A new Australian survey has shown that casual sex may be more rampant than first thought, with half of Australian women admitting they have had a “booty call” friend at one stage in their life.

In a study of more than 650 women of all ages, 53 per cent admitted to having a mate for regular but non-committed sex during their lifetime.

Sexologist Stacey Demarco said this type of relationship offered women a safer sexual environment than a classic one night stand.

But it still allowed them to be emotionally unattached.

“As long as both parties understand the parameters of the ‘relationship’ this is a healthy way to go,” Ms Demarco said.

“Rules such as what happens if one of you meets someone else ’serious’ and safe sex practices need to be discussed upfront, so no one gets hurt.”

The survey, conducted by the company which makes female libido enhancement Femi-X, found three out of four women would not be offended if they received a booty call from a good-looking friend.

And four out of 10 women said they were willing to take a booty call from their chosen buddy at any time, day or night.

Ms Demarco said the results showed Australian women had an increasingly flexible approach to relationships and were not single-mindedly focussed on finding long-term love.

Instead, they were prepared to enter regular but casual relationships with men who were their sexual match but possibly not suited in other ways, she said.

Professor Susan Davis, a women’s health expert at Monash University, agreed women had a freer attitude to sex these days, but said they still valued the traditional relationship.

“This shows that young women believe they have a right, like men, to just have sex,” Prof Davis said.

“In a survey, they might flippantly say they’re into these (booty call) relationships … but in reality, we shouldn’t undervalue the fact that for young women having a partner is actually very important.”

She said previous research of women aged under 45 showed those in relationships were happier than those who weren’t.

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