When it comes to being sex positive, we often think about it in terms of our own personal attitudes toward sex, but we don't usually think about how levels of sex positivity varies throughout cities. And that's exactly what Lazeeva, an adult entertainment company, wanted to find out. They scored cities around the world in a number of categories to figure out where there was the most sex positivity.
Interestingly, not only did they look at factors like sexual satisfaction, sex toy consumption, porn consumption, and swinging — they also looked at more political issues like attitudes towards the LGBT community, gender equality, and contraception. And actually, in many cases, it was those factors that made the difference. "The cities that ranked poorly were often because of stigmas in society (e.g. LGBT friendliness/gender equality/access to contraception)," a Lazeeva spokesperson tells Bustle. "Improving attitudes to these would help to sexually liberate these cities."
It's important, because it shows that sex positivity isn't just about having a lot of sex — it's more holistic and inclusive than that. The breakdown of all the score is huge and really worth a look, but if you want to know who came out on top then here at the top 10 most sex-positive cities in the world:
1Paris
The city of love and now, apparently, the city of sex positivity as well. What more can you ask for? Time to book a trip.
2Rio de Janeiro
Even though they came in at number two overall, Rio actually came top in the "sexually active" and "sexually experimental" categories— scoring a perfect 10 in each. Damn. Though, worryingly, it only scored a four in terms of gender equality.
3London
London scored relatively low on the sexual satisfaction side of things — only getting a 6.6, which is a little depressing for those of us who live here. But due to its high level of sexual activity and sex toy consumption, it managed to break the top three. And even better, it ranked at 10 on LGBT friendliness.
4Los Angeles
The top American city on the list, turns out all the sun in California is doing them some good. With high scores all around— and the top porn consumption score— it scored fourth place on the list.
5Berlin
With the top score for swingers, Berlin balanced out its low porn consumption and landed at number five. Although with all those swingers, it's concerning that it only scored a three in terms of access to contraceptive.
6New York City
I was actually surprised to see New York so far down on the list. But it only scored a four in terms of gender equality, which dragged down its other sex-positive scores.
7Sao Paulo
High on sex toy consumption and low on porn conception, Sao Paulo was the second Brazilian city to make the top ten.
8Las Vegas
The city of sin was all the way down at number eight, despite all the partying. Though, unsurprisingly, it scored a perfect 10 for adult entertainment.
9Ibiza
A major party capital, Ibiza only scored a 1.8 when it came to access to contraception — one of the lowest scores.
10Amsterdam
When you think of Amsterdam, you may think of recreational substances before you think sex, but they still managed to make the top 10 for sex positivity.
It's interesting to see what cities are the most sex positive, but it's also important to see how poor sexual health and prejudice can hold a city back. We need to be sex positive in all categories, because it's not just about having sex.
