promiscuity among gay men as evidence of a "decadent" nature of gay men, but says "I think they're wrong. Promiscuous gay men are expressing an essentially masculine trait. They are doing what most heterosexual men would do if they could. They are in this way just like heterosexual men, except that they don't have women to constrain them."<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Bailey |first=J. Michael |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281747420 |title=The Man Who Would Be Queen |publisher=Joseph Henry Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-309-08418-5 |page=87 |format=PDF}}</ref>

Regarding [[sexually transmitted infection]]s (STIs), some researchers have said that the number of sexual partners had by gay men cannot fully explain rates of HIV infection in this population. According to an article published in the BMJ, unprotected receptive anal sex, which carries a higher risk of HIV transmission, is a more important factor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nordqvist |first=Christian |date=2007-09-13 |title=Sexual Behavior Does Not Explain Varying HIV Rates Among Gay And Straight Men |url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/82330 |access-date=2020-07-08 |website=www.medicalnewstoday.com |language=en}}</ref>

A 1989 study found having over 100 partners to be present though rare among homosexual males.<ref name="nejm" /> A 1994 study found that difference in the mean number of sexual partners between gay and straight men "did not appear very large".<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Soble |first=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4HdpN1xnl5EC&q=Homosexuality:+The+Nature+and+Harm+Arguments+corvino+Bell+&pg=PA135 |title=The Philosophy of Sex: Contemporary Readings |date=2002 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-1346-4 |page=145 |language=en}}</ref>

A 2007 study reported that two large population surveys found "the majority of [[gay men]] had similar numbers of unprotected sexual partners annually as straight men and women."<ref>{{cite web |date=13 September 2007 |title=Sexual Behavior Does Not Explain Varying HIV Rates Among Gay And Straight Men |url=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/82330.php |work=Medical News Today}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Goodreau SM, Golden MR |date=October 2007 |title=Biological and demographic causes of high HIV and sexually transmitted disease prevalence in men who have sex with men |journal=Sex Transm Infect |volume=83 |issue=6 |pages=458–62 |doi=10.1136/sti.2007.025627 |pmc=2598698 |pmid=17855487}}</ref>

==Evolution==
[[Evolutionary psychology|Evolutionary psychologists]] propose that a conditional [[human]] tendency for promiscuity is inherited from [[hunter-gatherer]] ancestors. Promiscuity increases the likelihood of having children, thus "evolutionary" fitness. According to them, female promiscuity is advantageous in that it allows females to choose fathers for their children who have better genes than their mates, to ensure better care for their offspring, have more children, and as a form of fertility insurance.<ref>Anthony Browne [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/sep/03/anthonybrowne.theobserver Women are promiscuous, naturally. Some Scientists now believe infidelity is a genetic mechanism for creation of healthy children.] The Observer, September 3, 2000.</ref> Male promiscuity was likely advantageous because it allowed males to father more children.

==Primitive promiscuity==
Primitive promiscuity or original promiscuity was the 19th-century hypothesis that humans originally lived in a state of promiscuity or "[[wikt:hetaerism|hetaerism]]" before the advent of society as we understand it.<ref>Westermarck, chap. 3 pp. 103–04</ref><ref>[[Bachofen]], ''Das Mutterrecht'', pp. xix–xx, 10</ref><ref>[[Bachofen]], ''Antiquarische Briefe'' pp. 20–</ref><ref>[[John Ferguson McLennan|McLennan]], [[Lewis H. Morgan|Morgan]], Lord Avebury, [[Alexis Giraud-Teulon|Giraud-Teulon]], Lippert, Kohler, Post, Wilken, [[Peter Kropotkin|Kropotkin]], Wilutzky</ref><ref>[[Iwan Bloch|Bloch, Iwan]] ''Sexual Life of Our Time'', pp. 188–94</ref> Hetaerism is a theoretical early state of human society, as postulated by 19th-century anthropologists, which was characterized by the absence of the institution of marriage in any form and in which women were the common property of their tribe and in which children never knew who their fathers were.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Society Without Marriage? {{!}} Psychology Today |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-human-beast/201311/a-society-without-marriage |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=www.psychologytoday.com |language=en}}</ref>

