Historical Context of the Trends in Sexual Behaviors

Trends in Sexual Behavior
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Trends in Sexual Behavior
Sexual behavior is of social importance as it is essential for biological significance. Families are defined and formed as an essential factor in the psychological wellbeing of individuals and as a component of various problems socially. When it comes to sexuality, sociologists stress the importance of regulating sexual behavior to ensure family stability and cohesion, so what does sexual behavior refer to? It involves the behavior that is aimed at arousing the sexual desire of an individual, and the behavioral expression contains cultural and biological influences (Hunt et al., 2019). Because of both the importance of sexual behavior and the effect it has on the sexuality of individuals, we need to arm ourselves with a thorough (1) understanding of sexual behavior and its trends, (2) the historical context of the trend and the effect on the evolution of sexuality.
Premarital sexual activity has become increasingly common over the last years due to the sexual revolution in the 1960s. The rate at which men engaged in premarital sex was high compared to women, and the change has been ongoing for decades. Research shows that women have a low rate of engaging in premarital sex, but the rates have increased than those of men, and the gap between men and women has reduced over time. In the 1980s, women had premarital sex before they got married. In the early 1990s, premarital sex peaked and declined for the first time in decades (Hunt et al., 2019). However, the decrease among males was more significant than females, but both genders showed a slight decline in the activity and then some reversal. In 1970 5% of women were sexually active at age 15 and 51% at age 17. Men and women are believed to spend more extended periods of sex life other than in marriage (Hess et al., 2017). The number of lifetime sexual partners increased among women as they had more time to have sex before marriage. From 1910 t0 1940, premarital sex for women was from 3% to 26%, while for men with two or more sexual partners increased from 49% to 73%. For example, in Metropolitan areas, of women ages 15-19 years, 38% had two or more sexual partners in 1971, increasing to 61% in 1988.
Non-marital births were linked between sexual activity and breaking down, and the connection between marriage and procreation has reduced. Usually, when premarital sex leads to conception, the woman will be married before the child is born, which leads to unmarried couples marrying before the birth of their child to decline (Hunt et al., 2019). Cohabiting – the rise in premarital sexual activity and delay in marriage has led more people to live together. Since 1970, people living together outside marriage have increased more than five folds since marriage. The increase is even higher in developing countries; according to research, the proportion of adults and couples cohabiting at any point in time remains small (Hess et al., 2017). Cohabiting differs by race and gender; it is higher among the divorced, never married, those in urban areas, and those who attend church less frequently (Howe, 2012). For instance, last year...