Reflexions on Gender and Sexual Initiation in Mexico

Recent anthropological findings about the meanings of sexuality among Mexicans report a gendered pattern of sexual initiation among men and women. Male first sexual intercourse often has a ritual character, under peer pressure, where young men have to prove their masculine identity in order to gain full admission to the rank of adult men. This important transition does not need to end in marriage.
In contrast, women need to conserve their virginity until marriage. Female sexual initiation involves emotional ties and almost always means the beginning of women’s conjugal and reproductive lives.
Having in mind these anthropological findings about sexual initiation in Mexico as well as the changing social context of the country, we explore data of the National Survey on Reproductive Health of 2003. The objective is to compare, from a gender perspective, male and female experiences among several generations and social groups, in order to explore the existence of changes over time and to identify different patterns in the way the first sexual intercourse is experienced by Mexican population.