Involuntary Celibacy: A Life Course Analysis - Statistical Data Included

Journal of Sex Research, May, 2001 by Denise Donnelly, Elisabeth Burgess, Sally Anderson, Regina Davis, Joy Dillard

In an era when sex is used to sell everything from toothpaste to transmissions, the idea that large minorities of adults might have little or no sexual contact with others seems incongruous to many people. Yet, one researcher found that as many as 16% of married couples had not engaged in sexual intercourse in the month prior to a representative national survey of U.S. residents (Donnelly, 1993). Another group of researchers reported that 14% of men and 10% of women in the U.S. had not had any sexual activity involving genital contact in the past 12 months, and that 3% had none since their 18th birthdays (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994).

Certainly, some persons are celibate because they have chosen this lifestyle for religious or personal reasons. Others, however, would like to have sex but lack a willing sexual partner. For them, celibacy is not a choice. Since involuntary celibacy is a relatively new area of inquiry within the field of sex research, few studies have dealt with the dimensions, etiology, and consequences of this phenomenon.

In this research, we define the involuntary celibate as one who desires to have sex, but has been unable to find a willing partner for at least 6 months prior to being surveyed. The 6-month mark reflects the reality that people often go without sex for weeks or months (Laumann et al., 1994), but after a certain length of time, begin to worry. We realize, however, the arbitrariness of choosing a specific length of time, and suggest that what is really important is whether or not persons define themselves as involuntarily celibate. As Thomas (1966) pointed out, "situations we define as real become real in their consequences" (p. 301). Thus, for our purposes, length of time without sex is less important than self-defining as involuntarily celibate. Involuntary celibates may be married or partnered persons whose partners no longer desire to have sex with them, unpartnered singles who have never had sex, or unpartnered singles who have had sexual relationships in the past, but are unable to currently find partners. Involuntary celibates include heterosexuals, bisexuals, homosexuals, and transsexuals.

We used a life course perspective to understand the process by which persons become and remain involuntarily celibate. In doing so, we compared and contrasted three groups of involuntary celibates, exploring the transitions and trajectories by which involuntary celibacy developed and was maintained.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Extant celibacy research tends to focus on persons who are celibate by choice, such as those who are celibate for cultural or religious reasons (Abbott, 2000; Goergen, 1974) or those who fear HIV, other sexually transmitted diseases, or pregnancy (Netting, 1992; Siegel & Raveis, 1993; Sprecher & Regan, 1996). Some research has focused on voluntary virgins, persons in their teens and twenties who choose to wait until marriage to become sexually active (Sprecher & Regan, 1996), and the religious media has introduced the idea of secondary virgins, persons once sexually active, but who are now celibate by choice (Stafford, 2001). The scarce research focusing on involuntary celibacy, however, tends to be limited to certain groups, such as celibates in ancient times (Abbott, 2000), married celibates (Donnelly, 1993), persons with chronic diseases or disabilities (Greenblat, 1983; Kiernan, 1988), and the elderly (Mulligan & Palguta, 1991; Quinnan, 1997; White, 1982).

While not focusing specifically on involuntary celibates, Kiernan (1988) found that celibates (defined in her British study as nonmarried persons) were more likely to be introverted and ambitious, and to have parents who married at later ages. In addition, celibate women were more likely to have attained high educational levels and occupational statuses, while celibate men were more likely to be lower class and unemployed.

Other researchers (Donnelly, 1993; Medlicott & Waltz, 1993) investigated persons in sexually inactive marriages. While not distinguishing between voluntarily and involuntarily celibate marriages, Donnelly (1993) found that unhappiness with marriage, plans or desires to leave the relationship, lack of shared activity, increased age, the presence of preschoolers, and poor health were significant correlates of sexual inactivity in marriage. Additional reasons for sexual inactivity include pregnancy, recent childbirth, or acute illness or injury (Greenblat, 1983). Some persons also experience relatively permanent physical problems such as chronic illness or handicaps that hinder sexual activity (Greenblat, 1983; Kiernan, 1988).

Even though celibacy increases with age (Laumann et al., 1994), not all older persons stop having sex (Mulligan & Palguta, 1991; White 1982). In fact, most elders who are in good health and who have available partners remain sexually active (Marsiglio & Donnelly, 1991; Starr & Weiner, 1981). Because women live longer than men, however, elderly women tend to have fewer potential partners than elderly men (Moen, 1996).