According to the latest World Population Review, we Australians are a promiscuous bunch. While the global average number of sexual partners a person will have in their lifetime is nine, for Australians aged 25 to 44, it’s 13.3.
According to the review, which drew on two longitudinal studies, Turkey ranked first, with an average of 14.5, while Kiwis nominally trail Australians with 13.2 partners.
European nations including Italy, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland also made it into the top 10, while India took out last place with an average of three partners. Writer Laura Roscioli initially felt shock at discovering she has slept with more people than the average Australian. When I shared this stat on social media, the response mostly echoed the same thought that I’d had: 13.
3 sexual partners is not that many. Is it? In one month in my early 20s alone, I slept with half of what is considered the average. I saw that period as my time to feel empowered in my sexual freedom, and everything it was teaching me.
Shortly after discovering the research, I began to feel shame and asked myself what it means if I’ve been laid more than most Australians my age. People’s “numbers” don’t bother me personally, but they are an issue for plenty of other people. Even the mention of someone’s “number” – that is, how many people someone has slept with – takes me back to high school and the feeling that girls can’t win no matter what.
If we hadn’t kissed e.