It hurts to admit, but sex can be a scary thing. That admission seems contradictory, but for most of the population, it’s true. Are we doing it right? Is she happy? Is this going on too long? Every so often the stars align and everyone gets off without a hitch, but more often than not, there’s something to be concerned about. That may be rooted in self-imposed pressure or societal narratives about what good sex should look like, but whatever its source, it’s taking away from the moment. Hell, maybe you’re just way too kinky.
Taking this into consideration, Superdrug Online Doctor recently surveyed 2,000 people (1,212 male and 916 female) with questions relating to their sexual fears. Of these respondents, 1,009 were from the United States and another 1,072 were located within Europe.
The top ten fears ranged from the stressful to the guilt-inducing and were caused by everything from negative body image to worries about contracting an STI, which was the number one fear.
While STI worries and pregnancy rank in the top two — which is understandable because they can kind of change the course of your life — even lower tier worries such as body hair and bodily function (anyone else have a good fart during sex story?) are still ranked relatively high. To take things a step further, breaking the fears into gender categories proves to be super interesting:
The fears span the same categories, but the specifics vary an impressive amount. Surprisingly, men are much more considerate than they are given credit for. For the guys, fear of a bored unsatisfied partner takes the number two spot. That same fear takes the number two spot for women. Who would have thought?
The survey proceeds to dip into European vs. American concerns, fears about specific kinks and issues surrounding consent. Not surprisingly, but horribly unfortunate, is the fact that a large number of women on both sides of the pond fear their partner won’t listen when they say “no” or will ask them to do something they’re not comfortable with.
Seeing the numbers brings a lot to light, and it’s surprising that so many of us share the same fears. Hopefully, this will open the door to frank discussions, comfort, and better sex all around. Regardless of what kind of freaky stuff gets you going.
The rest of the numbers and infographics can be found with the fine folks at Super Drug Online Doctor.
