23 percent of Israelis have never heard of the most common STDs.
By TALYA HALKINstone age 88(photo credit: )
Israelis are among the world's most ignorant population when it comes to knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases. According to an annual sex survey conducted by the Durex condom company, 23 percent of Israelis have never heard of the most common STDs. By contrast, only 8% of those surveyed in some 50 other countries were unaware of the existence of these diseases.
The poll also suggests that Israelis are feeling generally unsatisfied with their sex lives.
The survey, which was published on Tuesday, was conducted by Internet, and the data was analyzed at the company's British headquarters.
The good news, according to the survey, is that only 7% of married Israelis admit to cheating on their partners. Matters are much worse in Turkey - where 58% of survey participants reported instances of infidelity - and in Denmark, where 46% of those surveyed reported having sex outside of a stable relationship. The bad news, however, is that 41% of Israelis have had unprotected sex without inquiring about the partner's sexual history.
According to Harel Braude, the product management director for Durex in Israel, the latter statistic "explains the growing percentage of Israelis who have been infected with STDs in Israel in recent years." Also worrying, 56% of Israelis report having one-night stands, as opposed to an average of 40% in other countries.
Nevertheless, Israelis lag behind the rest of the world in their degree of sexual satisfaction. In comparison with the 44% of those surveyed in general, only 36% of Israelis reported satisfaction with their sex lives. Men and women differed on this matter: While 41% of Israeli men said they did not feel they had enough sex, only 21% of Israeli women felt the same way. Nevertheless, 85.5% of Israeli men reported that quality was more important than quantity. Only 4.4% of Israeli women thought that quantity was more important.
Still, 12.8% of Israeli women consider a month to be too long a time to forgo sex, while only 23.9% are willing to wait as much as half a year. Men, by contrast, are more impatient. Only 9% of Israeli men are willing to forgo sex for six months, and 5% believed that even a single day without sex was too much.
Despite their relatively high level of sexual discontent, Israelis consume less pornography than the international average (34% compared to 41% in other countries); only 15% of Israelis use vibrators, compare to 43% of Americans and Britons.
For those concerned about their degree of sexual experience, it may be useful to know that the average number of partners reported worldwide is nine. Here too, gender plays an important role: Men reported an average of 10.2 partners, while women reported a 6.9 average. Israelis are slightly above the average, with a reported average of 10.6 partners.
Overall, Israeli participants in the survey reported that the most common locations for sex outside of the bedroom was a vehicle (57%), the beach (41%) and the bathroom (39%). Twenty-two percent of Israelis also reported having sexual relations in clubs.
Exhibitionist tendencies were especially prevalent among Americans and Canadians - 21% of whom reported they enjoyed having sex in front of a camera.
Worldwide, 36% of participants in the survey reported that their favorite place for having sex was in their parents' bedroom.
Asked to pick their country's sexiest celebrity, 18% of Israeli men chose the model Bar Rafaeli. Model Dudi Belser was voted sexiest Israeli man by 22.4% of the country's women.
