Plain Old Sex is So Yesterday

The results are in, and survey says: Americans are a kinky bunch of folks who like to do it in a lot of different ways—41, to be exact. That was just one of the findings uncovered in the most comprehensive national survey of sexual behavior since 1994, which was published today in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. 5,865 adolescents and adults ages 14 to 94 were interviewed for the project, and their feedback reveals Americans to be a sexually adventurous culture. Researchers said they were surprised to discover that most people do far more in the bedroom than engage in just plain old penis-in-vagina sex. Anal intercourse, oral sex and partnered masturbation were among the 41 different sexual acts listed by survey respondents, and considering we can only think of a few other variations off the tops of our heads, we’re thinking that Americans must be pretty damn creative to come up with so many different ways to give and get pleasure.

The study also found that more older Americans are sexually active, in addition to being the age group with the lowest reported condom use, which helps to explain why STD rates are much higher among older adults these days. This means condom-makers have a new audience to target, so don’t be surprised if you start seeing Trojan ads that cater to the frisky silver-haired crowd instead of the usual horny-college-dude segment of the population. Researchers also found (surprise, surprise) that a good percentage of men have no clue that their lady totally fakes it on occasion. While 85 percent of the male participants reported their parter having an orgasm in their most recent sexual encounter, only 64 percent of women reported having one in their most recent encounter. Americans may be getting more experimental in the boudoir, but some things never change.