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Young People Experimenting More Sexually

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21 November 2017

By Lauren H

If you’re a typical, reserved Brit who hates talking about sex, look away now. It’s about to get pretty deep…and no, that wasn’t supposed to be a pun. Let’s move on…

Since 1990, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have been monitoring the changing sexual practices of young people.

In a recent survey, they found that more than one in 10 millennial teenagers have tried anal sex by the age of 18. By the age of 22-24, this increased to every three in 10. Though the age at which people begin having sex hasn’t changed significantly over recent decades, the research does show that young people are becoming much more experimental with sex.

Kaye Wellings, author and professor of sexual and reproductive health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said:

The changes in practices we see here are consistent with the widening of other aspects of young people’s sexual experience, and are perhaps not surprising given the rapidly changing social context and the ever-increasing number of influences on sexual behaviour.

The internet means people can easily find and see things that they would not have been able to in the past.

Anal sex is still pretty stigmatised, but attitudes appear to be changing. We know society has become more accepting of things like same sex behaviour overall. But there’s very little research out there about anal sex and motivation.

While the research shows that attitudes towards sex are changing, it doesn’t explain why.

However, it does highlight the need for better sex education, and the importance of teaching young people about a wide range of sexual practices, and how to remain safe.

Dr Ruth Lewis, who conducted the work while at the LSHTM discussed this:

At a time when much sex and relationships education is being updated, keeping pace with current trends in sexual practices is crucial so that curricula are tailored to the realities of young people’s experiences.

By shedding light on when some young people are having sex and what kinds of sex they are having, our study highlights the need for accurate sex and relationships education that provides opportunities to discuss consent and safety in relation to a range of sexual practices.

If you got this far, well done.

Should we adapt sex education to reflect changing attitudes?

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