Poll Finds Fewer Young French Women View Sex as Essential

A poll conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion for the sex shop chain Espaceplaisir found that 38 percent of women aged 15-24 consider sexuality very important or essential, down from 62 percent in 1990. The same age group showed a drop in those who view sex as essential, from 14 percent in 1990 to 9 percent in the current survey.

Nearly half of respondents said sex is not that important or not important at all.

Fifty-two percent of the women surveyed said they could continue living with someone without having sex. Among those aged 18-24, 56 percent said they could envisage a platonic relationship with a partner. The poll also recorded that 62 percent of women aged 20-24 said they sometimes felt bored during sex, compared with 42 percent in 1996.

Seventy-four percent of women aged 18-24 said they were satisfied with their sex lives.

Thirty-six percent of women aged 18-24 reported having used a sex toy on their own, up from 30 percent in 2017. The institute stated that increased acceptance of masturbation and sex toys provides alternative means of fulfillment.

A bill removing the concept of conjugal duty from the civil code was approved by the National Assembly earlier this year. The measure clarifies that community of living does not create an obligation for sexual relations.