# Are the multiple penetrations that occur in sex biological or cultural? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222 "2015-03-28T17:40:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/161 "2015-04-04T17:14:09Z")
There are asexual people out there, even ones on these boards, but the OP’s questions about the basic mechanics of coitus don’t really have anything to do with asexuality, nor do they have anything to do with people who actively seek out sex-free relationships. ---
**Author:** ![Umbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/162 "2015-04-04T18:09:41Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > An uneducated virgin should easily pick up the rhythm of it during his first time. It’s also a natural shift from the commom method of mastuebation by males. That too can be learned or discovered. Maybe it’s easier to be a female virgin than a male virgin, since thrusting is mostly a male behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/163 "2015-04-04T19:06:33Z")
To clear up some confusion (this being GQ), the first-world/second-world label fell out of favour a while ago, mostly replaced by developed/developing (or occasionally the Global South). It still shows up from time to time ([First-world problems is a common meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/first-world-problems)), but for the most part it’s not used very often. Here’s a [simple n-gram](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=first+world%2Csecond+world%2Cdeveloping+world&year_start=1850&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cfirst%20world%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Csecond%20world%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cdeveloping%20world%3B%2Cc0)of usage (doesn’t account for first or second world war). I work in international development and whether dealing with a professional or general community members, it’s pretty rare for someone under thirty or forty to use the first-/second-world distinction. It’s exceedingly rare outside the states/western Europe. Some may get it, of course, but it’s about as rare as someone under 40 using ‘negro’ or ‘colored’ in common (innocent) conversation. They may know the word, may know of the UNCF or the NAACP, but it’s just not part of the background vernacular. So it’d be surprising if anyone under 30 actually used it in a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Umbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/164 "2015-04-04T19:24:51Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > To clear up some confusion (this being GQ), the first-world/second-world label fell out of favour a while ago, mostly replaced by developed/developing (or occasionally the Global South). It still shows up from time to time ([First-world problems is a common meme](http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/first-world-problems)), but for the most part it’s not used very often. Here’s a [simple n-gram](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=first+world%2Csecond+world%2Cdeveloping+world&year_start=1850&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cfirst%20world%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Csecond%20world%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cdeveloping%20world%3B%2Cc0)of usage (doesn’t account for first or second world war). > > I work in international development and whether dealing with a professional or general community members, it’s pretty rare for someone under thirty or forty to use the first-/second-world distinction. It’s exceedingly rare outside the states/western Europe. Some may get it, of course, but it’s about as rare as someone under 40 using ‘negro’ or ‘colored’ in common (innocent) conversation. They may know the word, may know of the UNCF or the NAACP, but it’s just not part of the background vernacular. So it’d be surprising if anyone under 30 actually used it in a sentence. My parents and I immigrated to the United States just before I entered kindergarten, and I was raised in the United States. I just use the first-world/second-world distinction, because that is the terminology that I’ve heard when I was in high school in the late 2000s. Only in university in the very late 2000s was the time when a professor insisted on using developed/developing distinction, because he thought that we had to refrain from using the “cold-war mentality”. Funny, but I wasn’t even born in the “cold war” era. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/165 "2015-04-04T19:36:27Z")
First and second doesn’t translate to developed and developing. Developing has replaced third world (after the collapse of communism and thus the second world). But back to intercourse. OP, you have mentioned finding a spouse with a low sex drive a few times as if this would be a good thing. It might help to know if you’re male or female here, since different sorts of fears and anxieties are often involved. ---
**Author:** ![Umbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/166 "2015-04-04T19:51:25Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > First and second doesn’t translate to developed and developing. Developing has replaced third world (after the collapse of communism and thus the second world). I thought they did become parallels. “First-world” became “developed”, “industrialized”, or “wealthy”. “Second-world” became “developing” or “industrializing”. “Third-world” became “undeveloped”. I think I misspoke. I should have used “newly industrialized country”, but then 20 years ago, my parents’ home country’s industrialization was still at its infancy. > **[Newly industrialized country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newly_industrialized_country)** > > The category of newly industrialized country (NIC), newly industrialized economy (NIE) or middle income country is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists. They represent a subset of developing countries whose economic growth is much higher than that of other developing countries; and where the social consequences of industrialization, such as urbanization, are reorganizing society. > NICs are countries whose economies hav... [QUOTE=Emiliana] But back to intercourse. OP, you have mentioned finding a spouse with a low sex drive a few times as if this would be a good thing. It might help to know if you’re male or female here, since different sorts of fears and anxieties are often involved. [/QUOTE] I already got my main question answered: “Are the multiple penetrations that occur in sex biological or cultural?” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/167 "2015-04-04T19:56:13Z")
> [@Umbridge](#): > > Maybe it’s easier to be a female virgin than a male virgin, since thrusting is mostly a male behavior. This is true only in a man-on-top position, and only partially true even then. Thrusting is instinctive and pleasurable for the woman too. ---
