SEX IN AMERICA, A Definitive Survey

Michael, Robert T., John H. Gagnon, Edward O. Laumann, and Gina Kolata

ISBN 10: 0316075248 / ISBN 13: 9780316075244

Published by Little, Brown and Company, Inc., Boston, 1994

About this Item

In 1992, highly regarded social scientists Robert T. Michael, John H. Gagnon, and Edward O. Laumann embarked on an unprecedented study of America's sex life. Working through the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, their staff of 220 interviewers spent seven months interviewing 3,432 scientifically selected respondents about all aspects of their sex lives, histories, and beliefs. More important, unlike the famous but inherently flawed reports of Alfred Kinsey, 'Redbook' and 'Playboy' magazines, Shere Hite, Samuel and Cynthia Janus, and others, this survey relied on a random sample of Americans rather than on an unrepresentative group of volunteers. The resulting data reveal not just what we do sexually but how society shapes even our most private sexual experiences. The survey directly contradicts many of the conclusions of previous reports and defies widely held conventional wisdom about America's sexual practices and beliefs. SEX IN AMERICA presents a comprehensive, reliable look at America's collective sex life, the definitive word on American sexuality today. Fine, in near-fine (front flap crease, else fine), mylar-protected dust jacket. M. Seller Inventory # 4521

Bibliographic Details

Title: SEX IN AMERICA, A Definitive Survey

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, Inc., Boston

Publication Date: 1994

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

Edition: First Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Based on interviews with 3,432 adults, a group of social scientists offers a detailed, accurate report on Americans' sexual habits, including how frequently they have sexual intercourse, what they do in bed, and how many people are homosexual

Reviews:

Embargoed until the day--October 10--the press announced its overall findings, this is the popular report of the most authoritative study ever of sexual behavior in the U.S. (A companion report, The Social Organization of Sexuality [Univ. of Chicago, $49.95, 0-226-46957-3], is addressed to social scientists, counselors, and health professionals.) Its most startling conclusion is that most Americans don't "do it" as much as the media and such previous surveys as Kinsey's have made us think. First explaining why this study accurately represents the entire U.S. population in its target age-range (18-59) and why the information gleaned from its respondents is credible, the smoothly edited text presents findings in 11 fields of inquiry: who our sex partners are, how we find them, how many of them we have, how often we have sex, how prevalent particular sexual practices and preferences are among us, how much we masturbate and use erotica and what we think of these things, how many of us have experienced homosexual feelings and behavior and how frequently, how many and what kinds of persons among us have ever contracted sexually transmitted diseases, how many and what kinds of persons among us have contracted the AIDS virus, how many have experienced forced sex, and how social attitudes correlate with the prevalences of certain kinds of sexual behavior. To say this is all fascinating is understatement, but to say it's at all scandalous is ridiculous. Instead, many will find it reassuringly commonsensical. They'll discover that their own sex lives are pretty normal and that if somebody else is making out like bandits, they're not enjoying it as much as Mr. and Mrs. John Doe. What a relief! Ray Olson