Promiscuity - does this exist anymore?

faringdon59

Sadly there will always be double standards on this subject.
If you randomly asked people what they remember Edwina Currie for and it will be her affair with John Major.
It's all different for Johnson of course!

Really, I remember her for eggs! In my world both parties who have an affair whilst married or whilst single with someone who is married, are equally culpable. Currie and Major and Johnson and Acuri are all equally responsible for their behaviour but IMO this is nothing to do with promiscuity.

Of course promiscuity exists, it's people's attitudes which sadden me. I object to married people having affairs, not because it's promiscuous but because it's damaging, unless ,of course, it's in an open marriage. Are people really bothered or indeed interested in how many sexual partners someone has had? Do people really make a distinction between men and women and straight and gay people? eg Women who have lots of partners are tarts and men are Hero's!! Really, do people actually think that? Are people actually interested in other people's sex lives? I honestly thought we'd moved on a bit. Clearly not.

Actually what I remember most about Edwina Currie is the egg scandal. (Closely followed by her affair with John Major)

I don't think I would want to be friends with the sort of woman who shuns somebody else because of their sexual behaviour.

Does it matter how others see you? Be true to yourself. You don't have to look a particular way to enjoy sex with different people. I dressed and appeared very conservative throughout my Jezebel period. Sex only became shameful when the prudish (hypocritical) Victorians decided it was.

Sadly there will always be double standards on this subject.
If you randomly asked people what they remember Edwina Currie for and it will be her affair with John Major.
It's all different for Johnson of course!

It’s a case of how others see you I’ve always been carefull to be seen as a “nice” girl/woman, others I’ve known have been seen as “tarts” have had a hard time, treated as easy prey by men and shunned by other women. I’ve always been very conservative how I present myself, in public, getting on well with women and not attracting the “wrong” men.

Being seen as promiscuous is not good, even worse if you dont care what others think.

Promiscuity exists and therefor the word is still valid. What is wrong is that it is thought of as an insult if you are female and a complement if you are male. It is this sexist thinking that needs to be got rid of not the word.
It should not be seen as an insult jut a choice that anyone is free to make.

Also interesting that there were tarts and sluts and molls and it was always the females who were referred to as such, not the males. Probably still is. Often wondered who they were tarts and sluts with, perfect examples of manhood or what?

Lol ...you may be right suziewoozie

Sounds more like cake and eat it to me than promiscuous.

I think that the word promiscuous is obsolete in the context of single people of either gender having many partners. People are pretty much free these days to play the field and decide for themselves how many partners they have in the course of their lives. I think that the term promiscuous can still be considered relevant where cheaters are concerned. People in long term relationships who secretly have someone on the side, with no intention of choosing one or the other, until they are found out, can be considered promiscuous because they are secretly running two [sometimes more] at once when the other partner is totally oblivious. Not obviously when a relationship has run it's course and there's been a breakup but when one partner just can't settle to one relationship at a time I think the term promiscuous can sometimes still apply.

I think that the concept of 'promiscuity' as a bad thing is responsible for so much heartache, and I would be pleased to see it drop from use.

Women have borne the brunt of this judgemental and hypocritical notion for centuries, and it is time it ended. I remember girls being considered 'no better than they should be', 'having to get married' and the men who married them being all but sainted for 'standing by her', even when they were violent or unfaithful. People counting on their fingers when a baby came along within a year of marriage, so that they could work out whether it was a 'shotgun wedding'. Girls having their freedom restricted in case they inflamed the passions of a man and 'led him on' so that he 'got carried away'.

So much misery, and for what?

suziewoozie
“I didn’t get married until my mid thirties and had a range of relationships before then, some of which were very brief and certainly took place with no expectation of anything except an enjoyable physical experience.”
Clever girl Suzie! That’s what I should have done instead of rushing into marriage!

foxie48

I don't know why anyone should apply the word promiscuous to woman, I'd apply it to anyone who has indiscriminate sex doesn't matter if they are male, female, straight or gay. It's not a judgement it's a description.

But what does indiscriminate mean - less than casual? Just anyone, literally?

I don't know why anyone should apply the word promiscuous to woman, I'd apply it to anyone who has indiscriminate sex doesn't matter if they are male, female, straight or gay. It's not a judgement it's a description.

What is more:
If a woman doesn't "put out" or is willing to engage in sexual acts at a certain time, she is a prude and a tease.

Seriously, women cannot win.

That was in reply to Hithere

Yes indeed - compare what is acceptable behaviour with Johnson and had it been May ?

I know people for whom sex is "haphazard, casual, without discrimination."

It probably fits "promiscuous" in terms of statement of fact!

The double standard very much exists today

I think the word is very judgemental when applied to sexual behaviour. I didn’t get married until my mid thirties and had a range of relationships before then, some of which were very brief and certainly took place with no expectation of anything except an enjoyable physical experience. All that matters is a matching of expectations and not exploiting someone.

Peasblossom

The dictionary definition is haphazard, casual,
without discrimination.

I think it’s a really useful word to apply to behaviour and lifestyles including sexual behaviour.

But you could have lots of sexual partners and not be indiscriminate or haphazard.

I think the promiscuity bit is relevant when there is no regard at all to the personality(ies) of the partner(s) but instead only for physical satisfaction. It becomes no more than scratching an itch. Not every sexual encounter will become a lasting relationship, or the love of one's life, but there should be at least a possibility of that happening.
As the song in South Pacific goes,
"You've got to have a dream
If you don't have a dream
How you gonna have a dream come true?"

The dictionary definition is haphazard, casual,
without discrimination.

I think it’s a really useful word to apply to behaviour and lifestyles including sexual behaviour.

But you could have lots of sexual partners and not be indiscriminate or haphazard.

It still exists, it just isn’t frowned upon these days.