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Premarital sex is sex before marriage. It is an act of sex between two people who are not married to each other. Premarital sex is considered a sin by a number of and also considered a Sexual mores which is taboo in many .
Since the second half of the 20th century, it has become accepted by certain liberal and Progressivism social movements, especially in the Western world. A 2014 Pew study on global morality found that premarital sex was considered particularly unacceptable in Muslim world, such as Malaysia, Jordan, and Pakistan, each having over 90% disapproval, while people in Western Europe were the most accepting, with Spain, Germany, and France expressing less than 10% disapproval.
The meaning has since shifted to refer to any sexual relations a person has prior to marriage and removing the emphasis on the relationship of the people involved. The definition has a degree of ambiguity. It is not clear whether sex between individuals marriage law or the sexual relations of one uninterested in marrying would be considered premarital.
Alternative terms for premarital sex have been suggested, including non-marital sex (which overlaps with adultery), youthful sex, adolescent sex, and young-adult sex. These terms also suffer from a degree of ambiguity, as the definition of having sex differs from person to person.
Starting in the 1920s, and especially after World War II, premarital sex became more common, particularly among women. By the end of the 20th century, between 75 and 80 percent of Americans had experienced sexual intercourse before the age of 22. This has been attributed to numerous causes, including the increasing median age at marriage and the widespread availability of efficient contraceptives.
According to a 2001 UNICEF survey, in 10 out of 12 developed nations with available data, more than two-thirds of young people have had sexual intercourse while still in their teens. In Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, the proportion is over 80%. In Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, approximately 25% of 15-year-olds and 50% of 17-year-olds have sex.UNICEF. (2001). . Retrieved July 7, 2006. In a 2005 Kaiser Family Foundation study of US teenagers, 29% of teens reported feeling pressure to have sex, 33% of sexually active teens reported "being in a relationship where they felt things were moving too fast sexually", and 24% had "done something sexual they didn't really want to do". Kaiser Family Foundation, January 2005. Retrieved 23 Jan 2007 Several polls have indicated peer pressure as a factor in encouraging both girls and boys to have sex.The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (1997). What the Polling Data Tell Us: A Summary of Past Surveys on Teen Pregnancy. Retrieved July 13, 2006. Allen, Colin. (May 22, 2003). " Peer Pressure and Teen Sex." ''Psychology Today.'.' Retrieved July 14, 2006.
A majority of Americans have had premarital sex, according to a 2007 article in Public Health Reports. This is true for current young adults and also young adults in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Data from the National Survey of Family Growth indicate that in 2002, 77% of Americans had sex by age 20, and of that percent, 75% had premarital sex. Of women who were born between 1949 and 1978, approximately 91% had premarital sex by age 30, and of women who were born between 1939 and 1948, 82% of them had had premarital sex by age 30.
When comparing the General Social Survey of 1988–1996 to the one of 2004–2012, researchers found that participants of 2004–2012 did not report more sexual partners since the age of 18, nor more frequent sex or sex partners during the past year than those respondents of the previous survey. There appears to be no substantial change in sexual behavior contrasting the earlier era to the current one. Current-era respondents were more likely to report having sex with a casual date or friend than reporting having sex with a spouse or regular partner. From 1943 to 1999, young women's approval towards premarital sex increased from 12% to 73%, and from 40% to 79% among young men. The percentage of people who felt guilt around premarital sex also decreased during this period. As of 2005, less than 25% of people believe premarital sex is “always or almost always” wrong.
A 2006 study that analysed the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study found that more boys report having non-dating sexual partners than girls. Of this sample, a third of boys only have had sex with their romantic partner. A third of boys who have had sex with a partner they are not dating within the past year wished for the girl to be their girlfriend. Many young adults are more likely to engage in sex with romantic partners than with casual acquaintances or "friends with benefits."
A 2011 study that surveyed young adults about their emotional reactions after premarital sexual encounters found that men reported more positive and fewer negative emotional reactions, and both men and women reported that the experience was largely more positive than negative. Women reported that condom use was associated with fewer positive and more negative emotional reactions, and for men condom use was associated with fewer negative emotional reactions. A 23-year study in a Human Sexuality class investigated gender differences in men and women's reactions to their first sexual experience. In the earlier years of the study, men reported more pleasure and greater anxiety than women, while women reported more feelings of guilt than men. Cohort studies carried out over 23 years found that in later years, women expressed greater pleasure and less guilt. The differences between emotional reactions among men and women decreased slightly during the 23 years. Such decreases in differences to first sexual intercourse may be a result of the increasing normality of premarital sex in America. An international online sex survey compared responses of residents of 37 countries against World Economic Forum figures for gender equality in those countries, finding that countries with high gender equality had respondents report more casual sex, a greater number of sex partners, younger ages for first sex, and greater tolerance of premarital sex.
