Gay Men in the U.K. and the U.S. Differ in Definitions of Sex
A recent study conducted by the Kinsey Institute found that gay men in the U.K. and the U.S. define having “had sex” differently.
The study, published in the July issue of the journal AIDS Care, compared 180 gay men in the U.K. ages 18 to 56 to190 gay men in the U.S. ages 18 to 74.
While nearly all agreed that penile-anal intercourse constituted having “had sex,” opinions differed when it came to other interpretations of sex.
Gay men in the U.K. were found to have a broader definition of sex.
Of the U.K. gay men, 84.9 percent agreed that giving oral-genital stimulation constituted sex, compared to 71.6 percent of U.S. gay men.
Fewer men defined giving and receiving oral-anal stimulation as having “had sex,” with 78.4 percent of U.K. gay men defining it this way, and 61.2 percent of U.S. gay men.
Giving and receiving manual-anal stimulation was called sex by 70.9 percent of the U.K. men, while just 53.4 percent of the U.S. men agreed.
The greatest difference in interpretation of what constitutes having “had sex” was how gay men viewed giving and receiving sex toy stimulation. While 77.1 percent of U.K. gay men saw this stimulation as sex, only 55 percent of U.S. gay men agreed
Subjects’ definitions of having “had sex” has implications for the health world because it affects men’s number of reported “sexual partners” and frequency of “sexual encounters,” two inquiries often made by doctors about patients’ sexual health.
Lead author of the study, Brandon Hill, a researcher at the Kinsey Institute said, “It is important for researchers and clinicians not to assume that their definition of ’sex’ is shared by their participant or patient, and to use behaviorally specific criteria when conducting sex-behavior assessments, especially when assessing risk of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infection transmission.”
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