Sex and The British

Vijay Dutt
London Diary, HindustanTimes.com
February 25, 2004

We had been used to hearing the oft-repeated pun, "No sex please we are British." One would just smile and not give it a thought. It was heard as nonchalantly as the saying, "The Englishman and his Dog" and numerous jokes related to these sayings. One did not even take seriously a known actress from across the Atlantic who while classifying the erotic art of lovers of various nationalities said the English were rather cold in their ardour. Possibly she met the wrong type. But now we are told some thing new.

According to a new survey, the British are more sexually adventurous and have a greater tendency to be unfaithful. Much more than people from other European countries. The results, released to coincide with Valentine's Day showed that the image portrayed in classic West End farce "No Sex please, We're British," was as outdated as the famous bowler hat, that was a must for all distinguished members of the Establishment and the gentry.

The British are supposed to be proud that their sex life now is much happier than that of the "traditionally licentious Swedes and three times as likely to use sex toys" as their French cousins. The study by Policy Exchange-a think tank founded by Francis Maude, the former shadow foreign secretary, to help sow socially liberal views as part of the modernisation of the Tory party--- suggests that Britain has shed its prudish image.

They have surely done that. The report has found that Britain now has the highest rate of infidelity in the western world--- more than four out of 10 admitted they have had more than one relationship at a time.