Survey finds 10 partners before marriage 'normal'

Drudge ^ | 10th December 2001 | Ananova

[Don Myers]

Survey finds 10 partners before marriage 'normal'

The majority of young people think it is normal for a person to have at least 10 sexual partners before marriage.

A survey has also found that three in 10 believe it is acceptable for a girl to lose her virginity before the age of 15.

Research carried out by Brook, the youth sex advisory service, says there is a "cultural change" in young people's attitudes towards sex.

Some 64% of men and 54% of women agreed that it was acceptable for a person to sleep with more than 10 partners before getting married.

But the survey, which questioned people aged 17 to 25, also showed that they wanted more information about sex and contraception.

Men admitted to getting most of their knowledge about contraception from TV and magazines, while women learned the most from magazines and their mothers.

Half of all the young women surveyed said they wished that teachers had supplied them with more information about preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Brook chief executive Jan Barlow said: "Young people have an increasing number of sexual partners and they are saying that's OK.

"But at the same time they don't have the information and access to services that they need.

"Young people must seek out advice and information in order to make their choices and to understand how to protect themselves both against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases."

[independentmind]

Here's a start. Does Cohabitation Lead to Divorce?

[Askel5]

My Mom sent me this thread, actually.

She may be more hopeful than I that I'll have made all the mistakes one can possibly make and yet be married one day.

[Mark17]

It will soon be a public school requirement that girls must lose their virginity before 15.

That would be funny, if it were not so sick. Unfortunately, it is almost this way now.

[Askel5]

So who wants to bring forth new life?

Those who find life precious and worth living generally do.

Those who fall into despair or are overcome by purely materialist notions which view life strictly in terms of economics, usefulness, productivity or perfection usually end up believing folks -- living or as yet unborn -- are better off never having lived.

[stuartcr]

I doubt you will find anywhere on this post where I said there are few virgins.

[independentmind]

My mother has told me more than once that I always insist on learning things the hard way.

[Jadge]

"Where, again, is this condemnation?"

How about this one:

"I would politely suggest that you need to start hanging out with a better class of people."

The suggestion that having pre-marital sex is an act reserved for the classless falls under the category of condemnation in my book.

[John O]

You missed the point. What I am talking about is the girl who has not been taught how to prevent pregnancy or STDs by her parents

You missed the point. She was taught how to prevent pregnancy and STDs. DONT HAVE PREMARITAL SEX.

Abstinence is the ONLY 100% effective method.

GSA(P)

[John O]

Does anyone on this board know anyone (excluding your own kids who are probably lying to you) under 30 who is a virgin by choice?

Yes. A whole bunch of the kids from church. ranging in age from 12 up to about 25. None of them date. None of them put themselves into a position where lust would overtake good sense. They are saving themselves for their future mate.

The not dating is the key. It's hard to be pure when you put yourself into situations where you're expected to be impure. Therefore they don't date. And should they attend a function (such as prom) as "couples" they always go in a group.

Now I know that the entire youth group is not virginal but the non-virgins are very easy to pick out. There's only three or four of them in the core group. The rest are pure.

GSA(P)

[Petronski]

I didn't say 'hang out with people who have class' or even 'hang out with people who have more class.' I said hang out 'with a better class' of people. Just semantics? No. It's an expression of my view that those who disdain casual sex are a better class of people. You do not agree with this characterization, so how can you possibly feel insulted, let alone condemned?

[Aedammair]

As luck would have it, amigo mio, I'm 30 myself. I was married last year and was a virgin until that time - by choice, I might add. I dated a good bit before the marriage thing.

Admirable beyond measure; and proof positive of an exceptionally strong will. That's what separates the boys from the men, girls from the women, and the leaders from the followers.

L'onore e piu prezioso de un regno.

[John O]

Question for all: In this decadent culture, how many who are young virgins are willing to admit it?

See the aforementioned youth group. They are proud to be pure.

GSA(P)

[Petronski]

They are indeed proud to be pure, and also all too rare, brother.

[pcl]

That is an interesting source. I especially enjoyed some of the facts:

Marriages preceded by cohabitation are 50 to 100 percent more likely to break up than those not preceded by cohabitation. That is an absurd statement.

All the material in the source referred to cohabitation before marriage. You orignal statement in post #548 was about sex before marriage. Granted, cohabitatants do have sex before marriage but most sex before marriage takes place outside of cohabitiation.

BTW: If the cohabitatants cited had been married, it sure would make the marriage statistics look bad. :-)

[Jadge]

"The not dating is the key."

What?!!! How do they ever meet their future mate if they can't date and get to know them? Do they just marry someone from the "group"?

IMHO, sheltering an individual from dating doesn't help them to trust themselves or to become a rational adult.

It also forces me to rephrase my question. Is anyone on this post under 30, AND ACTUALLY DATING, but not engaging in pre-marital intercourse?

[pcl]

DONT HAVE PREMARITAL SEX.

Just say no to drugs.

[NeoCaveman]

Is anyone on this post under 30, AND ACTUALLY DATING, but not engaging in pre-marital intercourse?

Well I'm under 30 but I can't answer your question with a yes. If you find someone who can answer that question yes, then I'd like to shake their hands. Wait a second, forget the handshake, they are virgins, who knows what they've been doing with there hands.

[Jadge]

"It's an expression of my view that those who disdain casual sex are a better class of people."

Which is to say that those who don't are a lesser class of people (read: me and nearly everyone I've ever met). Of couse I'm going to view that as both insulting and a condemnation of my ways.

[stuartcr]

Since I have no desire to have children, you say I don't consider life precious or worth living? How did you come up with this?

[Jadge]

"who knows what they've been doing with there hands."

Great point, Dubya, so how about that, John O, what is your belief on per-marital masturbation and masturbation in general?

Personally, I wouldn't know, I've never done it. ;)