Prior to the AIDS epidemic, a 1978 study found that:
75% of white gay males (3 of every 4) claimed to have had more than 100 lifetime male sex partners;
15% claimed 100-249 sex partners;
17% claimed 250-499;
15% claimed 500- 999;
28% (that’s more than 1 of every 5 white gay men!) claimed more than 1,000 lifetime male sex partners.
Levels of promiscuity subsequently declined but, with the advent of AIDS drugs, they are again approaching those of the 1970s. From 1994 to 1997, the percentage of homosexual men reporting multiple partners and unprotected anal sex rose from 23.6% to 33.3%, with the largest increase among men under 25. The medical consequence of this promiscuity is that gays have a greatly increased likelihood of contracting HIV/AIDS, syphilis and other STDs.
While similarly high rates of promiscuity have not been documented among lesbians, an Australian study did find lesbians to be more promiscuous than straight women:
* 93% of lesbians reported having had sex with men. Other studies similarly show that 75-90% of women who have sex with women have also had sex with men.
* Lesbians were 4.5 times more likely than heterosexual women(9% of lesbians vs. 2% of heterosexual women) to have had more than 50 lifetime male sex partners.
In addition to diseases that may be transmitted during lesbian sex, a study at an Australian STD clinic found that lesbians were 3 to 4 times more likely than heterosexual women to have sex with men who were high-risk for HIV.
