31 Little Known Facts About Sexuality That Prove ‘Normal’ Is Always Changing

1. Despite ancient Rome having a reputation for hyper-dirtiness in modern cinema, the Romans actually had very well understood codes of conduct for sex. Men were ideally supposed to exercise self-restraint and women were supposed to exercise modesty and exhibit attractiveness. [Source]

2. At the same time, prostitution was legal and everywhere. There was little stigma about it. [Source]

3. There are no words for homosexual or heterosexual in Latin meaning that the Romans didn’t view sexuality through a binary lense. [Source]

4. Although not universal, many Native American tribes embraced the concept of “two-spirit” people who felt they had both masculine and feminine spirits and characteristics outside the norm. Among many tribes they occupied a social roles all their own including as Shamans and healers. [Source]

5. This phenomenon was widespread.

6. When Spanish explorers encountered two-spirit people among the Chumash tribe of modern day California they called them “joyas” meaning “jewels.” [Source]

7. This is called a tengu mask and is supposed to represent a spirit of the mountains and forests. There’s a reason it looks the way it does.

And that reason is that they often doubled as strap-ons in ancient Japanese culture. Proof? Go to this possibly NSFW link for proof. It’s an old painting.

8. The Japanese Association for Sex Education Research Journal conducted a survey in 2010 which indicated that 40% of Japanese marriages could be described as sexless and 36.1% of men and 58.5% of women ages 16-19 describe themselves as not being interested in sex. [Source]

9. However, as of 2005, only 24% of Japanese considered themselves to be happy with their sex lives. The global average is still only a depressing 44%. [Source]

10. The low amount of sex occurring in Japan is commonly attributed to long working hours and the fact that Japanese society discourages woman from marrying if they also want a career. [Source]

11. Nigeria has the highest female orgasm parity in the world. Surveyors who did the polling on this question think they’re probably lying though. [Source]

12. Worldwide, there is no correlation between social equality and female orgasm rate. For example, women in China and Brazil report orgasming more frequently during sex than women in the U.S., Russia, or half of Europe. [Source]

13. Modern day Greeks and Brazilians have the most sex out of group of people in the world. [Source]

14. 17th century Japanese pornography is super filthy. [Source def NSFW unless you work in a museum]

15. Mexicans, Brazilians, Chinese, and Nigerians have sex, on average, for 21 or more minutes. Americans and Russians have sex between 17 and 19 minutes. Indians and the French have sex for only 13 to 15 minutes, the lowest average amount of time in the world. [Source]

16. Prior to the Communist Revolution in China, female homosexuality had a long tradition of being basically accepted. [Source]

17. The ancient Chinese believed that women had an unending amount of “yin essence” and therefore sex would never exhaust their energies. [Source]

18. Having sex for a long time was considered by Chinese Taoists to be a way for men to increase their health and probably made their lovers happy as well. [Source]

19. The ancient Chinese also used bronze dildos which were hollow and were possibly worn as strap-ons. [Source]

20. Ancient Indians engaged in a game wherein “elite” men and women would have sex in full view of a watching audience. [Source]

21. Oddly enough, considering the past, making or selling pornography is now illegal in India even though it’s apparently not enforced. [Source]

22. Almost all of the nations where homosexuality is a punishable offense are in Africa and the Middle East. It’s also punishable by law in India, Guyana in South America, Burma, Papua New Guinea, and a few others. [Source]

23. With one exception, all countries where homosexuality is punishable by death are Muslim counties. The exception is Nigeria which has a large Muslim population in the north of the country where Sharia law is sometimes practiced. [Source]

24. Austrians have had more sexual partners on average than the people of any other country. Austrian men report having an average of 29 partners and Austrian women report having had an average of 17 partners. [Source]

25. The Chinese report having the least amount of sexual partners on average, four for men and two for women. Interesting that they’re among the most sexually satisfied people in the world as well. [Source]

26. 80% of people who claim to be sexually satisfied also claim to feel respected by their partners. [Source]

27. Americans have sex less than the global average, once every 4.3 days compared to a global average of once every 3.5 days. [Source]

28. Globally, there is a huge disparity in the number of partners between gay men and lesbian women. Gay men report that over their lifetime they have an average of 108 partners while lesbian women report an average of 11 partners. This is self reported information from the Durex Sexual Wellbeing Survey. [Source]

29. In the Papau New Guinea Sambian tribe, boys were required to drink the semen of their elders as one of the steps to advance to their next stage of becoming a man. [Source]

30. Also in Papau New Guinea, members of the Trobrianders tribe were encouraged to begin having sex as young as the age of six. [Source]

31. Many Iranian couples are able to have sex before getting married by entering into a temporary marriage which involves paying a dowry and signing a contract. The length of the marriage has to be expressly written into the contract. This is how you can have sex before (permanent) marriage in Iran without sinning. [Source]