The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, which quizzed more than 15,000 Britons about their sex lives, has revealed that the number of British women having lesbian encounters has quadrupled over  the last 20 years. 

Nearly eight percent of women admit to having been with female partners, compared to just 1.8 percent in 1990. In contrast, the number of men having gay sex has remained more stable over the same period, and now stands at 4.8 percent. Professor Kaye Wellings of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which co-ran the study, said this shows a "remarkable" change in women's sexual behaviour since the first survey two decades ago.
"In some areas of sexual behaviour we have seen a narrowing of the gender gap, but in others we have seen women overtaking men in the diversity of their behaviour," she said.

The trends need to be seen "against the backdrop of the profound changes in the position of women in society, the norms governing their lifestyles, and media representations of female sexuality", she added.
But while attitudes towards gay sex have become more liberal, Britons have become more disapproving of adultery than they were 20 years ago. And around two thirds of Britons disapprove of non-exclusivity in marriage, which up from around half before.

British women are also having twice as many sexual partners (7.7 average) over a lifetime then they did 20 years ago, while men average around 12 partners (up from 8.6).  The average Briton has intercourse less than five times a month, compared to more than six times a month a decade ago.

The survey also found that Britons are having sex less often but are enjoying it well into their seventies. An estimated 60 percent of men and 42 percent of women aged between 65 and 74 said they had at least one sexual partner in the last year.

[Business Insider]