National sex census: 5 titillating takeaways
Angelenos do it the most. Married people value quality over quantity. Men hanker after airborne sex — and other intriguing findings from the Trojan sex survey
Sexual satisfaction is on the rise in America. A new survey by condom maker Trojan finds that the average American adult has sex 120 times a year, and "reports very high levels of sexual satisfaction" — though 63 percent of us would still like to be doing it more. Here, five other findings from the survey (which, with a sample of only 1,000, is admittedly not the most scientific):
1. The Northeast is hotter than you think...
"Congratulations Northeasterners!" says Caitlin Dickson at The Atlantic Wire. That region's residents have more sex than Americans in any other part of the country, with an average of 130 times a year (or 2.5 times a week), compared with 125 for Midwesterners, 120 for Westerners, and 114 for Southerners. Maybe the latter two groups are "too busy enjoying the nice weather to have sex," says Dickson.
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2. ... but L.A. residents have the most sex
Angelenos have sex 135 times a year, the most of any of the 10 metropolitan centers surveyed. "Awwwwwwwwwwwwww yeah," says Jeannine Stein in the Los Angeles Times. But it's not all good. Los Angeles residents' 75 percent satisfaction rate ranks the city ahead of San Francisco (70 percent) and Boston (73 percent), but well behind Philadelphia (82 percent). L.A. residents are also the most likely to have faked an orgasm (51 percent). "Are we too stressed from texting our agents and sitting on the 405 and waiting for a table at Umami Burger to be fulfilled in our sexual encounters?" asks Stein.
3. Marriage means less sex, more satisfaction
Single people have sex 130 times a year, the survey finds, compared with 109 times for married couples. But there's a reason: "Wedded bliss." Married people report a significantly higher rate of sexual satisfaction (82 percent) than single people (71 percent). "The quality vs. quantity argument seems to ring true here," says Dickson at The Atlantic Wire.
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4. Sex in cars gets us revved up
Nearly half of Americans say the "most exciting place" they've had sex is in a car. "Vehicular sex easily beat the second most titillating location, which was (go figure) someone else's bed (33%)," says Fred Meier in USA Today. Sex on a plane, meanwhile, remains a fantasy for men, with 33% saying they'd like to join the mile-high club. Women, on the other hand, prefer sex on the beach, with 26% saying they haven't had sandy sex, but want to.
5. Anthony Weiner isn't the only one sexting
Nearly one in five American adults has had sex online, and one in ten has discussed sex on Facebook or Twitter. "So it's not just the kids who have figured out how to make their mini keyboards sing," says Dennis Romero at LA Weekly. And 18 percent of those surveyed said they'd had sex with someone they met online. That still doesn't mean you should send pictures of your erection "to women who aren't your wife," says Romero. "Especially if you're a U.S. congressman."
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