The big brains at the Tribune wrote:
University of Chicago sex researchers on Wednesday unveiled research billed as the first of its kind to document and compare sexual behavior and satisfaction among middle-age and older people worldwide.
Surveying 27,500 men and women between the ages of 40 and 80 who live in 29 countries, the researchers found that people reported the greatest sexual satisfaction in Western countries, including Austria, Canada and the United States. Least satisfied were residents of Japan and Taiwan.
France, Sweden and Mexico also made the top group. Italians reported a medium level of satisfaction, placing them in the same category as Brazil, Israel and Turkey.
Overall, the researchers concluded, couples who live in cultures where men and women hold equal status were most likely to report that their sex lives were satisfying, physically and emotionally.
But in countries where men traditionally are more dominant, older people reported less satisfying sex on average--especially in East Asia and, to a lesser extent, in the Middle East.
[...]
In the latest study, monogamy and commitment were found to be cherished throughout the world, despite great differences in culture and tradition. Foreplay (5 to 30 minutes) has a positive association everywhere, especially for women. Data on female sexual dysfunction were surprisingly similar, as well.
[...]
During the survey, respondents were asked if they were happy in general and if they were happy with their sex lives. Results indicated that feelings of sexual well-being strongly correlated with overall happiness for both men and women.
The researchers found that in Western nations, two-thirds of men and women reported their sexual life was physically and emotionally satisfying. About half the men and one third of the women said sex was extremely or very important in their lives.
Fifty percent of men in Mideast nations found their sex lives satisfying, compared with 38 percent of women. Sixty percent of men and 37 percent of women said sex is important.
In East Asian countries, only about a quarter of men and women reported satisfying sex lives. Among men, 28 percent said sex was important to them. Just 12 percent of the women said it was important.
[...]
Japan, traditionally a male-centered culture, had the lowest satisfaction rating despite a highly educated population.
[...]
To Laumann, the study opens up more questions than it answered. For example, the low number of East Asian women reporting that sex was important to them--12 percent--was startling despite previous research. "We did a China study in 2000 which found that women there generally consider sex as a duty, not as a pleasure," he said. "By the age of 50 they don't want to do it anymore. Sex is dirty." The study was funded by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc., the maker of Viagra.
Surveying 27,500 men and women between the ages of 40 and 80 who live in 29 countries, the researchers found that people reported the greatest sexual satisfaction in Western countries, including Austria, Canada and the United States. Least satisfied were residents of Japan and Taiwan.
France, Sweden and Mexico also made the top group. Italians reported a medium level of satisfaction, placing them in the same category as Brazil, Israel and Turkey.
Overall, the researchers concluded, couples who live in cultures where men and women hold equal status were most likely to report that their sex lives were satisfying, physically and emotionally.
But in countries where men traditionally are more dominant, older people reported less satisfying sex on average--especially in East Asia and, to a lesser extent, in the Middle East.
[...]
In the latest study, monogamy and commitment were found to be cherished throughout the world, despite great differences in culture and tradition. Foreplay (5 to 30 minutes) has a positive association everywhere, especially for women. Data on female sexual dysfunction were surprisingly similar, as well.
[...]
During the survey, respondents were asked if they were happy in general and if they were happy with their sex lives. Results indicated that feelings of sexual well-being strongly correlated with overall happiness for both men and women.
The researchers found that in Western nations, two-thirds of men and women reported their sexual life was physically and emotionally satisfying. About half the men and one third of the women said sex was extremely or very important in their lives.
Fifty percent of men in Mideast nations found their sex lives satisfying, compared with 38 percent of women. Sixty percent of men and 37 percent of women said sex is important.
In East Asian countries, only about a quarter of men and women reported satisfying sex lives. Among men, 28 percent said sex was important to them. Just 12 percent of the women said it was important.
[...]
Japan, traditionally a male-centered culture, had the lowest satisfaction rating despite a highly educated population.
[...]
To Laumann, the study opens up more questions than it answered. For example, the low number of East Asian women reporting that sex was important to them--12 percent--was startling despite previous research. "We did a China study in 2000 which found that women there generally consider sex as a duty, not as a pleasure," he said. "By the age of 50 they don't want to do it anymore. Sex is dirty." The study was funded by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc., the maker of Viagra.
Edited, Wed Apr 19 11:32:06 2006 by Jophiel