South Africans make wedding whoopee up with the world’s best
South African couples pull out all the stops for their wedding ceremonies and receptions, as well as leading in “climax” with consummation after nuptials.
A survey of 980 couples from 44 countries to find out if they had sex the night they tied the knot put SA at number eight (82%).
Clinical sexologist and relationship expert Dr Eve Marlene Wasserman said she was surprised by the findings. “It doesn’t happen like that for a lot of people. People nowadays commit, buy a dog, a house, live together, have a child and then get married. It may be a big deal, but realistically it does not really matter.
“They have been sexually active and they just have a party on the wedding night. They have a good time and get drunk and go to sleep, because they have been doing it for a while and it’s not a big deal.”
However, Wasserman said among her South African clients there were those who had sex on their wedding night. Usually these were religious people, for whom sex on their wedding night was a commitment. “It is celebrated as ‘this is the end of my virginity’. This is a sign of commitment for those who have not taken part in any sexual activity for religious and traditional reasons.”
Finland tops the list as the friskiest country, with a whopping 89% of couples surveyed saying they consummated their marriage on their wedding night. Australia had the least luck, with a staggering 36% of couples not getting down to bedroom business in the bridal suite, followed closely by Japan at 43% and Russia at 54%.
However, religious societies such as Israel, Pakistan and Malaysia fell in the top 21 countries where marriages were consummated on the wedding night.
“In countries like Iran and Pakistan — much like the Jewish Orthodox people — there is an expectation of this is what you have to do on your wedding night; there is an obligation and pressure to have sex on the wedding night,” said Wasserman.
Liberal countries such as the US, UK, Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden are in the top 30.