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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame ==Etymology== Classical Latin pr{o}miscuus (see PROMISCUOUS adj.) + -ITY suffix. In later use probably reinforced b...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Promiscuity.jpg|right|frame]]
==Etymology==
Classical Latin pr{o}miscuus (see PROMISCUOUS adj.) + -ITY suffix. In later use probably reinforced by French promiscuité [[confused]] and indiscriminate mix (1731 with [[reference]] to people, 1832 with reference to [[things]]), promiscuous [[sexual]] [[behavior]] (1839 or earlier) < classical Latin pr{o}miscuus + French -ité -ITY suffix. Compare Spanish promiscuidad (a1795 or earlier), Portuguese promiscuidade (1813), Italian promiscuità (1611).
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_Century 1849]
==Definitions==
*1. The [[quality]] or condition of being promiscuous; indiscriminate order, [[confusion]].
*2. Promiscuous [[sexual]] [[behaviour]]; the frequent, casual changing of sexual [[partners]].
*3. The [[ability]] of a protein, [[organism]], etc., to [[interact]] with a variety of targets or in a non-specific [[manner]]; spec. the [[propensity]] of a plasmid, pathogenic organism, etc., to infect many [[different]] hosts.
*4. In full intracellular promiscuity. The [[transfer]] of [[DNA]] segments between genomes within a eukaryotic cell, e.g. between mitochondria and chloroplasts or between an organelle and the [[nucleus]].
==Description==
In [[human]] [[sexual]] [[behavior]], '''promiscuity''' denotes [[sex]] with [[relatively]] many partners. In polygamy it is distinguished from promiscuity.
Promiscuity is common in many [[animal]] [[species]]. Some species have promiscuous [[mating]] systems, ranging from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyandry polyandry] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygny 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]].
==Human promiscuity==
What [[sexual]] [[behavior]] is considered socially acceptable, and what behavior is "promiscuous", varies much among [[different]] [[cultures]], and within a [[culture]] different [[standards]] are often applied to people of different [[gender]] and civil [[status]]. In many cultures, while [[male]] promiscuity previously had glamorous connotations that acted as an affirmation of masculinity, [[female]] promiscuity was seen as a sign of [[emotional]] instability and loose [[morals]] in [[women]].
These [[standards]] are not [[universal]]. Indeed, in some Germanic tribes in the first century BC (according to Julius Caesar in his [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commentarii_de_Bello_Gallico Commentarii de Bello Gallico]), it was scandalous for a man to have [[sexual]] [[relations]] before his twentieth birthday.
Accurately assessing people's sexual behavior is [[difficult]], since there are strong [[social]] and [[personal]] [[motivations]], depending on social [[sanctions]] and [[taboos]], for either minimizing or exaggerating reported sexual activity. Extensive [[research]] has produced [[mathematical models]] of sexual behavior comparing the results generated with the [[observed]] prevalence of sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs) to [[statistically]] estimate the probable sexual behavior of the studied [[population]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promiscuity]
[[Category: Sociology]]
==Etymology==
Classical Latin pr{o}miscuus (see PROMISCUOUS adj.) + -ITY suffix. In later use probably reinforced by French promiscuité [[confused]] and indiscriminate mix (1731 with [[reference]] to people, 1832 with reference to [[things]]), promiscuous [[sexual]] [[behavior]] (1839 or earlier) < classical Latin pr{o}miscuus + French -ité -ITY suffix. Compare Spanish promiscuidad (a1795 or earlier), Portuguese promiscuidade (1813), Italian promiscuità (1611).
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_Century 1849]
==Definitions==
*1. The [[quality]] or condition of being promiscuous; indiscriminate order, [[confusion]].
*2. Promiscuous [[sexual]] [[behaviour]]; the frequent, casual changing of sexual [[partners]].
*3. The [[ability]] of a protein, [[organism]], etc., to [[interact]] with a variety of targets or in a non-specific [[manner]]; spec. the [[propensity]] of a plasmid, pathogenic organism, etc., to infect many [[different]] hosts.
*4. In full intracellular promiscuity. The [[transfer]] of [[DNA]] segments between genomes within a eukaryotic cell, e.g. between mitochondria and chloroplasts or between an organelle and the [[nucleus]].
==Description==
In [[human]] [[sexual]] [[behavior]], '''promiscuity''' denotes [[sex]] with [[relatively]] many partners. In polygamy it is distinguished from promiscuity.
Promiscuity is common in many [[animal]] [[species]]. Some species have promiscuous [[mating]] systems, ranging from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyandry polyandry] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygny 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]].
==Human promiscuity==
What [[sexual]] [[behavior]] is considered socially acceptable, and what behavior is "promiscuous", varies much among [[different]] [[cultures]], and within a [[culture]] different [[standards]] are often applied to people of different [[gender]] and civil [[status]]. In many cultures, while [[male]] promiscuity previously had glamorous connotations that acted as an affirmation of masculinity, [[female]] promiscuity was seen as a sign of [[emotional]] instability and loose [[morals]] in [[women]].
These [[standards]] are not [[universal]]. Indeed, in some Germanic tribes in the first century BC (according to Julius Caesar in his [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commentarii_de_Bello_Gallico Commentarii de Bello Gallico]), it was scandalous for a man to have [[sexual]] [[relations]] before his twentieth birthday.
Accurately assessing people's sexual behavior is [[difficult]], since there are strong [[social]] and [[personal]] [[motivations]], depending on social [[sanctions]] and [[taboos]], for either minimizing or exaggerating reported sexual activity. Extensive [[research]] has produced [[mathematical models]] of sexual behavior comparing the results generated with the [[observed]] prevalence of sexually transmitted illnesses (STIs) to [[statistically]] estimate the probable sexual behavior of the studied [[population]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promiscuity]
[[Category: Sociology]]