I’m slacking in the timeliness of my updates with this one, but apparently I’m not slacking as much as Generation X is when it comes to the sex we have. For those in Generation Y, or Generation W (although they are never called that, but it makes sense if they come before X, right?) you are apparently much more sexually experimental than those of us whose birthday’s fall somewhere between 1965 and 1985.
From the article:
According to academic research on sexual habits, Generation X’ers have significantly fewer sexual partners and are less likely to be unfaithful than those who came before and after them.
Interestingly, and not all that surprisingly, the circles I run in don’t follow this study. In fact, if the researchers would tag along with me to the desert the last week in August, or even to a few parties here in New York City, they would definitely not conclude the same results. But I know that research is research and that if you interview lots of people in middle-of-the-line places, you might find things aren’t as orgy-astic as they are in NY, SF or even Nevada.
The head researcher is a well known man in the field of sex, and he’s even got a textbook under his belt. And I did read parts of his (written with three other researchers) 1994 study of Sex in America which is, in my opinion some heavy duty cred. He is Edward Laumann, professor of sociology at the University of Chicago, and although I value what he’s saying, I ask, how do you know people aren’t lying?
His research continues:
The emergence of Aids and the divorce boom gave Generation X insecure emotions and more restricted sex lives. “There was a backlash against their parents’ attitudes, a crisis of confidence. It’s clear that, while Generation X has sex, obviously, it’s probably not as much or as varied in styles as their parents or today’s teenagers and students,” said Laumann, author of The Social Organisation of Sexuality, a college text-book in America.
The study won’t be released until later this year, but I say unless you’re having sex with someone, you don’t know what kind of sex they are having. Now, let the research resume.
January 31st, 2008 at 7:02 am
I am apparently Generation X (I think) (1976) and I tend to agree with this that the generation Y are trying new things but of course I think because we were the children of the eighties (when we were at that stage of prime sexual spirited trialling) and the eighties were terribly conservative times and came right after 60/70’s experimentalism, so we are due for a new generation of experimenters any minute now.
xox Rups
P.S. I’m so glad you have comments enabled on your Blog now, I love reading your stuff.
February 7th, 2008 at 3:14 am
I don’t necessarily agree. I’m Gen X and most of the friends I know who are Gen X have been pretty experimental.
There was a book about 15 (or so) years ago called The 13th Generation and I remember them puttting it this way; The first wave of Gen X’er’s, like I am, were basically caught halfway in the window when it shut, due to the AIDS crisis.
Then again, I hung around a more offbeat crowd for the times and the locale (Dallas, Texas).
I think it’s more of a case where the current Generation is able to be more open about about things, but I think that’s just natural progression.
-Steveo
p.s. Glad to see you’re doing well. I’ve been a fan since the days when you were on EYADA.com.