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Not only are people less likely to sleep with someone on the first date — dating someone only for sex is also less appealing. Perhaps that means that sex alone isn’t enough anymore, and people are becoming more discerning about their sexual behavior and relationship desires. In fact, people are more concerned with love than sex by almost a 50 percent margin — with no change from 2005 to 2015.
At this point, we’re wondering how in a culture where casual sex is commonplace, online daters are less interested in it. During our head-scratching, however, we did find that we’re more progressive when it comes to number of partners.
Good news, sexually active folks. If you were concerned about being judged on your number, take heart. People don’t care as much as they used to (but they still care).
Zoom in on straight women. Their results show a healthy drop, but their 2015 views are still pretty reserved. The topic of ‘numbers’ is still a conversation to be had, even today. Why are straight women so concerned?
Here’s a little insight. For a 2005 slice of life, take a look at this article, and enjoy that perfectly topical reference to low slung jeans. Also, this quote:
“I know a lot of people who will go home with the same guy they have before just because it’s not going to raise their number.”
— a 26-year-old publicist, 2005
According to this post Sex and the City exposé, your number of partners really was a topic of judgment for reasons that manifested from, according to this story, the past. Or the Bush administration.
So far we’ve found that in 2015, people are more conservative when it comes to sex just for sex, but less so when it comes to number of partners. Call it casually conservative or conservatively casual, we’re refining ourselves. Guess you could say…Mission accomplished.
After staring at this data for a while, we discovered an outlying group: straight women. Almost exclusively, they’re the most modest in their answers. These next few questions go a little deeper into how straight women feel about themselves and gender norms.
Collectively, people are 15 percent less critical about women talking about their sex lives. That’s a pretty significant achievement, and it makes sense. For decades, the conversation about women’s sexuality and gender has gained momentum in media and politics. Thanks to the plight of outspoken organizations and feminists, people are realizing that it is something that’s perfectly okay (and really important) to talk about, even if they’re not discussing it correctly. Keep trying, boys.
Though, take a look at how different groups answer this.
Turns out that straight women are the harshest critics of themselves. 22 percent of straight women still don’t think it’s okay to openly talk about sexual exploits, while gay women are the most accepting. For men, they’re all more open to women talking about sex, regardless of their orientation.
Speaking of gender differences, both straight men and women still exhibit some stereotypical views on friends with benefits.
Time to throw in your hats, guys. Since 2010, more males are interested in this kind of relationship, while females rose a measly three percent. At least now you know what most women aren’t looking for.
Another norm that’s gained popularity in 2015? Gender roles in the bedroom.
People who answered “I take control”
Straight men’s numbers rose 25 percent, while straight women, again, stayed relatively the same with pretty low percentages. Interestingly, there was a notable rise in lesbians wanting to take control. Are straight people really settling into a sexual dynamic?
The short answer: very. One thing people agree on, regardless of their gender and orientation, is that as people become more selective about who they date, sex becomes more important.
Remember how we found out that people are less likely to sleep with someone on the first date? Here’s when people actually prefer to have sex.
The three-date rule stands strong. We see an increase in both 1–2 dates as well as 3–5, and a drop in 6 or more dates and after the wedding. Basically, we’re less likely to rush into sex on the first date, but when we like someone, we’re less likely to wait. When you know, you know, right?
When we bring marriage into the equation, we see that premarital relations are more than welcome.
Everyone agrees: sex matters. What’s more — not only do people need to sleep with someone first, but it’s got to be the most sexually satisfying relationship they’ve ever had. No pressure.
While we saw the biggest jump in straight men’s responses, women overall are more likely to want their forever-relationship to be the most sexually satisfying. As conservative as straight women have been in this entire report, they’re actually the most concerned. So in the long run, no matter your gender or orientation, you better bring your A-game.
Our attitudes toward sex and dating have changed alongside the advent of the dating app boom. And while casual sex is more available via dating apps, and arguably more apparent in popular culture than it was a decade ago, that doesn’t mean people don’t want depth in their relationships.
Dating culture is evolving. It could even be maturing. Have dating apps directly affected our behavior? We can’t say for certain. But we can say that we’re more thoughtful in our sexual behavior, and more progressive when it comes to attitudes. That’s not a bad place to be.
Want to be a part of this report, and future ones? Sign up for OkCupid.
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