Seven Questions

All sex facts / The numbers

A third have tried it, and the number has doubled

One of the fastest-changing figures in sex research.

A third have tried it, and the number has doubled

In the United States' national sexual behaviour survey, around 36 per cent of women and 44 per cent of men aged 25 to 44 reported having tried anal sex. In the early 1990s the equivalent figure for women was closer to 16 per cent. Few numbers in this field have moved that far that fast.

Reported frequency has not risen in step: for most people who have tried it, it remains occasional rather than routine. The gap between having done something once and doing it regularly is the distinction most surveys collapse, and most readers do too.

Sources

Herbenick et al., National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (2010, 2022); Leichliter et al., CDC NCHS (2007)

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