CHICACO, IL — Although conservative pundits have attempted to paint the world of gender equality as one of gray sameness and either sexual chaos, excess, or joyless celibacy, a recent University of Chicago survey found that the more equal a partnership is, the more likely each partner is to enjoy sex.Approximately 27,500 people aged 40 to 80, from 29 countries participated in the sexual satisfaction study and the results were fascinating.

Coupled persons living in Western nations where greater gender equality exist report the highest satisfaction with their sex lives. By comparison, those living in male-dominated culture such as East Asia and the Middle East reported lower rates of satisfaction with both the physical and the emotional components in their relationships and, specifically, their sex lives.

The best places to live if you want sexual satisfaction are Austria, the United States, Spain, and Canada. The worst places to live if you’re hoping to have a good time sexually are Japan and Taiwan. If you’re ok with so-so sex and emotional intimacy, Turkey, Egypt and Algeria are the places to be.

Lead study author Edward Laumman, who is George Herbert Meade Distinguished Service Professor in Sociology at the University of Chicago explained that “Male-centered cultures where sexual behavior is more oriented toward procreation tend to discount the importance of sexual pleasure for women.”
By contrast, he pointed out that relationships with a foundation of equality lend themselves more to sexual behaviors that take into account both partners’ needs.

Appearing in the April issue of Archives of Sexual Behavior the findings from the Global Study of Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors reveal that two-thirds of Western men and women are satisfied with their sexual relationships and that 80-percent of those people are satisfied with their sexual abilities. Half of men and a third of women went so far as to say that sex is “extremely” or “very important” to them. Alas for East Asia, barely 25-percent of men and women felt their sex lives were satisfactory, although two-thirds of men and half of women were satisfied with their ability to have it. Only 28-percent of men ad 12-percent of women indicated that sex was “important” to them.

Interestingly enough, half of Middle Eastern men and 38-percent of Middle Eastern women said they had satisfying sex lives, with about 70-percent of them satisfied with their ability to have sex. Those identifying sex as being important included 60-percent of men and 37-percent of women.