Men And Women's Ideal Number Of Sexual Partners Reveals 'Shocking' Double Standards In The Bedroom
Men And Women Reveal 'Perfect' Number Of Sexual Partners
Natasha Hinde— The Huffington Post UK
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News flash: some guys have a rather prehistoric view of how many sexual partners women should have.
A survey showing the desirable number of sexual partners for both sexes has revealed some men think it's okay to have slept with six times more people than women have.
Guys believe, on average, that a woman should sleep with just five people. However they think men should have roughly 32 sexual partners. Double standards, much?
For women, the number of people they'd ideally like a guy to have slept with, on average, is 11. And they think the perfect number of people for a woman to sleep with is 10.
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"This is the sort of statistic that makes you want to throw your hands in the air and basically give up on sexual equality because it so obviously reinforces the old stereotype that it’s okay for a man to sleep around but not a woman," says sex and relationships expert Tracey Cox.
"I’m surprised - I would have thought there would have been a small difference between the numbers. It certainly does appear that the old double standard is alive and kicking."
The survey by MedExpress questioned 2,500 adults, who had all admitted to having a one night stand in the past, about their sexual experiences.
Participants were asked whether they were ashamed of the number of people they had slept - with just under half (47%) claiming they were.
A third of those surveyed said they had lied to a sexual partner about the number of people they'd slept with.
When asked why, 72% said they thought their number was too high while 28% were embarrassed because their number was too low.
"Sexuality and sexual health should not be anything we are ashamed of and we need to become more open and honest with each other as a society," said Michael Ross, spokesperson for MedExpress.
"It shocked us to see the difference between the male and females ‘perfect’ number."
Contraception Myths Explained
Myth(01 of14)
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1 in 2 women believe that all types of contraception require you to do something regularly to be effective (credit:Alamy)
Fact(02 of14)
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"Some long acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) such as the implant or intrauterine contraceptives do not require regular administration in order to be effective."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(03 of14)
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Almost 1 in 5 women don’t realise they can get pregnant if they miss a pill (credit:Alamy)
Fact(04 of14)
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"Missing a pill can significantly impact the risk of becoming pregnant particularly if you have unprotected sex around the time of the hormone free interval. If you do miss a pill, follow the instructions on your packet of pills."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(05 of14)
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"Around 1 in 4 women believe that long acting reversible contraception (LARCs) are permanent and irreversible contraception solutions." (credit:Alamy)
Fact(06 of14)
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"Long acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) are not permanent forms of contraception and are reversible. For example once an implant, intrauterine device (IUD) or intrauterine system (IUS) is removed, there is no evidence to suggest a delay in the woman's fertility return."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(07 of14)
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Nearly 1 in 5 women believe that all contraception requires a monthly visit to their Healthcare professional (HCP) (credit:Alamy)
Fact(08 of14)
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"That's not the case - for example following the fitting of an intrauterine contraceptive, women should return to their healthcare professional for a check at about 6 weeks and then they don't need to make another appointment until it needs changing."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(09 of14)
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More than half (58%; 2,451 out of 4,199) of women think that long term contraceptives should not be used if you may suddenly decide you want to try to have a baby. (credit:Alamy)
Fact(10 of14)
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"Long acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) are not permanent forms of contraception and are reversible. There is no evidence of delay in return of fertility when an implant, intrauterine device (IUD) or intrauterine system (IUS) is removed. There could be a delay of up to one year in the return of fertility after a woman stops having the contraceptive injection."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(11 of14)
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Almost a third of women (31%; 1,309 out of 4,199) think that contraceptive pills have the highest rate of efficacy when compared to other methods. (credit:Alamy)
Fact(12 of14)
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"This is not true. The most effective methods of contraception, based on 'typical-use' are the contraceptive implant, intrauterine contraceptives and male and female sterilisation with less than 1 woman in 100 becoming pregnant using these methods. "'Typical-use' refers to how effective a contraceptive method is for the average person who does not always use the method correctly or consistently. For example, women who use oral contraceptives perfectly will experience almost complete protection against pregnancy. "However, in the real world, some women may forget to take a pill every single day, and pregnancies can and do occur to women who miss one or more pills during a cycle. So, while oral contraceptives have a perfect-use effectiveness rate of over 99%, their typical-use effectiveness is closer to 91%."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)
Myth(13 of14)
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Nearly 1 in 5 women think that long term methods all need surgical insertion into the uterus. (credit:Alamy)
Fact(14 of14)
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"The intrauterine system (IUS) and intrauterine device (IUD) are inserted into the uterus. Injectable contraceptives are however given by injection either into the large muscle in the bottom or in the upper arm and the contraceptive implant is fitted just under the skin on the inside of the upper arm."- Dr Diana Mansour, Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care and Head of Sexual Health Services, Newcastle Hospitals Community Health (credit:Alamy)