by William S. Dean
(11/15/06)
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics." This saying, attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, onetime Prime Minister of England, and made popular in the U.S. by humorist Mark Twain, is certainly apropos to the world of sexuality. These days we see a seemingly endless array of statistics, world studies, research focus, and punditry claiming this or that "fact" about sexual behavior.
A recent study by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine assembles data from fifty-nine countries. They claim their results are surprising. "Men and women have sex for different reasons and in different ways in different settings," says the report's author, Professor Kaye Wellings. Wow, that's sure surprising, isn't it? What a major break-through in scientific sexuality studies, eh?
On a more serious note, multiple partner sex (according to the study) is more prominent in developed countries rather than so-called Third World nations. What struck me as rather naïve was the fact that this study apparently did not take into consideration the horrendous rate of multiple rapes occurring in some "developing nations." Wouldn't that skew the data just a bit? While the information gathered by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine may support certain conclusions about relationship sexuality, it can also be said to have neglected an important source of data both about sexual practices worldwide and about the spread of STDs by sexual violence.
When it comes to polls, from which most statistics are derived, it's practically impossible to separate the chaff (lies) from the wheat (facts). Despite Kinsey-style interviews and assessments of data, poll takers generally take the information told them at face value rather than challenge the source. And when it comes to sex, how many people do you personally know who never lie? Or exaggerate? Just a bit or a lot?
In every case, for example of political sexual scandal, there are lies of one kind or another. Charges and counter-charges, denials, confessions, false confessions, all add up to a pretty confusing total picture. And so where does the factual truth come in? And how does it affect statistics about sexual behavior?
If, say, all the homosexuals worldwide were to come out of the closet and proclaim their sexual preference, what would that do to the statistics about the homosexual population? Undoubtedly, we'd see a percentage rise, but to what degree? Ten percent or thirty? The same can be said for any sexual practice, preference, or behavior. You see, there are always what we might call "underground facts," undisclosed data, that will skew any statistical conclusion.
How many rapes occurred globally last year? No one knows. Yet this is an important statistic that could be utilized to pass more stringent legislation and enforcement against sexual violence. What's the actual population of the lesbian community in the United States? No one has assembled the statistical information and yet it would be significant to know how well they are represented in the social and political clime.
Statistical assemblers and analysts usually (if not always) have an agenda they adhere to which very often disregards even their own collected information. Additionally, they will frequently "hedge their bet" with weaseling phrases such as "plus or minus" a certain percentage of error. The higher the percentage of error they admit, the more dubious are the statistical conclusions.
Two years ago, Durex, the world's leading condom manufacturer, performed a global sex survey conducted among 350,000 people from 41 countries. One of their conclusions was that "Those most likely to have unsafe sex without asking about their partner's sexual history are the Danes, Swedes (both 64%), Japanese, Norwegians and South Africans (all 58%)." Again, these are curious statistics.
According to a U.N. department report on Congo, in Africa, "On average, some 40 women were raped every day between October 2002 and February 2003 in and around the town of Uvira," a town with a population of between 200,000 and 300,000. A network of eight local nongovernmental organizations, supported by the International Rescue Committee, each month takes in nearly 1,000 women, girls, and boys who have been raped in North and South Kivu." These are only the "survivors" and those able make it to a rescue facility. It is, without question, inconceivable that the rapists or victims are engaging in "safe sex." So again, the "global survey" statistics about safe sex are suspect, aren't they? And this is merely one small geographical area in Africa.
How the Law Changes Statistics
Three years ago, the New Hampshire Supreme Court, in a divorce ruling, stated that oral sex between a married individual and an unmarried one was not adultery because the accepted legal definition of adultery was restricted to coitus, copulation. That's one example of how legal rulings can skew the data about sexual behavior and practices, not to mention social morality. As long as you don't actually fuck someone, you're not committing adultery in New Hampshire. Other states have different rulings, just as they do concerning sodomy, indecent behavior, etc., yet when national surveys are touted these "differences" are seemingly irrelevant, averaged out of significance, or disregarded altogether as not fitting the statistical profile.
Personal opinions also vary about sex acts which decidedly skew statistical poll information. Many people in the late teen to early twenties age group seem to believe that oral sex doesn't count nor that handjobs or mutual masturbation are considered "sex." And what about cyber or phone sex? Do those count as "sex" or not? If sodomy is punishable by law in your state or region, would you admit to it in a non-anonymous poll? If it's an indecent act -- punishable by law -- to publicly exhibit your naughty bits, what about all those guys who post nude photos on the Internet or send them via e-mail or IMs? Is that public or not? If it is, by law, deemed illegal, how does that affect our statistical data about sex offenders?
If you feel this article raises more questions than it answers about sexuality statistics, you are discerning and correct. While sex advisors, pundits, and the media continue to state that we, as people, think about sex frequently throughout the day, there's nothing inherently wrong about that. We do need to think about sex, not simply having it and desiring it, but what it means in our information banks and whether what we think we know is factual or simply some numbers to back up our pre-conceived ideas.
