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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Promiscuity

Promiscuity \Pro`mis*cu"i*ty\, n. Promiscuousness; confusion.
--H. Spencer.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
promiscuity

1834, "indiscriminate mixture," from French promiscuité (1752), from Latin promiscuus "mixed" (see promiscuous) + French -ité (see -ity). Sexual sense is from 1844. Earlier was promiscuousness (by 1773 general; 1808 sexual).

Wiktionary
promiscuity

n. 1 The state or quality of being promiscuous. 2 # Indiscriminateness in the choice of sexual partners. 3 # (context dated literary English) State of being mixed, composed of diverse elements, unsystematic; heterogeneity.

WordNet
promiscuity

n. indulging in promiscuous (casual and indiscriminate) sexual relations [syn: promiscuousness, sleeping around]

Wikipedia
Promiscuity

Promiscuity is the practice of having casual sex frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgement if viewed in the context of a mainstream social ideal for sexual activity to occur only within exclusive committed relationships. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous within the social ideals of many cultures is a one-night stand and (as seen in a 2014 survey) is often the way researchers define a society's promiscuity levels at any given time.

What sexual behavior is considered promiscuous varies between cultures, as does the prevalence of promiscuity, with different standards often being applied to different genders and civil status. Feminists have traditionally argued a significant double standard exists between how men and women are judged for promiscuity. Historically, stereotypes of the promiscuous woman have tended to be negative, such as "the slut" or "the harlot", while male stereotypes have been more varied, some expressing approval, such as "the stud" or "the player", while others imply societal deviance, such as "a womanizer". A scientific study published in 2005 found that promiscuous men and women are judged equally harshly and a recent poll showed that both genders tend to express strong preference for sexually conservative partners. However, later studies show evidence for a double standard.

Promiscuity is common in many animal species. Some species have promiscuous mating systems, ranging from polyandry and polygyny to mating systems with no stable relationships where mating between two individuals is a one-time event. Many species form stable pair bonds, but still mate with other individuals outside the pair. In biology, incidents of promiscuity in species that form pair bonds are usually called extra-pair copulations.

Promiscuity (disambiguation)

Promiscuity may refer to:

  • Promiscuity, the practice of making relatively casual and indiscriminate choices, most commonly applied to sexual behaviour and referred to as Sexual promiscuity
  • "Promiscuity," a song by Manu Chao from his 2000 album Próxima Estación: Esperanza
  • "Promiscuity," a song by Antigone from her 2009 debut album AntigoneLand

Usage examples of "promiscuity".

Further, he was considerably more disapproving of the outspokenness and apparent promiscuity of French women than ever Adams had been.

Further, he was considerably more disapproving of the outspokenness and apparent promiscuity of French women than ever Adams had been.

As regards the suggestion that sterilization may lead to new foci of venereal disease, it must be borne in mind that the unsterilized feeble-minded are already prone to sexual promiscuity, and there is no evidence that sterilization would increase this tendency.

Even knowing what I knew about Lorna's promiscuity, she seemed to have had a classiness about her that the other two lacked.

He had perhaps seen, on Fourths of July and on dear old domestic Commencements, more people assembled, but he had never seen so many in proportion to the space, or had at all events never known so great a promiscuity to show so markedly as picked.

They were devout mystics about whom other races knew little, yet because they condoned slave trading and sexual promiscuity - their peculiar religious rites had a distinct sexual edge - Mas'jahan drew a steady stream of intrepid and evil-minded infidels.

Dolcino and his followers, who were now three thousand strong, camped on a hill near Novara known as Bald Mountain, and they built hovels and fortifications, and Dolcino ruled over that whole throng of men and women, who lived in the most shameful promiscuity.

By and by, the very possibilities that such honest promiscuity suggested (two young couples merrily swapping mates or a child shamming sleep to earwitness primal sonorities) made me bolder, and every now and then I would take a bed-and-cot or twin-bed cabin, a prison cell or paradise, with yellow window shades pulled down to create a morning illusion of Venice and sunshine when actually it was Pennsylvania and rain.

Boldly we made our way through the incredible promiscuity of the streets: men with shoes made out of silver-birch bark, women wearing sacks and carpets, children in their dusty birthday suits.

I've tried promiscuity and I've tried true love, and they're like my dead leg: they don't work.

But if we now look at humans and our closest relatives, the chimps and gorillas, we find all three types of mating system represented: harems in gorillas, promiscuity in chimps, and either monogamy or harems in humans (see figure 4.

We thus conclude that promiscuity or harems, not monogamy, is the mating system that leads to concealed ovulation (see figure 4.

This monkey mythology of Darwin is the cause of abortions, permissiveness, promiscuity, pills, prophylactics, perversions, pregnancies, pornotherapy, pollution, poisoning, and proliferation of crimes of all types what happened to pederasty, penis envy, peeping Toms, you think he's got business with the Bible?

It was as if, with her effective little entresol and her wide acquaintance, her activities, varieties, promiscuities, the duties and devotions that took ninetenths of her time and of which he got, guardedly, but the side-wind—it was as if she had shrunk to a secondary element and had consented to the shrinkage with the perfection of tact.

Regina's she had spent her days in the streets, partly to escape from the uncongenial promiscuities of the boarding-house, and partly in the hope that physical fatigue would help her to sleep.