The Sum of Our Carnal Knowledge

The current fascination with the details of certain other people’s sex lives really points up something quirky about the rest of us: We’re outsiders here. We don’t really know what other people do, with whom or how often. All we know is what we do, and it’s not nearly as interesting.

Most sexual activity appears to be concentrated, like money and power, in a small, presumably happy, group of busy people, according to the February issue of American Demographics. Only 15% of adults engage in half of all sexual activity, said researchers who analyzed figures from the National Opinion Research Center.

So, while the average adult has sex about once a week and one in five has been celibate for at least a year, one in 20 is having sex every other day at the least.

Who are these people?

If self reports are to be believed, and with controlling for all kinds of variables, they are as likely to be women as men. They are, predictably, young. They are married, have children at home and work the longest hours. They watch a lot of TV, especially public broadcasting, and are enthusiastic about jazz.

Frequent sex is highest among politically liberal extremists, although extreme conservatives also rate above average--accounting, perhaps, for all the action inside the Beltway.

Catholics are more active than Protestants, both of whom are less active than Jews or agnostics.

Those who have sex most often are not necessarily rich, cultured or educated. Indeed, those who attended graduate school reported the least sexual activity of any other educational group.

They tend to be happier than others. Yet, they are not more satisfied with their jobs or their families, and are actually unhappy with their hometowns. What’s more, they are more distrusting of other people--including the president.

It’s possible, of course, something besides lust is at work here. The researchers speculate that the sexy few may be using sex to escape from an unhappy community life or to compensate for a general attitude of suspicion toward everyone else.