The reconstruction of the original state of [[Urgesellschaft|primitive society]] or humanity was based on the idea of progress, according to which all cultures have degrees of improvement and becoming more complicated. It seemed logical to assume that never before the types of families developed did they simply exist, and in primitive society, sexual relations were without any boundaries and taboos. This view is represented, inter alia, by anthropologist [[Lewis H. Morgan]] in ''[[Ancient Society]]'' and [[Friedrich Engels]]' work ''[[The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/origin_family.pdf|title=Frederick Engels: ''Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State'', II. "The Family"|website=Marxists.org|access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref>

In the first half of the 20th century, this notion was rejected by a number of authors, e.g. [[Edvard Westermarck]], a Finnish philosopher, social anthropologist and sociologist with in-depth knowledge of the history of marriage, who provided strong evidence that, at least in the first stages of cultural development, monogamy has been a perfectly normal and natural form of man-woman coexistence.<ref>[[:fi:Iso tietosanakirja|Iso tietosanakirja]], 1. part, columns 1054 ja 1055</ref><ref>[[:fi:Otavan iso tietosanakirja]]</ref>

Modern cultural anthropology has not confirmed the existence of a complete promiscuity in any known society or culture. The evidence of history is reduced to some texts of [[Herodotus]], [[Strabo]], and [[Gaius Julius Solinus|Solinus]], which have been hard to interpret.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46848/46848-h/46848-h.htm|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Races of Man, by J. Deniker|website=Gutenberg.org|access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref>

==Religious, social, and cultural views==
{{See also|Fornication}}
[[Christianity]], [[Judaism]], and [[Islam]] condemn promiscuity and instead advocate lifelong monogamous marriage (although Islam allows polygamy for men).<ref>Don S. Browning, M. Christian Green, John Witte Jr.: Sex, Marriage, and Family in World Religions</ref> The perspectives on promiscuity vary significantly depending on the region. Every country has different values and morals pertaining to sexual life.

Promiscuity has been practiced in [[hippie]] communities and other [[Alternative lifestyle|alternative subcultures]] since the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s cultural revolution]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CpX4DQAAQBAJ|title=The Hippies: A 1960s History|first=John Anthony|last=Moretta|date=26 January 2017|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-2739-7|access-date=4 March 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref>

[[Sex and Culture]] is a book by [[J. D. Unwin]] concerning the correlation between a society's level of 'cultural achievement' and its level of sexual restraint. Published in 1934, the book concluded with the theory that as societies develop, they become more sexually liberal, accelerating the social entropy of the society, and thereby diminishing its "creative" and "expansive" energy.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eoht.info/page/Joseph+Unwin|title= Joseph Unwin|last= Carnot|first= Sadi|date= 2017|website= www.eoht.info|publisher= Hmolpedia|access-date= 4 December 2018|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Unwin|first= Joseph D.|date= 1934|title= Sex and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I8YguAEACAAJ|location= |publisher= Oxford University Press|page=412 |isbn= 1-9798-6704-6|author-link= J. D. Unwin}}</ref>

==Other animals==
{{Further|Animal sexual behaviour|Extra-pair copulation}}

Some researchers have suggested that the practice of referring to animals as promiscuous in reference to their mating system is often inaccurate and potentially biased. More precise terms such as [[Polyandry in animals|polyandry]], [[Polygyny in animals|polygyny]], and [[polygynandry]] are increasingly preferred.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1186/1742-9994-10-66| issn = 1742-9994| volume = 10| issue = 1| page = 66| last1 = Elgar| first1 = Mark A.| last2 = Jones| first2 = Therésa M.| last3 = McNamara| first3 = Kathryn B.| title = Promiscuous words| journal = Frontiers in Zoology| date = 2013-11-08| doi-access = free| pmid = 24209457| pmc = 3828398}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1093/icb/icae138| issn = 1540-7063| volume = 64| issue = 6| pages = 1717–1733| last1 = Baker| first1 = Zoe| last2 = Hayssen| first2 = Virginia| title = A Practical Guide to Avoiding Biased Communication in Reproductive Biology| journal = Integrative and Comparative Biology| date = 2024-12-01| pmid = 39138061| pmc = 11659675}}</ref>

