French women are assuming an increasingly active sexual role, whether alone or accompanied.
Fifty years after May 68, what relationship do French women have with their sexuality? A poll of theIfop, produced in partnership with She, reviews current practices.
First lesson: never before have so many French women succumbed to the joys of onanism… In 2019, three out of four women (76%) admit to having already masturbated during their life, compared to 60% in 2006, 42% in 1992 and barely 19% in 1970. In the space of nearly 50 years, the proportion of women declaring that they have engaged in masturbation has therefore quadrupled.
Pornographic films and sex toys
A trend linked to greater access by French women to sexual arousal aids such as pornographic films or sex toys: nearly one in two women (47%) admits having already been to an X site, ie a proportion more than ten times greater than that observed in 2006 (4%). Nearly one in two French people (43%) indicated in 2019 that they had already used a vibrator, compared to just over one in three five years ago (37% in 2012) and barely 9% twelve years ago (2007).
Moreover, certain bucco-genital or anal practices, such as fellatio, cunnilingus, sodomy and rimming, are also tending to become commonplace. In fifty years, the number of women who have already licked their partner’s sex has indeed increased sharply (+36 points) to the point of reaching thresholds very close (91%) to those of men (89%), a sign of a certain reciprocity in the exchange of this kind of caresses, frequently associated with the foreplay phases.
Exploration of the anal side
If the exploration of the anal side of one’s sexuality tends to come more with age, it is interesting to note that sodomy is now a majority practice: 53% of women have taken part in it at least once, and the proportion of women who have already indulged in anal penetration has almost quadrupled since 1970 (14%).
This propensity of women to assume a more active sexual role is also reflected in the adoption of behaviors that transgress gender norms, such as penetrating one’s partner’s anus (22%) or administering rimming to a man (15%).
Among women from working-class backgrounds, we observe a greater “gender rigidity” in their anal practices with men: barely 7% of workers have already penetrated their partner’s anus with a finger, i.e. four times less than executives and higher intellectual professions (33%).
Dating sites and waxing
When it comes to hair removal, there are two completely contradictory trends. On the one hand, a strong increase in the number of women who do not wax their genitals – 24%, against 15% in 2013 – and, on the other, a similar evolution of the full swimsuit, from 14 to 22% of practitioners in the space of 6 years, mainly to please the partners, in particular the followers of practices such as cunnilingus.
Regarding apps or dating sites, two out of ten women say they have already registered (22%), a figure that has more than doubled in thirteen years. Among those registered, nearly two out of ten women are just looking for one-night stands (19%), a figure that has increased compared to 2012 (+6% in seven years).
In a completely different register, let us point out that the impact of the #MeToo movement is contrasting. We note a strong resurgence of vigilance, with 60% of women who say they are more attentive in the event of inappropriate gestures towards them or those of other women. Similarly, we observe a freedom of speech among young people under 25: 71% more easily talk about their experiences of sexual harassment, discrimination or assault, compared to an average of 43% among all French.
Sexuality does not appear as a necessity in the couple
Finally, and contrary to popular belief, sexuality does not appear to be a necessity in the couple. In fact, nearly two out of three French women could continue to live with someone without sexual intercourse (65%), i.e. a proportion that has been rising steadily for 40 years, since this was the case for 51% of women in 2000 and 44 % in 1981. Only three out of ten women believe that sexual intercourse is missed if they do not have an orgasm (28%), while they were four out of ten twenty years earlier (41%).
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