Promiscuity refers to sexual behaviour of a man or woman who engages in sexual relations with multiple partners on a casual and/or regular basis. Look up promiscuous in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sexual behavior is a form of physical intimacy that may be directed to reproduction (one possible goal of sexual intercourse) and/or to the enjoyment of activity involving sexual gratification. ...

Most religions disapprove of and discourage sexual promiscuity, though some allow for promiscuous practices, such as religious prostitution in ancient Mesopotamia and Greece. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mesopotamia was a cradle of civilization geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq. ...

Human promiscuity

Main article: Human sexuality

What is considered socially acceptable sexual behaviour, and what behaviour is "promiscuous", varies much among different cultures. In some cultural contexts, a woman who copulates with a man or men other than her husband is considered promiscuous, while in another culture a married or unmarried man's extra- and pre-marital like behaviour may not be considered promiscuous.^{[citation needed]} This article is about human sexual perceptions. ... Human sexuality is the expression of sexual feelings. ...

In some cultures, the term is applied to any man or woman who has more than one lover at a given time. In some industrialized societies, it is likely used only, and derogatorily, in describing women who have many sexual partners, seemingly chosen indiscriminately. In such a case, no set number of sexual partner delimits the promiscuous from the not promiscuous.

Accurately assessing people's sexual behavior is difficult, since there are strong social and personal motivations, depending on social sanctions and taboos, for either minimizing or exaggerating reported sexual activity. Extensive research has produced mathematical models of sexual behaviour comparing the results generated with the observed prevalence of STDs to statistically estimate the probable sexual behavior of the studied population. Social control refers to social mechanisms that regulate individual and group behavior, in terms of greater sanctions and rewards. ... This article is about cultural prohibitions in general, for other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation). ...

A person's numbers of sexual partners, both in a lifetime and concurrently, varies widely within a population. In the U.S., seven women is the median number of lifetime female sexual partners; four men is the median number of male partners for women; 29 percent of men and 9 percent of women report to have had more than 15 sexual partners.^[1] Studies of the spread of STDs consistently demonstrate that a small percentage of the studied population have more partners than the average man or woman, and a smaller number of people have fewer than the statistical average. An important question in the epidemiology of venereal diseases is whether or not these groups copulate mostly at random (with sexual partners from throughout a population) or within their social groups (assortative mixing). Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine. ... Assortative mixing is a kind of sexual network characteristic that influences epidemic spread, mainly HIV. It simply means the extent to which individuals choose sexual partners who are similar in age, race, sexual orientation, marital status, socioeconomic status, religion, or locale. ...

A 2006 comprehensive global study (analysing data from 59 countries worldwide) found no firm link between promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases.^[2] This contradicts other studies ^{[3] [4]}.

Male promiscuity

The words womanizer (Br Eng: womaniser), wencher, playboy, philanderer, player, ladies' man, man-whore, manslag, ladykiller, Cad and rake (rakehell) refer to a man who has love affairs with women he either cannot or will not marry or commit himself to. Typically, the love affairs are sexually motivated, with slight emotional connection and attachment. The names of real and fictional seducers have become eponyms for such promiscuous men. The most famous are the historical Casanova (1725-1798)^[5], the fictional Don Juan, who first appeared in the 17th century, and Lothario from Nicholas Rowe's 1703 play The Fair Penitent. The Tavern Scene from A Rakes Progress by William Hogarth. ... Photograph of a nude man by Wilhelm von Gloeden, ca. ... An affair may refer to a form of nonmonogamy, to infidelity or to adultery. ... Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... Casanova redirects here. ... For other uses, see Don Juan (disambiguation). ... Lothario is a character in Nicholas Rowes 1703 play The Fair Penitent. ... Nicholas Rowe Guilt is the source of sorrow, tis the fiend, Th avenging fiend, that follows us behind, With whips and stings Nicholas Rowe (1674 – 1718), English dramatist, poet and miscellaneous writer, was selected Poet Laureate in 1715. ... See also: 1702 in literature, other events of 1703, 1704 in literature, list of years in literature. ... The Fair Penitent is Nicholas Rowes stage adaptation of the tragedy The Fatal Dowry, the Philip Massinger and Nathan Field collaboration first published in 1632. ...

