It is not really clear who first coined this phrase, nor why it focuses on men and not women, but it has become accepted truth that men think about sex a lot. Depending on which version you’ve heard it could be as infrequent as every few minutes or as often 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 its face, 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 simply be incapable of performing any other tasks at all. Moreover, thinking about anything that often would likely drive one 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 likely 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 of 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 percent of men reported thinking about it every day or several times a day, 43 percent a few times per month or a few times per week, and 4 percent less than once a month. Although half of men do think of sex as much as several times a day, this does not even come close to the myth of several times a minute. 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 percent of women reported thinking about sex every day or several times a day, 67 percent a few times per month or a few times per week, and 14 percent 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 of 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 will have the time, focus, and mental stamina to think about it every seven seconds.
MYTH, HALF-TRUTH, OR OUTRIGHT LIE?
You can’t get pregnant if you have sex
in the water
You are just as likely to get pregnant from having unprotected sex in the water as you are from having sex out of the water. Granted, if a man ejaculates in the water, it is pretty unlikely that the sperm will find their way into the vagina and up to the egg, but it’s not impossible either. If there are living sperm and living eggs around and some way for them to get together (no matter how small or unlikely), you can get pregnant, so this one is an outright lie.