**Author:** ![Umbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/168 "2015-04-04T19:59:50Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > This is true only in a man-on-top position, and only partially true even then. What do you mean by “partially true”? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/169 "2015-04-04T20:19:19Z")
> [@Umbridge](#): > > My parents and I immigrated to the United States just before I entered kindergarten, and I was raised in the United States. I just use the first-world/second-world distinction, because that is the terminology that I’ve heard when I was in high school in the late 2000s. Only in university in the very late 2000s was the time when a professor insisted on using developed/developing distinction, because he thought that we had to refrain from using the “cold-war mentality”. Funny, but I wasn’t even born in the “cold war” era. Right. Don’t doubt you. I was speaking more to the other Dopers who are under 30 or 40, many/most of whom probably never encountered the terms before in day-to-day or academic settings (when I wrote the post there were just a handful of posts and a couple questions about what/where it meant). You just joined in the past few days so you’re probably not familiar with the makeup of the Dope. There are many bright people here, and it wouldn’t surprise me that some under-40-year-olds had heard of it more than once or twice in passing, and I would not be terribly surprised if one or two younger Dopers used it self-referentially (it’s a diverse group). But since it’s vanishingly uncommon for the terms to be used like you did by people under 30/40, I thought to give a bit of background. Kind of like if someone said “I taped a show last night” and that started a tiny bit of side conversation about what ‘taping’ is. It’s still used from time to time, but mostly by people at least 30 or 40 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/170 "2015-04-04T20:41:35Z")
> [@Umbridge](#): > > What do you mean by “partially true”? In a man-on-top position, it is quite common for the woman to thrust her hips upward in the same way that the man thrusts downward. In theory, the woman doesn’t have to, but generally speaking, she will start doing so without being told to. It feels good. ---
**Author:** ![Umbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/171 "2015-04-04T21:46:28Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > In a man-on-top position, it is quite common for the woman to thrust her hips upward in the same way that the man thrusts downward. In theory, the woman doesn’t have to, but generally speaking, she will start doing so without being told to. It feels good. Are you male or female? I am wondering what type of person is answering this question. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/172 "2015-04-04T21:58:46Z")
> [@Umbridge](#): > > Are you male or female? I am wondering what type of person is answering this question. Male here, but I’ll just back up what Acsenray is saying. If was having sex with a woman and she wasn’t moving her hips in time with me, I would ask her what’s wrong. That’s how common it is. In fact, if you really want to test how thrusting is not just a male behavior: get a finger wet/lubricated. Put it on a woman’s clitoris with medium-firm pressure. Now don’t move. Just watch what she does. It’s the same basic hip movement a man makes when thrusting. And, again, if she wasn’t moving, I’d be asking her what’s wrong. If she’s into it, she’s moving. ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/173 "2015-04-04T22:00:12Z")
The three worlds were primarily political constructs, their economic content derivative of politics–capitalist democracies (first), communist command economies (second), and geopolitically unaligned and generally poorer countries (third). With the collapse of communism, level of economic development rose to the fore, with little distinction made between the formerly first and second world countries (developed, global north) as compared to the formerly third world countries (developing, global south). I’m not utterly convinced you’re on the level, OP, so I’ll leave you to your ponderings about sex. ---
**Author:** ![Umbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/174 "2015-04-04T22:06:18Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Male here, but I’ll just back up what Acsenray is saying. If was having sex with a woman and she wasn’t moving her hips in time with me, I would ask her what’s wrong. That’s how common it is. > > In fact, if you really want to test how thrusting is not just a male behavior: get a finger wet/lubricated. Put it on a woman’s clitoris with medium-firm pressure. Now don’t move. Just watch what she does. It’s the same basic hip movement a man makes when thrusting. And, again, if she wasn’t moving, I’d be asking her what’s wrong. If she’s into it, she’s moving. I suppose a person who has sex with a woman is either a heterosexual man or a woman-who-engages-in-homosexual-activity. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/175 "2015-04-04T22:51:49Z")
> [@Umbridge](#): > > I suppose a person who has sex with a woman is either a heterosexual man or a woman-who-engages-in-homosexual-activity. Or a sweet transvestite from transexual Transylvania. IOW, what? ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/176 "2015-04-04T23:00:53Z")
> [@Umbridge](#): > > I suppose a person who has sex with a woman is either a heterosexual man or a woman-who-engages-in-homosexual-activity. I’ll let you Google this one. ---
**Author:** ![Umbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/177 "2015-04-04T23:12:17Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > since different sorts of fears and anxieties are often involved. What “different sorts of fears and anxieties”? ---
**Author:** ![Emiliana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@Emiliana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emiliana)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/178 "2015-04-04T23:16:28Z")
> [@Umbridge](#): > > What “different sorts of fears and anxieties”? Nah, I’m not playing any more. As long as you’ve got the three world things straight, I’ll leave you to your games. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/179 "2015-04-04T23:16:49Z")
> [@Umbridge](#): > > Are you male or female? I am wondering what type of person is answering this question. I’m a man. And I’ll back up what Dracoi says. ---
**Author:** ![Umbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Umbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbridge)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222/180 "2015-04-04T23:49:27Z")
> [@Emiliana](#): > > Nah, I’m not playing any more. As long as you’ve got the three world things straight, I’ll leave you to your games. Thank you for contributing to this thread. I appreciate your posts. I agree that this thread is neither useful nor important, and one would better fill one’s precious time with more productive pursuits instead of asking or answering trivial questions that may not have any bearings in real life. In regards to the “three world things”, communism has not entirely collapsed, even though some may debate whether certain existing “communist” countries are truly communist at all. So, I am not completely inaccurate in using the “second-world” terminology. I believe communism in Eastern Europe has collapsed, and the fall of the Berlin Wall is the metonym of that collapse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-multiple-penetrations-that-occur-in-sex-biological-or-cultural/716222.md?page=10)