Document Type
Book Chapter
Abstract
What do people mean when they say they “had sex”? The most-cited study regarding what activities are communicated as having “had sex” is now over 20 years old. This chapter provides findings from a study that replicated the original study’s methods to provide an up-to-date understanding. An Internet survey completed by 380 women and 197 men from the United States was conducted. Results show that penile-vaginal intercourse was the sexual activity most likely to count as having “had sex,” with 97.4% of participants indicating it as sex. Other common sexual activities measured include penile-anal intercourse, oral-genital contact, and manual stimulation of genitals. The findings suggest many attitudes represented in the original survey have changed. Implications and future studies are offered.
Publication Date
1-1-2016
Recommended Citation
Peck, B., Manning, J., Tri, A., Skrzypczynski, D., Summers, M., & Grubb, K. (2016). What does it mean when people say they “had sex”? Connecting communication to behavior. In J. Manning, & C. M. Noland (Eds.), Contemporary studies of sexuality & communication: Theoretical and applied perspectives (pp. 3-13). Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
Original Citation
Peck, B., Manning, J., Tri, A., Skrzypczynski, D., Summers, M., & Grubb, K. (2016). What does it mean when people say they “had sex”? Connecting communication to behavior. In J. Manning, & C. M. Noland (Eds.), Contemporary studies of sexuality & communication: Theoretical and applied perspectives (pp. 3-13). Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
Department
Department of Communication
Legacy Department
Department of Communication
Language
eng
Publisher
Kendall Hunt
