Oh, the French - and that certain je ne sais quoi
It seems, at least according to some reports of a recent French research study, that French women and men are becoming more similar in their sexual behavior… not terribly surprising perhaps to researchers who feel that, given fewer societal restraints, men and women are more similar than we often give them credit for. This article describes increasingly similar behavior in terms of age at first intercourse and number of sex partners among the French - sadly, it doesn’t seem to touch on what I find fascinating about French sexuality: the expectation that many husbands will have mistresses, and the uniquely French feminist idea that reassures coupled/married women that it is okay to have men on the side as well. Read the full Telegraph article here.
Somewhat related: one of my favorite books by a French author is The Lover by Marguerite Duras - I seriously have probably read it at least 10 times. It is very, very good in English and even better to read in French (I think). And a wonderful and fairly recent French film is Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in Paris which, I think, does a good job portraying at least some of the differences between French and American expressions of sexuality. I could easily watch it again right now.
