Young people 'experimenting more in bed'

sexual practice

Young people are taking part in a wide range of sexual practices, including anal sex, with opposite sex partners, research reveals.

Experts looked at responses to a national sex survey that has been carried out every 10 years since 1990 in the UK.

More than one in 10 millennial teenagers said they had tried anal sex by the age of 18.
By the age of 22 to 24, three in every 10 said they had tried it.

Vaginal and oral sex are still the most common types of sexual activity.

The age that young people start having sex - vaginal, anal or oral - has not changed much in recent decades.

In the latest survey, it was 16

While the study in the Journal of Adolescent Health shows what kind of sex people are having, it does not shed light on why preferences are changing.

Experts can only speculate, but say society has become more accepting and less judicial.

Breaking down taboos

Kaye Wellings, senior author and professor of sexual and reproductive health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: "The changes in practices we see here are consistent with the widening of other aspects of young people's sexual experience, and are perhaps not surprising given the rapidly changing social context and the ever-increasing number of influences on sexual behavior."

Prof Cythia Graham is a professor in sexual and reproductive health at the University of Southampton.

She said the internet and media may have played a role in breaking down sexual taboos.

"The internet means people can easily find and see things that they did not have the past"

"Anal sex is still pretty stigmatised, but attitudes appear to be changing. We know society has become more accepting of things like same sex behaviour overall. But there's very little research out there about anal sex and motivation."

She said more studies were needed to inform sex education and equip young people with the information they needed for their sexual health.