Across the globe, reports indicate that people are having less sex. In Britain, the US, France, and Australia, sexual frequency has declined, though Denmark appears to be an exception. In 2018, the Atlantic declared a 'sex recession,' and the Telegraph recently ran a piece headlined 'Sex is dying out. This is why it matters.'
As an ancient historian focusing on the history of sex, this trend fascinates me. Some articles hark back to antiquity, but ancient Greece and Rome were not bastions of sexual freedom, especially for women. While modern society often views men as the hornier sex, ancient Greeks and Romans believed the opposite. Women were seen as 'nymphomaniacs,' their voracious appetites a constant problem.
The Wandering Womb Theory
This perception manifested in the medical theory of the 'wandering womb.' According to the Hippocratic Corpus, the womb could float freely, causing health issues. A wandering womb could lodge under the diaphragm, causing speech loss or suffocation. The cure? Regular sex to keep the womb moist and in place. This theory was taken seriously, as seen in the case of Apuleius, a second-century Roman accused of using magic to procure a wife. He argued she married him to cure her wandering womb.
Sex was thus a health matter for women, but it was prescriptive: penile penetration with a husband. Non-penetrative or non-heteronormative sex was ignored, and there was little advice on pleasuring women, assuming their rampant desire sufficed. This portrayal of women as the more sexual sex was not positive; it was an illness to be controlled.
Shift in Perception
Recently, this image changed. Women's desire is now seen as buried deep, needing excavation. Kate Lister's 2026 book Flick: The Story of Female Pleasure discusses the 'lie back and think of England' euphemism, exemplifying the modern idea that sex is for men. Katherine Angel's 2021 book Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again notes that male and female sexuality are often framed as biologically driven, but today men are depicted as 'sexually driven' to spread their seed.
History offers two opposing views of women's sexuality, but both iron out individuality and complexity. There are no ancient statistics on sexual frequency or pleasure. Perhaps there was an ancient orgasm gap. Accusing a man of oral sex was an insult in ancient Greece and Rome; Aristophanes said it 'pollutes the tongue,' and Galen compared it to eating faeces. Since many women cannot orgasm from penetration alone, these attitudes likely dented female pleasure.
Women's Pursuit of Pleasure
Yet women found ways to explore pleasure. Sappho wrote poems to women she loved, reminiscing about flower crowns and shared intimacy. An anonymous Roman woman carved a poem into Pompeii's walls about kisses and embraces with an unnamed woman. Ancient dildos were also used, depicted on Greek vases and possibly the Vindolanda phallus, a wooden object from Roman Britain.
As Emily Nagoski highlighted in Come As You Are, pleasurable sex depends on context. Today, economics, stress, and living situations contribute to less sex. Women defer sex due to pain, anxiety, and lower climax rates. The problem may not be libidos but a society that stifles sexual expression.
In writing Aphrodisia, I wanted to honour women as sexual beings. I discovered outliers like Sulpicia, a Roman poet, and Heraeis and Sophia, Graeco-Egyptian women who used magic spells to attract other women. Cassia, a Roman woman, tried to make adultery illegal for men. These women sought to fulfil their desires despite cultural taboos.
Perhaps we should ask not how often people have sex, but how often they have good sex. As the ancient poet Nossis wrote, sex can be sweeter than 'even honey I spat from my mouth.'
