The British Attitude To Sex

Licenced brothels are fine, as long as there are regular health checkups, say the British public. So are pornographic magazines (49% approve) and heterosexual sex on prime-time TV. But swingers clubs, telephone sex, and street prostitution are offensive. As for homosexuality, a significant minority (21%) think it is just plain wrong. 

These are just some of the striking insights provided by "Love & Lust," a proprietary international research study conducted by Euro RSCG Worldwide, the world's fifth-largest advertising agency network. The study polled 1,606 consumers in China, France, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, America and the UK via a random, representative online survey, of which, 15% were from the UK. In this anonymous environment, respondents were free to share their most intimate fantasies, anxieties, and opinions about a range of topics related to romance and sexuality. 

Beneath the "prim and proper" image, the British, it appears, are highly accepting of sexual adventurousness. Thirty per cent report that their first sexual intercourse took place during a one-night stand.  They are also much more likely to carry out their sexual fantasies (rather than keeping them on a mental 'wish list') than any other country surveyed.  For example, 54% report having had sex in a public place, while 10% want to. In comparison, 35% of the global sample have done the same, and 16% would like to.  But the news isn't all good, perhaps as a result of their passionate attitudes, Brits are sexually frustrated: 72% say they don't have sex as often as they'd like, against 65% of the worldwide sample.    

Equality between the sexes and inequality in acceptance of sexual preference seems to be another British trend.  When asked whether it's acceptable for an unmarried man to have sex with ten or more partners a year, 75% of British respondents say yes, compared to just 55% of respondents worldwide. The same goes for women, according to 73% of British respondents. Sadly we aren't equally liberal when it comes to homosexuality.  Homosexuality remains a cultural taboo for more than a fifth of the British population.  Of the UK respondents 21% thought that it is wrong to engage in homosexual sex

The British are more likely than others to approve of sexuality on television. Globally, more than one in five respondents (22%) are offended by sexually suggestive advertising, versus 20% of UK respondents. With regard to depictions of sex on prime-time television, U.K. respondents are more likely to approve (completely or somewhat) of sexual language (43% against 30% of the global sample); sexual innuendo (66% against 55%); portrayals of heterosexual sex (68% against 59%); hard-core alternative sex such as S&M (17% against 11%); and even depictions of rape (41% against 25%).  Openly "inappropriate" sex is a turnoff. While prostitution behind closed doors is considered acceptable by most of the British respondents (64% approve somewhat or completely, against 59% worldwide), street prostitution is viewed with relative disdain (7% approve somewhat or completely, against 12% overall).

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