Many animal species, such as [[spotted hyena]]s,<ref name="courtship">{{cite journal | last1 = Szykman | first1 = M. | last2 = Van Horn | first2 = R. C. | last3 = Engh | first3 = A.L. | last4 = Boydston | first4 = E. E. | last5 = Holekamp |first5=K. E. | year = 2007 | title = Courtship and mating in free-living spotted hyenas | url = http://tuvalu.santafe.edu/~bowles/Dominance/Papers/SzykmanetalHyenaMatingBehaviour2007.pdf | journal = Behaviour | volume = 144 | issue = 7 | pages = 815–846 | doi = 10.1163/156853907781476418 | bibcode = 2007Behav.144..815S | citeseerx = 10.1.1.630.5755 | access-date = 24 December 2011 | archive-date = 30 November 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121130193631/http://tuvalu.santafe.edu/~bowles/Dominance/Papers/SzykmanetalHyenaMatingBehaviour2007.pdf }}</ref> [[Pig|pigs]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Birkhead |first=Tim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3i4Q8SvohfEC&pg=PA103 |title=Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition |date=2000 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-00666-9 |language=en}}</ref> [[bonobo]]s<ref>{{cite journal|title=Bonobo Sex and Society |last=de Waal |first=Frans B. M. |author-link=Frans de Waal |journal=[[Scientific American]] |date=March 1995 |volume=272 |issue=3 |pages=58–64 |url=http://www.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/uploads/media/Bonobo_sex_01.pdf |access-date=21 December 2011 |bibcode=1995SciAm.272c..82W |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0395-82 |pmid=7871411 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127051545/http://www.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/uploads/media/Bonobo_sex_01.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2012 }}</ref> and [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]]s, are promiscuous as a rule, and do not form [[pair bond]]s. Although social monogamy occurs in about 90% of avian species and about 3% of [[mammal]]ian species, an estimated 90% of socially monogamous species exhibit individual promiscuity in the form of [[extra-pair copulations|copulation outside the pair bond]].<ref name="Barash Lipton 2001">{{cite book |last1=Lipton |first1=Judith Eve |last2=Barash |first2=David P. |title=The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People |publisher=W.H. Freeman and Company |location=San Francisco |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7167-4004-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780716740049 }}</ref><ref name="Reichard 2002">{{cite journal|last1=Reichard |first1=U.H. |title=Monogamy—A variable relationship |journal=Max Planck Research |volume=3 |pages=62–7 |year=2002 |url=http://www.mpg.de/1028786/W001_Biology-Medicine_062_067.pdf |access-date=24 April 2013 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311080753/http://www.mpg.de/1028786/W001_Biology-Medicine_062_067.pdf |archive-date=March 11, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Gowaty Morell 1998">Research conducted by [[Patricia Adair Gowaty]]. Reported by {{cite journal |last1=Morell |first1=V. |year=1998 |title=Evolution of sex: A new look at monogamy |journal=Science |volume=281 |pages=1982–1983 |issue=5385 |doi=10.1126/science.281.5385.1982 |pmid=9767050|s2cid=31391458 }}</ref>

In the animal world, some species, including birds such as [[swan]]s and fish such as ''[[Neolamprologus pulcher]]'', once believed [[Monogamy in animals|monogamous]], are now known to engage in [[extra-pair copulation]]s. One example of extra-pair fertilization (EPF) in birds is the [[black-throated blue warbler]]s. Though it is a socially monogamous species, both males and females engage in EPF.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chuang |first1=H.C. |last2=Webster |first2=M.S. |last3=Holmes |first3=R.T. |title=Extrapair Paternity and Local Synchrony in the Black-Throated Blue Warbler |journal=The Auk |year=1999 |volume=116 |series=3 |pages=726–736 |doi=10.2307/4089333 |issue=3|jstor=4089333 }}</ref>

The Darwin-Bateman paradigm, which states that males are typically eager to copulate while females are more choosy about whom to mate with, has been confirmed by a [[meta-analysis]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Darwinian sex roles confirmed across the animal kingdom|first1=Tim|last1=Janicke|first2=Ines K.|last2=Häderer|first3=Marc J.|last3=Lajeunesse|first4=Nils|last4=Anthes|date=1 February 2016|journal=Science Advances|volume=2|issue=2|article-number=e1500983|doi=10.1126/sciadv.1500983|pmid=26933680|pmc=4758741|bibcode=2016SciA....2E0983J}}</ref> There is, however, continued debate about the utility and pitfalls of the Bateman perspective.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.08.010| issn = 0003-3472| volume = 168| pages = –5–e9| last = Hoquet| first = Thierry| title = Bateman's principles: why biology needs history and philosophy| journal = Animal Behaviour| date = 2020-10-01| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.12.008| issn = 0003-3472| volume = 164| pages = 223–231| last = Hoquet| first = Thierry| title = Bateman (1948): rise and fall of a paradigm?| journal = Animal Behaviour| date = 2020-06-01| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.04.020| issn = 0003-3472| volume = 168| pages = –1–e4| last = Morimoto| first = Juliano| title = Bateman (1948): was it all wrong? A comment on Hoquet (2020)| journal = Animal Behaviour| access-date = 2025-01-02| date = 2020-10-01| url = https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347220301214| url-access = subscription}}</ref>

