Female Athletes Had Fewer Sex Partners. Female athletes had fewer sex partners than their non-athletic counterparts. Mixed Results for Male Athletes. Male athletes in Western New York experienced their first sexual intercourse earlier than male non-athletes. However, no other consistent pattern of differences emerged between male athletes and non-athletes.
Athletes Are More Likely to Use Contraceptives.
The report's findings show that girls who play sports do in fact report lower pregnancy rates, engage in sexual intercourse less frequently, have fewer partners, and begin sexual activity later than those not involved with sports. Athletic participation is part of the complex interplay of social, cultural, and biological processes that influence the sexualities of girls and boys. The overall consistency between the results from the two surveys reviewed lends credence to the report's conclusions. We contend that sports are a cultural resource that builds girls' self-confidence, sense of physical empowerment, and social recognition within the school and community. Girls may be using the self-reliance and social status gained through athletic participation to resist social pressures to exchange sex for approval or popularity.