During the English Restoration period (1660-1688), the words rake hell and rake were used glamorously: the Restoration rake is a carefree, witty, sexually irresistible aristocrat typified by Charles II's courtiers, the Earl of Rochester and the Earl of Dorset, who combined riotous living with intellectual pursuits and patronage of the arts. The Restoration rake is celebrated in the Restoration comedy of the 1660s and the 1670s. After the reign of Charles II, and especially after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the rake was perceived as negative and became the butt of moralistic tales in which his typical fate was debtor's prison, permanent venereal disease, and, in the case of William Hogarth's A Rake's Progress, venereally-caused insanity and internment to Bedlam. For other uses, see Restoration. ... Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. ... For other people of this name, see John Rochester. ... Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex (24 January 1638 – 29 January 1706) was an English poet and courtier, son of the 5th Earl of Dorset (1622–1677). ... Refinement meets burlesque in Restoration comedy. ... The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland) in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians and the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange), who as a result ascended the English throne as William... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), also known as sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), are diseases that are commonly transmitted between partners through some form of sexual activity, most commonly vaginal intercourse, oral sex, or anal sex. ... William Hogarth (November 10, 1697 – October 26, 1764) was a major English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, and editorial cartoonist who has been credited as a pioneer in western sequential art. ... Plate 3 - Tom succumbs to the pleasures of the flesh at The Rose Tavern, Drury Lane. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... The Bethlem Royal Hospital of London, which has been variously known as St. ...

Female promiscuity

Since at least 1450, the pejorative words slut, harlot, whore, skank, loose girl describe a sexually promiscuous woman[1]. In great contrast to the glamour of rake for men, slut is unglamourous and also historically refers to an unhygienic woman who is personally dirty and unkempt. // March - French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege the English commander in France, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, in Caen. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with pejoration. ... Look up slut in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... William Hogarths 1731 engraving of A Harlots Progress is about a young woman, Mary Hackabout, who arrives in London from the country. ... Whore redirects here. ... For other uses, see Skank (disambiguation). ...

In the animal world

Further information: Animal sexuality

In the animal world, some species of animals, including birds such as swans, once believed monogamous, are now known to engage in extra-pair copulations. Although social monogamy occurs in about 90 percent of avian species and about 3 percent of mammalian species, investigators estimate that 90 percent of socially monogamous species exhibit individual promiscuity in the form of extra-pair copulations.^[6][7][8] Animal sexual behavior takes many different forms, even within the same species. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Bird (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Swan (disambiguation). ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including milk producing sweat glands, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex...

Among primates, chimpanzees and bonobos, humans' closest living relatives, are promiscuous. Species Pan troglodytes Pan paniscus Chimpanzees, also called chimps, are the common name for two species in the genus Pan. ... For other uses, see Bonobo (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Brothel
• Cottaging
• Orgy
• Polyamory
• Swinging

A brothel, also known as a bordello or whorehouse, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution, providing the prostitutes a place to meet and to have sex with the clients. ... This article is about the sexual behavior. ... This article is about ancient Greek gathering. ... Polyamory (from Greek (, literally “multiple”) and Latin (literally “love”)) is the desire, practice, or acceptance of having more than one loving, intimate relationship at a time with the full knowledge and consent of everyone involved. ... Swinging, sometimes referred to as the swinging lifestyle, is non-monogamous sexual activity, treated much like any other social activity, that can be experienced as a couple. ...

References

1. ^ New survey quantifies the sex we’re having MSNBC
2. ^ Wellings K, Collumbien M, Slaymaker E, et al (2006). "Sexual behaviour in context: a global perspective". Lancet 368 (9548): 1706–28. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69479-8. PMID 17098090.
3. ^ Promiscuity fuels spread of HIV/AIDS BBC
4. ^ Relation between sexual promiscuity, drugs abuse and HIV infection in Buenos Aires, Argentina. study available at National Library of Medicine
5. ^ Julie Coleman (1999). Love, Sex and Marriage: A Historical Thesaurus. Rodopi. ISBN 9042004339. 
6. ^ Reichard, U.H. (2002). Monogamy—A variable relationship. Max Planck Research, 3, 62-67.
7. ^ Lipton, Judith Eve; Barash, David P. (2001). The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-4004-4. 
8. ^ Research conducted by Patricia Adair Gowaty. Reported by Morell, V. (1998). "Evolution of sex: A new look at monogamy". Science 281 (5385): 1982-1983. doi:10.1126/science.281.5385.1982.