Romance, Love, and Sex Matters in Turkey
The Turkish 'Kinsey Report'
-- Part 4 of a Series --

Turkish Sexuality Survey Question -- How old were you when you had your first sexual experience? The Hürriyet Sexuality Survey of 2005 Average age at time of first sexual intercourse (ilk cinsel ilişki yaşı): Turkish males : 18.8 Turkish females: 19.4 Overall average age: 19.1 (with ages ranging between 12 and 54) 'Petting' is a slightly different story... Average age at time of first 'Petting' experience (tam bir birleşmenin olmadığı, sadece dokunmak, öpüşerek, gerceklesen cinsel deneyim -- experience of sexual touching and kissing, without full intercourse): Turkish males : 16.9 Turkish females: 18.4 Overall average age: 17.6 One in ten survey-participants thought it 'late' for petting to begin between ages 13-15. Half thought it normal for petting to begin between 18-24 -- and the highest percentage (81.8%) thought 12-16 was too young to start petting. The largest percentage of survey participants in which petting began at an early age (at or before age 12) came from the least educated families. The age group during which petting intensified the most was 16-24. Survey participants in the Aegean region had the highest percentage of young petters (12 and under) -- while Mediterranean participants had the highest percentage of 13-15 year old petters. In the more conservative southeastern provinces of Turkey, 40.6 % of petters were aged between 18-24. When asked the question: Without full sexual intercourse, how old were you when you had your first petting experience? -- 10% of the survey participants answered, "I've never had a petting experience." And, the survey also revealed a (common?) female subterfuge... Among female participants with previous sexual experience, most pretend to be inexperienced when they have a sexual encounter with a new partner. This is necessary, they feel, because, otherwise, Turkish men give them the third-degree. -- "Where did you learn that?!" This has an unfortunate backfire effect -- because it means that very little sharing of sexual experience occurs between Turkish females and their male partners. And that perpetuates uneducated sexual relations between the two. In Part 5: Answers to the Sexuality Survey Question, 'Who initiates sexual intercourse between Turkish couples -- male or female?' Back to Part 3: How was your first sexual experience?