Sex, Gender and Class: An Analysis of Chilean Young People’s Intimate Life

Abstract

This article analyzes some aspects of Chilean young people’s (aged 15–29) sex life according to sex and socioeconomic background. Using data from the Tenth National Youth Survey, descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out to test possible differences in sexual practices according to these variables. Results show that young Chileans are increasingly diversifying sexual practices. Differences in age at the first sexual relationship between men and women are also becoming less clear; likewise, differences found by socioeconomic background were also weak, suggesting that some practices are common across different groups of youth. The most significant differences found concern certain practices (oral and anal sex), the number of sexual partners men and women have, and the type of relationship (romantic partner, friend, acquaintance) in which sexual encounters take place. We conclude that young people’s sexual practices are increasingly being oriented toward self-exploration and personal satisfaction, and less toward the (traditional) goal of forming a family. Nonetheless, the existence of a “double standard” regarding sexual morals can still account for contrasting behaviors according to sex, suggesting the persistence of a gendered normativity. Also, sexual exploration often occurs without adequate information, reducing youngsters’ ability to reduce risks or prevent undesired consequences.

Keywords:

• Young people
• sexuality
• gender
• class
• Chile

Internal review board statement

This article was elaborated as part of Project Fondecyt Regular Nº 1230166, approved by the Ethics Committe at Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Statement 08-23, January 20th 2023, and Fondecyt de Iniciación N° 11220162 approved by the Ethics Committe at Universidad Santo Tomás, Statement 7/2022 of April 5th, 2022.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Notes

1 The INJUV’s mission is to collaborate with the Executive in the design, planning and implementation of policies concerning young people. https://www.injuv.gob.cl/injuvquienessomos.

2 All models in Table 3 are statistically significant (p < .0001 in all four models), explained variance initiating in 1.2% and ending in 6.4% according to Nagelkerke’s R² coefficient. The final model can correctly predict 71% of cases considering a cut-off probability of 0.70.

3 All models in Table 4 are statistically significant (p < .0001 in all four models), explained variance initiating in 3.3% and ending in 10.4% according to Nagelkerke’s R² coefficient. The final model can correctly predict 65% of cases considering a cut-off probability of 0.50.

Additional information

Funding

Authors of this paper received funding from the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development (Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, ANID), Grants Fondecyt Regular N°1230166 y Fondecyt de Iniciación N° 11220162.