Moral survey

Brits top world for their loose sex morals
Aug 18 2004
The Western Mail

SINGLE men and women in Britain may have the loosest sexual morals in the world, according to a survey out last night. Nearly six in 10 Brits surveyed said it was normal for a person in their thirties to have had 10 or more lovers during their single years. Only Germany and the United States recorded similar results with 52% and 49% respectively, in the study by Euro RSCG Worldwide.

In comparison, just 17% of Chinese and 30% of French would consider it normal to have had a number of lovers in the double digits. Fewer than half of the 2,127 Britons surveyed believed that staying faithful to one partner was "natural". Only the Germans were less likely to agree, with 40% believing that humans are inclined to stick with a single partner for life.

Again, the Chinese were the most moral, with 70% believing in monogamy.

The survey, released in New York, found that British women may be more tolerant of extra-marital affairs than others sections of women around the world. More than one in 10 - 11% - of both men and women in Britain said they were tolerant of affairs which "cause pain to neither party". Sex with their partner is a big deal for 63% of British men who believe they have the right to regular sex, compared to 47% of women.

In the US the comparison is 76% men to 62% women while in France the gap is narrower, 85% to 76%. Only 16% of Britons reported that their religious beliefs influenced their sexual behaviour, compared with a substantial 39% of Americans but only 3% of French.