Americans have more sex with people of the same gender

                     

São Paulo - A study by US scientists shows that the percentage of Americans who have sex with people of the same gender has grown more than doubled compared to 1990.

Acceptance of the practice also increased during this period in all generations, but especially in the generation that now has between 24 and 35 years - the so-called "millennials" - according to the authors.

The research is based on survey data conducted by the US government since 1972, involving more than 30,000 adults.

The issues of acceptance of sex with the same gender partners were included from 1973 and questions about sexual partners were introduced from 1989.

According to the study, between 1990 and 2014, the number of people who had sex with someone of the same gender increased on average from 3.1% to 7.7%.

Among men, the number rose from 4.5% to 8.2%. Among women rose from 3.6% to 8.7%.

Research has shown that between 1973 and 1990, the percentage of adults who believe that "there is nothing wrong with sex between two adults of the same sex" went from 11% to 13%.

Between 1990 and 2014, however, the percentage increased from 13% to 49%. Among the "Millenials" the increase is even more significant: 63%.

According to one of the authors, Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at the State University of San Diego (United States), the results show a rapid ongoing social transformation in the United States, favored by many social and media factors.

According to her, in general, Americans are caring less about social norms and more with their own will.

"These large changes in both attitudes and behavior occurred in only 25 years, suggesting a rapid cultural change. These trends are further evidence that American culture has become more individualistic and more focused on the ego and equality. Without strict rules social that were common in the past, Americans feel more free to have sexual experiences that they see fit, "said Jean.

bisexual

The study, published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, also found that adults who had partners of both sexes - behavior classified as bisexual - increased from 3.1% to 7.7% between 1990 and 2014.

Among the "Millenials", 7.5% of men and 12.2% of women have had sex with someone of the same sex. The experiences of women, the survey found, tend to occur in greater numbers during youth. Among men there is no such trend.

"The lesbian sexual experience is more common when women are young, suggesting that there is some truth in the idea that some women are" bisexual to college ', at least among the younger generations, as the' millennials'. This pattern does not appear in sex experiences among gay men, "said Ryne Sherman, study co-author and psychology professor at Florida Atlantic University.