Young couple kissing in France
© AFP/File Dominique Faget PARIS (AFP) - Girls become sexually active on average at the age of 17.6, compared to 17.2 years for boys, according to the research carried out by INSERM (National Institute for Health and Medical Research) and INED (National Institute for Demographic Studies).
Over the past 50 years, men have become sexually active a year earlier while women have gained three years, according to the researchers.
There is also a "significant increase" in the number of women age 18 to 69 who report that they have had sex with another woman: four percent in the latest survey, up from 2.6 percent in 1992.
The number of men who reported having homosexual sex remained stable at 4.1 percent.
Women over 50 are also more sexually active and report having had more sexual partners in their lifetime.
"Women's sexuality has become more diverse," commented one of the lead researchers Nathalie Bajos, adding that the findings reflect the overall changes in the status of women.
Women over 50 report having intercourse 7.3 times per month on average, compared to 5.3 times 15 years ago.
The institutes surveyed more than 12,300 women and men age 18 and 69 between September 2005 and March 2006 on their sexuality, the third major study of French sexual behaviour following the 1970 and 1992 reports.
More than a third of French youth age 18 to 24 have logged on to dating sites on the Internet, according to the research findings released late Monday.
One out of every 10 men between the ages of 20 and 24 has had sex with a partner that he met through the Internet compared to six percent of women.
Women said they have had more sexual partners compared to earlier surveys, with the number reaching 4.4 in 2006, while men have reported having sex with 11.6 partners in their lifetime, a figure that has been holding steady since 1970.
Researchers however cautioned that women have a tendency not to include one-night stands on their list of sexual partners.
More women view sex as linked to their emotional needs, according to the research, with 57 percent of men aged 18 to 24 saying that they do not have to be in love to have sex compared to 28 percent of women.
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