En raison de la peur du sida, les enquêtes représentatives au niveau national sur les mentalités et les comportements sexuels se sont multipliées à partir des années 90 dans le monde entier, mais continuent à être négligées par les sociologues. En analysant les résultats de quelque 30 enquêtes sur la sexualité réalisées dans différents pays, cet article montre que de fortes disparités entre hommes et femmes perdurent au XXI e siècle en matière de centralité de la sexualité, de désir sexuel, de mentalités et de comportements sexuels, et ce longtemps après la révolution contraceptive et sexuelle des années 60. La moindre motivation et le moindre intérêt des femmes en matière de sexualité ont pour conséquence que beaucoup d’hommes hétérosexuels ressentent un manque par rapport à l’activité sexuelle désirée. Le renversement du sex-ratio qui a conduit à un surplus d’individus mâles parmi les jeunes adultes ainsi que d’autres évolutions portent à croire que le déficit sexuel risque d’augmenter parmi la population masculine. Le déficit sexuel des hommes (ou sexualité masculine excédentaire) permet de mieux comprendre des phénomènes comme le harcèlement sexuel, la violence sexuelle, le viol, la demande croissante de services sexuels marchands et d’autres comportements presque exclusivement masculins.

Nationally representative interview surveys of sexual behaviour and attitudes proliferated around the globe from 1990 onwards as a result of the AIDS scare, yet are overlooked by sociologists. This article reviews findings from some 30 sex surveys around the world showing that large and substantively important differences between men and women in the centrality of sexuality, sexual desire, sexual behaviour and attitudes persist in the 21st century, long after the contraceptive and sexual revolutions of the 1960s. Women’s lesser sexual motivation and interest means that many heterosexual men experience a shortfall in desired sexual activity. A reversal of the sex ratio to a male surplus among prime-age adults and other trends suggest that the sexual deficit among men may increase. The male sexual deficit (or surplus male sexuality) helps to explain sexual harassment, sexual violence, rape, rising demand for commercial sexual services and other behaviours that are almost exclusively male.

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