Take out the panic between the sheets
Sex. It’s a funny ol’ thing isn’t it? Just because we’re all here as a result of it, and pretty much everyone is doing it to varying degrees, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t still shrouded with mystery, awkwardness and occasional fear... yes, we're talking about sex myths.
It’s almost like we haven’t had since the beginning of time to get over our personal hang-ups and have our questions answered...
And now, thanks to the invention of the internet and our friend Google, there now seems to be even more sex myths and weird stories for us to worry about.
To sort sex fact from sex fiction, we have debunked the most common sexual myths that are searched for on the internet. How much do you really know about sex?
1) Penis size = the bigger the better. FALSE.. ish.
The female orgasm is a very complex thing, and due to the fact that no two vaginas are the same, the types of orgasms that individual women have are also different. While for some women, size doesn’t matter at all due to the location of the g-spot and clitoral orgasms, researchers found that women who can only have penile-vaginal orgasms, preferred a penis that was at least average 5.8inches.
2) The amount of time we have sex during our lives equates to years. FALSE.
A study found that on average, happy couples have sex about once a week. OK, cool. But if you actually add that up, that amounts to 117 days, and seeing as the average human lives 25,000 days, that ends up only being 0.45% of your life. That’s right, less than 1% of your life will be spent having sex.
3) You can get pregnant through your clothes. TRUE.
Surely, one of the biggest sex myths ever, right? Well, according to the conception experts at Australia’s Family Planning NSW, ‘dry humping’ can lead to pregnancy, as it’s possible for semen to soak through clothes and into a vagina. Sorry, what?
4) You can get pregnant through anal sex. TRUE. (But there’s a one in a billion chance in this happening to you.)
A woman in America has recently got pregnant after conceiving through anal sex. However, this occurred due to complications with a condition she has called cloaca - something that develops when the female foetus is in the womb and reproductive, urinal and intestinal organs all develop in the same orifice.
Her doctor said: ‘This case is one in a billion and the rarest of the rare. I’m not sure it should be a big issue for women generally.’
5) Sex is exercise. TRUE.
If you consider a thirty-minute jog as actual exercise, then sex should be right up your street. According to researchers in Canada, an hour of sex can burn off 120 calories for men, and 90 for women. That’s a packet of Malteasers right there.
6) Women don’t watch porn. FALSE.
With the types of porn that appeals to women becoming increasingly accessible (we’re all about the storyline, apparently), one in three women say they enjoy watching porn at least once a week, and 28% reveal that they start watching porn once they are married. Find out which type of porn women (surprisingly) love to watch and well and truly debunk these sex myths for good
7) Men have to ejaculate to enjoy sex. FALSE.
Most of us will probably agree that for us women, sex can still be great, even if sometimes we don’t orgasm – and it’s the same for men. Plus, as psychologist Deborah Taj Anapol explained to Psychology Today, sometimes NOT ejaculating can actually be better for men: ‘For many men orgasm without ejaculation enables a man to be multi-orgasmic, to maintain consistent sexual energy, desire and confidence, and to magnetically attract interested partners. Once men learn to orgasm without ejaculation they rarely want to go back to ejaculating every time.’
8) Sex fades with age. FALSE.
An extensive study of the sex lives of 40-59 year olds, has revealed that they are having regular sex, two thirds of them are ‘happy’ or ‘very happy’ with the sex they’re having, and 63% admitted they’re more open to trying new things as they get older.