Mexico’s Sexual Survey Shatters Stereotypes

Mexico City — A groundbreaking national survey on sexual behavior in Mexico has revealed that sexual practices among heterosexual individuals and those who identify with another gender or a different sexual orientation are more similar than stereotypes suggest. The results challenge deeply ingrained societal ideas and are poised to help reshape public policies on education and healthcare.

The data, compiled by the Mexican Association for Sexual Health (AMSSAC) using a framework developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), indicates that a person's sexual practices are as diverse as their identity and orientation, and are not determined by them. However, these findings remain largely unknown, particularly among public service providers.

Key Findings on Sexual Activity and Partners

When asked if they had engaged in sexual relations in the last four weeks, between 63% and 66% of respondents, across both homosexual and heterosexual populations and genders, answered yes. Meanwhile, 32% to 37% answered no, with differences of just a single percentage point between each group.

A similar trend was observed regarding the number of sexual partners. "That is a rather mythical aspect. The numbers for many sexual partners are not that high; some people do, for example sex workers, but the majority are not in that situation. What is shown is that the differences between the heterosexual and non-heterosexual population are not that great either," explained Dr. Eusebio Rubio-Aurioles, founder of AMSSAC and a Doctor of Human Sexuality from New York University, in an interview.

According to the survey data, the median number of sexual partners over a lifetime was two for both heterosexual and non-heterosexual women. For men, the median was between five and ten, showing a significant but not extreme difference based on sexual orientation.

Regarding the number of sexual encounters in recent weeks, 53% of participants reported a mean of five and a median of three. Although high numbers were recorded in some cases, the majority reported between three and five interactions in the month prior to the survey.

Widespread Non-Coital Practices

The survey also highlighted how widespread certain non-coital sexual activities, which were taboo just a few decades ago, have become. Over 98% of respondents, regardless of gender or orientation, reported having engaged in oral sex.

"The survey shows that orogenital activity has become a common practice, both among participants identified as heterosexual and non-heterosexual. The practice of vaginal intercourse is reported by both participants identified as heterosexual and non-heterosexual. Although it is less frequent in non-heterosexuals, it is reported by 82.7% of this group," the results document states.

Dr. Rubio-Aurioles explained that this means the sexual activity of a significant percentage of people does not correspond to the stereotype of their orientation. He detailed that this can be a difficult concept to grasp because, in essence, the data evidenced sexual activity with the gender opposite to what one might first assume based on a person's stated orientation.

"These simplifications and rigidities in the conceptualization of who a person is, how they identify, or what orientation they say they have, do not guarantee anything regarding sexual conduct… This has implications on many levels; one of the levels where it has the most implication is in healthcare, because this data is not very well known to people, even less so for doctors who do not have sexology classes," he pointed out.

This frequently results in the provision of services, care, and diagnoses based on assumptions or prejudices directly linked to sexual orientation.

Dispelling Myths on Promiscuity and Practices

Simultaneously, the survey data dispels prejudices surrounding the supposed promiscuity of people with diverse sexual orientations, as the age of sexual debut is similar across populations, along with other sexual practices.

For example, anal intercourse was reported by 81.9% of participants, with greater frequency, but not universality, among non-heterosexual individuals, while among women it rose to 97.1%. Meanwhile, masturbation was reported by over 98% of respondents in all groups.

The Survey and Its Participants

The Sexual Health Practices and Experiences (SHAPE) evaluation developed by the WHO is a questionnaire that includes a battery of questions related to sexual practices, behaviors, and outcomes in sexual health that are relevant and understandable to the general population.

In Mexico, it was administered by AMSSAC to 3,416 participants with an average age of 37.7 years, ranging from 18 to 84.

Relevance of Data for Public Policy in Mexico

Surveying people about their sexual practices and experiences can have many effects, explained Rubio-Aurioles. Some relate to educational policies, which require attention, and others have to do with health policies, which show a significant lag. Although many problems are linked to sexuality, public policies do not always adjust to that reality, despite some advances.

"All public action against sexual violence and gender-based violence is a product of realizing how the situation was, and that is done through these surveys. What they do is give us an idea to adjust, and sometimes, the presence of information in itself has positive effects," he explained.

One example is the age of initiation of sexual activity among youth, which often sets an unrealistic expectation that other people believe they must meet. The survey reports a median age of 18, with no significant differences between genders and orientations. Although calculations from the National Institute of Public Health in 2021 indicated that nationally, 19.6% of adolescents between 12 and 19 had already started their sexual life, a postponement of the age of initiation has been recorded.

Furthermore, it is important that the data helps recognize that all reported activities are sexual practices, and that the medical tendency to ask about the initiation of sexual life, preconceived as if it were equivalent to first coitus, is abandoned. Sexual life, clarifies the specialist, does not necessarily begin with that practice, but in many other ways that also have consequences for physical and emotional sexual health.

"It is tremendously important to have clarity about what people report and what they do, because this process can have an impact on how healthily they live their sexual lives," he emphasized.

The Diversity Within Diversity

The level of participation in the survey allows for conclusions to be drawn; one of the clearest, which should have repercussions at all levels—health, policy, and legislation—is "the diversity within diversity," in the sense that non-heterosexual people do not form a unitary or homogeneous group.

Therefore, the expectation of AMSSAC—which will celebrate its 13th Congress on Sexual Health in October—is that the results will influence educational decision-makers, health personnel, and those who design sexual education programs.

The specialist recalled that data packages of this type were fundamental in past discussions surrounding, for example, equal marriage and homoparental adoption.

"Sometimes it seems that the idea is more powerful than the data. From the perspective of knowledge production, the strategy is to keep producing with more and more quality, and not to deceive," he noted. "That brings us closer to the possibility of adjustments being made, and the other very immediate implication is in our own work: we are teaching, training educators, therapists, and all this feeds us to have more information about what actually happens, and not about what we would like or what we imagine."

To this, he added, is the phenomenon that occurs when the more accurate data is disseminated, the more embarrassing it becomes to express ideas that are now outdated, such as all the assumptions and prejudices surrounding sexual diversity. There, ground has been won gradually, mainly thanks to activism, but the more that is known—as it seems to be a gradual opening—the more sensitive people are to the topic, he concluded.