== Risks ==
Promiscuity may increase the risk of acquiring [[sexually transmitted infections]].<ref name="Iliades-2010">{{Cite web |last=Iliades |first=Chris |date=2010-07-15 |title=Is There a Price to Pay for Promiscuity? |url=https://www.everydayhealth.com/longevity/can-promiscuity-threaten-longevity.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422071648/https://www.everydayhealth.com/longevity/can-promiscuity-threaten-longevity.aspx |archive-date=2019-04-22 |access-date=2019-05-31 |website=Everyday Health}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=February 2025}}{{Relevance inline|date=February 2025}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Human sexuality}}
{{wikiquotes}}
{{wikt}}
{{wikiversity|Motivation and emotion/Textbook/Motivation/Sexual motivation#Promiscuity}}
* [[Cottaging]]
* [[Emotional promiscuity]]
* [[Female promiscuity]]
* [[Monogamy]]
* [[Polyamory]]
* [[Polyandry]]
* [[Polygamy]]
* [[Polygynandry]]
* [[Prostitution]]
* [[Sexual addiction]]
* [[Sexual revolution]]
* [[Sociosexual orientation]]
* [[Sperm competition]]
* [[Swinging (sexual practice)|Swinging]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*Chakov, Kelly [http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/Faculty/murphy/evol.htm ''Nineteen Century Social Evolutionism'']
*[[Meyer Fortes|Fortes, Meyer]] (2005) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=0Pq4JSC-JNMC Kinship and the Social Order: The Legacy of Lewis Henry Morgan]'' {{ISBN|0-202-30802-2}} pp.&nbsp;7–8
*Lehrman, Sally ''[http://www.alternet.org/story/13648/ The Virtues of Promiscuity]'' (2002)
*[[Gerda Lerner|Lerner, Gerda]] (1986) [http://www.wordtrade.com/history/womenshistoryR.htm Women and History vol. 1: The Creation of Patriarchy] [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zc318kI-TPMC] {{ISBN|978-0-19-503996-2}}
*Lerner, Gerda "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3174047 The Origin of Prostitution in Ancient Mesopotamia]". ''Signs'', Vol. 11, No. 2 (Winter, 1986), pp.&nbsp;236–54
*Schmitt, David P. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20110722224048/http://www.bradley.edu/academics/las/psy/facstaff/schmitt/documents/Schmitt-BBS-2005-Sociosexuality-ALL.pdf Sociosexuality from Argentina to Zimbabwe: A 48-nation study of sex, culture, and strategies of human mating]". ''Behavioral and Brain Sciences'' (2005) 28, 247–311
*[[Gerrit Smith Miller Jr.|Miller Jr., Gerrit S.]] (1931) "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/2808208 The Primate Basis of Human Sexual Behavior]". ''The Quarterly Review of Biology'', Vol. 6, No. 4 (Dec., 1931), pp.&nbsp;379–410
*[[Edvard Westermarck|Westermarck, Edward]] [1891] (2003) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ShU3N7_GaMYC History of Human Marriage Part 1]'' Kessinger Publishing {{ISBN|0-7661-4618-9}}
*[[Kath Weston|Weston, Kath]] (1998) ''[https://archive.org/details/longslowburnsexu0000west Long Slow Burn: Sexuality and Social Science]'' {{ISBN|0-415-92043-4}}
*Woock, Randy (2002) ''[http://archive.thedailycougar.com/vol67/111/opinion/oped2.html Promiscuous Women Should Be Praised]''
*Rinaldi, Robin, ''The Wild Oats Project: One Woman's Midlife Quest for Passion at Any Cost'', Sarah Crichton Books (2015), hardcover, 304 pages {{ISBN|978-0-374-29021-4}}

{{Human sexuality}}
{{Human sexuality and sexology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Promiscuity| ]]
[[Category:Human sexuality]]
[[Category:Anthropology]]
[[Category:Casual sex]]
[[Category:Free love]]