In some countries, gender differences with premarital sex can be linked to virginity. In India, a woman may undergo a "virginity test" on her wedding night where she can be banished by her husband or subject to an honor killing if found she is no longer a virgin. Men are not subjected to this same test and could get away with having premarital sex. In Iran, if a husband finds out his wife had premarital sex, it can be used as grounds for divorce. Therefore, Hymenorrhaphy surgery is not uncommon for women who wish to prove their virginity.
In the city of Mumbai, research showed that among college-age students, 3% of females affirmed having premarital sex and 26% of males affirmed having premarital sex. Population Council, an international NGO, released a working report in 2006 showing similar statistics nationally in India, with fewer than ten percent of young females reporting having had premarital sex, compared with 15% to 30% of young males. In Pakistan, 11% of men were reported as having participated in pre-marital sex, although a greater percentage, 29% reported having participated in non-marital sex.
Sexual activity among unmarried people who do not have access to information about reproductive health and birth control can increase the rate of teenage pregnancies and contraction of sexually transmitted infections. The rates of teenage pregnancy vary and range from 143 per 1000 girls in some sub-Saharan African countries to 2.9 per 1000 girls in South Korea. The rate for the United States is 52.1 per 1000, the highest in the developed world, and about four times the European Union average. The teenage pregnancy rates between countries must take into account the level of general sex education available and access to contraceptive options.
One study published in 2013 indicated that Muslims and Hindus are less likely to report having premarital sex than Christians, Jews, and Buddhists. The study indicated that people in predominantly societies have the lowest report of engaging in premarital sex, 53% lower than Christians (primarily in Europe and North America). Buddhists, Jews, and individuals from other religious traditions are more likely to report premarital sex compared to Christians. While Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have strict rules regarding sex outside of marriage, Buddhism lacks such specific behavioral prohibitions, though its ethical precepts still discourage premarital sex. Studies shows Buddhists are more likely than Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and people of traditional faiths to report premarital sex, with rates similar to Jews and no significant differences regarding extramarital sex.
Students who attend a faith-based (predominantly Christian) university view premarital sexual activity more negatively than students who do not.
Individual views within a given society can vary greatly, with expectations ranging from total abstinence to frequent casual sex. These views are dependent on the holders' value system, as formed by their parents, religion, friends, experiences, and in many cases the media. Unmarried cohabitation and births outside marriage have increased in many Western countries during the past few decades. Economist Jeremy Greenwood (2019, Chp. 4) discusses how technological progress in contraception led to a rise in premarital sex and less stigmatization by parents, churches, and governments. He argues that singles weigh the cost (a potential pregnancy) and benefit of premarital sex. As contraception improved the cost of premarital sexual activity fell. Parents and social institutions also weigh the cost and benefit of socialization. Technological improvement in contraception reduced the benefit of socialization because premarital sexual activity was no longer as risky in terms of unwanted pregnancies, which placed a strain on parents and social institutions. As a result, there was social change.
In the United Kingdom, births outside marriage were up to 47.6% by 2012. Eurostat - Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table In 2014, only 13% of the population found premarital sex unacceptable.
The growing prevalence of the automobile, and corresponding changes in dating practices, caused premarital sex to become more prevalent. Alfred Kinsey found that American women who became sexually mature during the 1920s were much less likely to be virgins at marriage than those who became mature before World War I. A majority of women during the 1920s under the age of 30 were nonetheless virgins at marriage, however, and half of those who were not only had sex with their fiancés. A 1938 survey of American college students found that 52% of men and 24% of women had had sex. 37% of women surveyed reported being virgins but believed sex outside marriage was acceptable. Prior to the middle of the 20th century, sexuality was generally constrained. Sexual interactions between people without plans to marry was considered unacceptable, with betrothal slightly lessening the stigma. However, premarital sex was still frowned upon.
Beginning in the 1950s, as premarital sex became more common, the stigma attached to it lessened for many people. In 1969, 70% of Americans disapproved of premarital sex, but by 1973 this number had dropped to 50%. (2025). 9780472069750, University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472069750 By 2000, roughly a third of couples in the United States had lived together prior to marriage. During the second half of the twentieth century, premarital sex has remained steady for men, but 60% more women lost their virginity prior to marriage during this same period. This has altered the traditional nuclear family, with half of all children living with a single parent at some point in their life.
During this period of sexual liberation, sexual media and pornography became more prevalent and normalized premarital sex. People who watched pornography viewed both adult and teenage premarital sex as societally acceptable.
However, premarital sex was considered unacceptable by 30% of the population in a 2014 study, while 29% found it acceptable, and 36% considered it not a moral issue.
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