For the first time ever, Sex in America reveals the myth-shattering results of the only comprehensive and methodologically sound survey of America's sexual practices and beliefs. In 1992, highly regarded social scientists Robert T. Michael, John H. Gagnon, and Edward O. Laumann embarked on an unprecedented study of America's sex life. Working through the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, their staff of 220 interviewers spent seven months interviewing 3,432 scientifically selected respondents about all aspects of their sex lives, histories, and beliefs. More important, unlike the famous but inherently flawed reports of Alfred Kinsey, Redbook and Playboy magazines, Shere Hite, Samuel and Cynthia Janus, and others, this survey relied on a random sample of Americans rather than on an unrepresentative group of volunteers. The resulting data reveal not just what we do sexually but how society shapes even our most private sexual experiences. They show not just why we are the way we are, but what it might take to change this behavior. Sure to arouse considerable controversy, the survey directly contradicts many of the conclusions of previous reports and defies widely held conventional wisdom about America's sexual practices and beliefs, with startling revelations about how often people have sex, how many partners they have, and where they meet them; the likelihood that the AIDS epidemic will spread into the heterosexual population; what people like to do in bed; how many Americans are homosexual; the incidence of forced sex; and why some people are more satisfied with their sex lives than others. After years of misleading statistics and unsubstantiated claims, Sexin America presents a comprehensive, reliable look at America's collective sex life, the definitive word on American sexuality today.

This representative survey of sexual behaviour in the general population of America offers basic information about topics such as the transmission of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, child abuse, sexual harassment and sexual violence. Conducted by a research team centred at the University of Chicago, the National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) was designed to determine not only incidence and prevalence of sexual practices, but also the social and psychological contexts in which they occur. Based on personal interviews with a probability sample of 3432 American women and men between the ages of 18 and 59, this study explores the extent to which sexual conduct and general attitudes toward sexuality are influenced by gender, age, marital status and other demographic characteristics. Some of the questions the researchers address include: how do social factors such as education, race, and religion affect sexual conduct?; how have American sexual patterns been changing?; how do women's and men's sexual lives and attitudes differ?; and how is sexual behaviour organized across the life course? Other topics covered by the survey include early sexual experiences, masturbation, contraception and fertility, sexual abuse, coercion, sexual health, satisfaction and sexual dysfunction. A wide variety of sexual practices and preferences are also explored in the questionnaire, including specific questions on homosexual desire, identity, and behaviour, the appeal of various sexual practices, and their frequency and incorporation into sexual lives. With many charts, graphs and tables, and a copy of the complete survey questionnaire, this work is intended to be of use as a reference for scientists, analysts and researchers seeking reliable information on the sexual practices of American adults.