Myths About Sex and Pregnancy
It is not really clear who first coined this phrase, nor why it focuses on men and not women, but it has become an accepted truth that men think about sex a lot. Depending on which version you’ve heard it could be as little as every few minutes or as much as every seven seconds. This fact is stated often, even by reputable media sources, in stories that describe the differences between men and women, claiming that men are, well, obsessed with sex.
On the face of it, this myth is simply ludicrous. Just think about it. If we assume that the average male is awake for sixteen hours a day, each man would have to think about sex over 57,000 times a day. That’s about as many times as a person breathes while awake. Someone thinking about sex that often would be incapable of performing any other tasks at all. Moreover, thinking about anything that often would probably drive you insane.
Many attribute this ‘fact’ to the Kinsey Institute, which was founded right in our own backyard at Indiana University in 1947 and published its first important work, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, in 1948. This has probably added to the myth’s perceived validity, as the Institute is widely accepted as the final word on research related to human sexuality. But no data released by the Institute have ever shown that any human beings think about sex this often.
The most comprehensive survey ever completed on sexuality in America was published in 1994, titled The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States. In response to the question: ‘how often do you think about sex?’, 54 per cent of men reported thinking about it every day or several times a day, 43 per cent a few times a month or a few times a week, and 4 per cent less than once a month. So although half of men do think about sex as much as several times a day, this does not even come close to the several times a minute of the myth. However, many men think of sex even less frequently – not even every day. And, of course, if you’re interested in how women compare, here are the data: when asked the same question: 19 per cent of women reported thinking about sex every day or several times a day, 67 per cent a few times a month or a few times a week, and 14 per cent less than once a month. Women do think about sex less frequently than men, but the difference is not as great as most people believe. While men might think about sex every day, women are more likely to think about it a few times a week.
As always, it’s important to remember that these are averages. Some men will think about sex more than just a few times a day and some a lot less. But none can possibly have the time, focus and mental stamina to think about it every seven seconds.