20, not a virgin? You're in a minority

New Delhi: Are you against the government lowering the age for consensual sex in India from 16 to 12? You probably make a compelling case for most young Indians who don't lose their virginity before 21 anyway. A mature, sexually well-informed -- conscious of safe sexual practices -- if slightly conservative young Indian has emerged out of a survey on sexual habits of youths.

The IBNLive "How Young India loves: the under-25 sex survey" also shattered some myths about the way youths love in a society newly liberated from sexual dogmas. Read on to find out more about what Indians do under the sheets, at what age and how frequently they do it.

We bring you the results of the survey in a three-part series.

When a sex MMS featuring school students turns up, it discomfits a society that habitually perceives sex as an intensely private subject. But the inescapable reality is that youngsters today are lowering their inhibitions, exploring more and picking most of their sexual know-how off the Internet.

In a contentious proposal, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights in its draft Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill has recommended any consensual non-penetrative sexual act is not an offence when engaged in between two children over 12 years of age, and the age difference between the two shouldn't be more than two years.

It also said that any consensual sexual act is not an offence when engaged between two persons over 14 years of age and the age gap between them shouldn’t be more than three years. But the government was quick to drop the proposal to lower the age of sex as indignant parents, teachers and thought leaders protested the move.

But is there any need to lower the age for sexual consent? Let's find out.

Urban Indian youths are late bloomers when it comes to sex and awaken to it at an age men are legally allowed to marry in India. It is also when they have their first real sexual encounter.

To the question "Which of these acts constitutes sex for you?" 56 per cent responded to "intercourse" while 44 per cent consider "oral sex" (25 per cent), "kissing" (11 per cent) and "touching" (8 per cent) as sexual acts.

To the question "Do you consider yourself a virgin?" 49 per cent of respondents answered in the affirmative. A 45 per cent said they were not and 37 per cent held back the information.

An overwhelming majority of young respondents (60 per cent) to our survey said they lost their virginity only after the age of 21. Of the people who answered the question "At what age did you lose your virginity?" only a tiny 7 per cent said they lost it before 16 years of age.

Are Indian men more prone to talking about sex than women? While talking about sex is no longer taboo in today’s liberal environment, it still is a twilight zone for women. Of the people who answered the question "Please tell us your gender", a staggering 92 per cent were males and only 7 per cent females.

The daily stress of city life, managing micro and macro families and balancing studies and extra-curricular activities haven't stopped young Indians from being busy under the sheets!

A whopping 82 per cent of total respondents said they were sexually active at present. Also, 77 per cent of respondents said they have sex more than once a month, 12 per cent said they made love less than once a month and a small 11 per cent did it only once a month.

Young Indians are busy loving and we're loving it! Watch this space.

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