OUTLOOK-MOODS SEX SURVEY
All In The V
Not tonight, honey? India finds a middle ground between the sheets.
Who would have thought that twelve years after ourgroundbreaking survey of the sexual habits and attitudes of urban Indian marriedcouples, we would find that Indians today are having less sex, despite a farmore open and liberal sexual environment? It’s just one of the manyeye-opening findings that turned up in the Outlook-Moods Sex Survey 2008.
The frequency has come down, as compared with 1996, and so has time spent onforeplay. All work and no (fore)play, it would seem, has made Jack a duller boy.More couples in full-time jobs, longer working hours, battling traffic jams onthe daily commute, worrying about pink slips and home loans and terrorism—thetypical pressures of life in the city today have no doubt taken their toll onthe romantic life of urban couples. Fortunately, the scenario isn’t entirelygloomy. Couples may be more pressed for time and energy, but they’re tryingeven harder to squeeze all the fun they can out of life, and they’re more opento experimenting. In 2008, as our survey reveals, there was a lot morespontaneous sex, early morning sex and oral sex; and greater adventurousness intrying out new positions.
Which city is the most active in oral sex? What is the biggest turn-on forwomen—six-pack abs or a handsome face? What percentage of couples have neverhad an orgasm? In what way have attitudes towards pre-marital sex andhomosexuality changed in the 21st century India? Read on to discover the manyfascinating, illuminating—and surprising—findings of the Outlook-MoodsSex Survey.
| Are you and your spouse satisfied with the frequency of sex? | |||
| Male | Female | ||
| I prefer more | 24 | 14 | |
| Spouse prefers more | 11 | 28 | |
| Both are happy with current frequency | 59 | 54 | |
12 times a month is how | |||
Respondents: men
Height
43% of Kochi men are aroused by a
positive attitude; 50% of women
in Ahmedabad like a muscular physique.
Respondents: women
What is your most preferred time for having sex?
Preference for morning sex
has doubled for men;
59% of men in Ahmedabad prefer it
Men still initiate most of the sex. ‘Pre-decided’
sex isn’t frequent. Spontaneous
sex has risen from 13% in 1996 to 22% in 2008.
Is it pre-decided?
How long does it last?
Mumbai has the highest percentage (65%)
of people who tried oral sex,
while Lucknow has the lowest (23%).
Have you ever tried oral sex?
52% of women perform oral sex at the man’s
request while 40% of men do it
at their partner’s insistence.
Despite more people having oral sex,
43 per cent think it is dirty and
40 per cent think it is harmful.
Practised more by men,
masturbation is highest in Kochi (80%)
and in the age group 20-25 years.
More males (17%) than females (6%)
are in favour of multi-partner sex,
most in the below-25 age group.
Overall 16% did not experience
an orgasm. But more people are
having multiple orgasms.
23% of women don’t have an orgasm,
up from 9% in 1996. 33% of women in
Lucknow don’t have an orgasm.
Couples who watch TV or read books
after sex have become inclined towards
caring activities like kissing.
More men than women
are in favour
of homosexuality.
Average foreplay time is highest in Kochi
at 12 minutes; 8 per cent in Calcutta do not
indulge in foreplay. In every city, foreplay is down.
Average time on foreplay 11 minutes
80% say that society is more liberal
in discussing sex, but nearly 50%
refrained from talking about it.
Average frequency per week
Missionary continues to be the
most preferred position, a preference
for new positions was also seen in 2008.
Nearly one-fourth of the
respondents have had
sex before marriage.
Of those who are in favour:
61% of pre-marital sex was with a
boy/girl friend, the highest in
Ahmedabad (88%) and Mumbai (81%).
57 per cent of people who had
premarital sex had it with
two or more individuals.
Outlook-GfK Mode conducted an opinion poll on the sexual habits and attitude towards sex of married couples.
The study was conducted in eight centres across the country—Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Kochi.
For purposes of comparison we have drawn samples from the same survey centres as in the 1996 survey.
A total of 1,640 respondents participated in the survey. In each city, 100 males and 100 females in the age group 20-45 years from SEC A, B and C were interviewed with the help of a close-ended questionnaire.
