Sex in Australia: autoerotic, esoteric and other sexual practices engaged in by a representative sample of adults.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence of a range of autoerotic and other non-coital sexual practices among Australians.


METHODS
Computer-assisted telephone interviews were completed by a representative sample of 10,173 men and 9,134 women aged 16-59 years (response rate 73.1%). Respondents were asked whether in the past year they had: masturbated, engaged in various other autoerotic activities, or engaged in any of six other non-coital or esoteric practices.


RESULTS
Half of the respondents (65% men, 35% women) had masturbated in the past year. Nearly half (48%) of the men and 25% of the women had masturbated in the past four weeks, among whom men had done so a mean of 5.8 times and women 3.3 times. About a quarter of all respondents had watched an X-rated film (37% men, 16% women), 12% of men and 14% of women had used a sex toy, and 17% of men and 2% of women had visited an Internet sex site. 17% of men and 14% of women had engaged in digital-anal stimulation with a partner. Phone sex, role play or dressing up, bondage and discipline, sadomasochism or dominance and submission (BDSM-DS), fisting (rectal or vaginal, insertive or receptive) and rimming (oral-anal stimulation) were all engaged in by less than 5% of the sample.


CONCLUSIONS
Most of the practices studied were engaged in by more men than women. A range of autoerotic activities are both substitutes for partnered sex and additional sources of pleasure for people with sexual partners.
Richters
Juliet
J
National Centre in HIV Social Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney. j.richters@unsw.edu.au
Grulich
Andrew E
AE
de Visser
Richard O
RO
Smith
Anthony M A
AM
Rissel
Chris E
CE
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008418:Masturbation; D008875:Middle Aged; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*