Written By: Michael C Smith

Most of us are fascinated to hear about other people's sexual habits. We are curious about how often other people "do it", where they do it, how long they do it, what exactly they do, and who they do it with, in order to make sure we are "normal", we aren't missing out on anything, and we are keeping up with the Jones'.

Statistics are great fun and can be very informative, but just be sure to keep them in the proper perspective, ok? The fact of the matter is that there is a large range of behaviors and activities that can be considered "normal", even if they are not the statistical norm. Don't use statistics as a measuring tool with which to gauge yourself or your performance. Keep in mind that for any given average, there have to be numbers that are higher and lower than the average, for it to be called an average. No one is average across the board. Keep in mind that the statistically average person has one testicle and half of a vagina. What's "normal" or "average" for one person may not be normal or average for everyone.

That being said, let's take a close look at some fun facts about our sexual "firsts". These statistics come from a wide variety of studies, surveys, and sources and the numbers may vary widely from one source to the next. Also, remember that the respondents to these surveys and studies may vary widely by age, marital status, etc…, so the applicability of these statistics to your own life may be limited. In any case, they can still be a lot of fun and offer some insight into the sexual practices of others.

FIRST ERECTION
" The male fetus is capable of attaining an erection during the last trimester of pregnancy.

FIRST PERIOD
" The average age a female begins her period: 12.5 years. Interestingly, a study in 1962 showed that the age a female begins her period has decreased by four months every decade since 1830.

FIRST BREASTS
" The average age that a young woman begins to develop breasts: 10.5 years old.

FIRST PUBIC HAIR
" Most males first get pubic hair between their 12th and 13th birthdays. It usually grows at a fairly steady rate until about age 14.

FIRST EXPOSURE TO ADULT MAGAZINES
" The average age at which male respondents saw their first issue of Playboy or a similar magazine was 11 years old.

FIRST EXPOSURE TO SEXUALLY EXPLICIT "R" RATED MOVIES
" The average age of first exposure to sexually oriented R-rated films for all respondents was 12.5 years.

FIRST EXPOSURE TO X-RATED MOVIES
" 84% of high school students have seen an x-rated movie.

" The average age of first exposure to x-rated movies: 16 years, 11 months.

FIRST MASTURBATION
" Age at which the average guy first masturbates: 11
Age at which he does it most often: 15

" At what age does the average female first masturbate?
Approximately 50% of girls have masturbated by age 18.
Approximately 37% of girls have masturbated by age 13.
Approximately 17% of girls have masturbated by age 10.

" Girls age 2 and under have been known to deliberately masturbate themselves to orgasm.

" I've read about one study in which a fetus was observed masturbating in the womb.

FIRST ORGASM
" Age of First Orgasm (Females):
Age 1-5, 4%
Age 6-10, 12%
Age 11-13, 13%
Age 14-16, 18%
Age 17-19, 22%
Age 20-24, 21%
Age 25-30, 8%
Age 31-50, 2%

" It's normal for a baby to experience orgasm in the first weeks of life.

" A surprising number of boys experience orgasm before they can ejaculate.

" Both women and men are most likely to have their first orgasm alone.

FIRST EJACULATION
" Average age of first ejaculation:
11 or younger 16.8%
12 34.8%
13 32.2%
14 11.5%
15 or older 3.4%
Never Have 1.3%

FIRST DATE
" 8.9% of women said they are open to sleeping with someone on a first date.

" Percentage of men who say they would lose respect for a woman who slept with them on a first date: 43%

FIRST KISS
" 70% of young people have their first kiss by age 15.
" 77% remember their first kiss vividly

FIRST LOVE
" Two out of five marry their first love.

FIRST CONDOMS
" The first condoms in the US were made from vulcanized rubber in the 1870s. They were expensive, annoyingly thick, and meant to be reused.

FIRST CONTRACEPTIVE
" The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by the Egyptians in 2000 B.C. It was replaced with elephant droppings when they realized it wouldn't work.

FIRST INTERCOURSE
" The average age at which most people begin having intercourse in the United States is 16.4 years for girls and slightly younger for boys.

" When it comes to planning their first sexual encounters, 25% of males planned as opposed to 17% of women.

" More Americans lose their virginity in June than in any other month. Prom is also in June. Coincidence?

" By High School graduation, 80% of boys and 65% of girls have had intercourse.

" 14% of males and 60% of females said that they did not enjoy sex the first time.

FIRST RAPE
" In one study of pregnant and parenting teens, almost 66% of respondents reported non-voluntary sexual activity.

" In the same study, 44% reported having been the victim of rape.

" The average age of those raped was 13.3, with the rapist's average age being 22.6.

FIRST ABORTION
" Average age to have first abortion was: 22.75 for the previous generation and 19 now.

FIRST MARRIAGE
" Approximately 20% of women and 7% of men in the U.S. report that they are virgins when they marry for the first time.

" Average age of first marriage: Males: 26.7 Females: 25

" Average length of first marriages which end in divorce: 11 Years

" Percentage of first marriages that end in divorce: 50%

FIRST CHILDREN
" The numbers for 2002, just released by the Centers for Disease Control, show that the average age of first-time moms is 25, an all-time high.

FIRST DIVORCE
" Average age at first divorce: Males: 35 Females: 33