Genre et sexualité chez des catholiques en France entre 1970 et 2006

les apports d’un traitement quantitatif

Abstract

This article is based on two statistical surveys on sexuality in France (1970 and 2006). It intends to demonstrate that gender relationships have to be taken into account in order to understand Catholics’ sexual practices. The longitudinal and comparative perspective (between Catholics and non-believers) shows varied trends in terms of sexual practices for Catholics, depending on whether they are men or women. Selected sexual practices are: age of the first intercourse, use of contraception at first intercourse, use of pornography, and having experienced anal sex or not. It clearly appears that for specific practices, being Catholic does not lead to adopt distinctive sexual practices. It is the case, for instance, for pornography and contraception. However, for other practices, such as the age of the first intercourse for women and anal sex for men, the influence of religion is high and depends on gender.