Gay Sex vs. Straight Sex

October 12th, 2010 by Christian Rudder

Gay issues have been in the news a lot lately, from the debate over same-sex marriage in Congress to a sickening rash of gay-bashing here in New York City. We see a lot of emotion out there, instead of information, and we wanted to provide some data-based context on sexuality so that people might make better choices about what they say, think, and do.

We run a massive dating site and therefore have unparalleled insight into sex and relationships. Here's what we've found, in numbers and charts.

First of all, gay sexuality is not a threat.

Gay people are not sexually interested in straights.

The subtext to a lot of homophobic thinking is the idea that gays will try to get straight people into bed at the first opportunity, or that gays are looking to "convert" straights. Freud called this concept schwanzangst; the U.S. Army calls it Don't Ask Don't Tell.

We combed through over 4 million match searches, and found virtually no evidence of it:

Match Search Returns
  • only 0.6% of gay men have ever searched for straight matches.
  • only 0.1% of lesbians have ever searched for straight matches.
  • only 0.13% of straight people's profile visitors are gay.
Furthermore
In our dataset, there was not a single gay user, male or female, who primarily searched for straight people.

Gay people aren't promiscuous.

Another common myth about gay people is that they sleep around, but the statistical reality is that gay people as a group aren't any more slutty than straights.

Median Reported Sex Partners
  • straight men: 6
  • gay men: 6
  • straight women: 6
  • gay women: 6

Here's how the distribution curves compare:

  • 45% of gay people have had 5 or fewer partners (vs. 44% for straights)
  • 98% of gay people have had 20 or fewer partners (vs. 99% for straights)

It turns out that a tiny fraction of gays have single-handedly two-handedly created the public image of gay sexual recklessness—in fact we found that just 2% of gay people have had 23% of the total reported gay sex, which is pretty crazy.

Straight people have gay sex, too.

Another inquiry that had unexpected results: we asked 252,900 straight people have you ever had a sexual encounter with someone of the same sex?

Almost a quarter answered 'yes'.

Click the airport-bathroom style icons to toggle the sex(es) displayed. Not unexpectedly, more women than men have had same-sex desires:

    straight women's same-sex desires:
  • 1 in 3 straight women has hooked up with another woman.
  • and of those who haven't, over 1 in 4 would like to.

As for straight men, a surprisingly high 13% have had a same-sex experience, and another 5% haven't yet but would like to.

Using the incredible power of computers, we were able to break down this question geographically. Here are straight people who either have had or would like to have a same-sex experience in the continental U.S. and lower Canada. You can see some sharp geographic divides.

Awesomely, the mountain West lives up to its Brokeback reputation, and Canada is orange nearly coast-to-coast. Even in the yellow and blue areas, you can see pockets of gay curiosity in interesting places: Austin, Madison, Asheville. Anywhere soy milk is served, basically.

Sidenote

Doing the research for this post, I came across many awful things our elected officials have said about gay people; here's a relatively calm example:

For starters, I found that a fun game to play with stuff like this is to replace the words "homosexual" and "gay" with "politician"—then you have something that's actually true.

I also spent a lot of time looking up match questions to debunk this particular claim. Down in the database I discovered one question with a surprising disparity, not between orientations, but between genders. Like Frodo to the Balrog, I wished I'd never unearthed it.

Come on, people. #facepalm.

Beyond Sex: Gay & Straight Personalities

More than just asking about specific desires and behaviors, our match questions are designed to tease out our users' underlying personalities. We've collected over 669 million answers from users so far. Below is a straight/gay comparison on 23 personality categories. You can mouse-over the ?s for each category to pop-up some examples of the many questions that affect it.

Two things: (1) The idea of the typical straight man as a kind bullying jock seems to be broadly true, though there is also a strong dork streak there, as well.

(2) Looking closely at the chart for females, we can improve upon Marx's famous dictum.

Religion is the opiate of the masses, so long as the masses are straight. However, amass a bunch of lesbians and you're going to need actual drugs.

In any event, a lot of these measured traits are reflected by the users' own words. Like we did before with race, we looked at the interests and tastes statistically unique to the different orientations, according to their personal profiles. We crunched millions of words of essay text and found the phrases most correlated to a particular sexual preference; again, these are the users' own words.

The Stuff Gay People Like

For both sexes, a lot of this stuff is way stereotypical. The size of the phrases indicate their relative popularity to the norm, and I actually had to shrink "The L Word" down to fit in our template. Meanwhile gay men's interests speak for themselves, evidently with an exaggerated lisp.

Compare those lists to their equally typical straight counterparts, below. It's like two zen koans, one by Meg Ryan, one by a viking:

The Stuff Straight People Like

As you can see, sexual orientation makes a huge difference in the words you choose to describe yourself. The small but enormous difference between lesbians' a girlfriend and straight women's my girlfriends says it all.

We extended this gay vs. straight analysis and for each orientation measured the frequencies of all one-, two-, and three-word phrases against the site-wide rates. Here's the breakdown:

There's no question that according to this analysis gay people are "different;" as you can see, gay interests and self-descriptions have little to do with the mainstream's. In fact what these numbers are saying is that the average gay person has only about 30% in common with the average American. But, ironically enough, when it comes to identity, it's hardly rare to be an outlier here. Adding an ethnic group to the plot helps put it in perspective:

Of course, as far as I know, no one's saying that Indians shouldn't get married or shouldn't be allowed to adopt children. The people of Louisiana even elected Bobby Jindal, an openly Indian man, as their governor!

We hope gay people can expect the same treatment very soon.

Adventurous

Would you consider trying food without being told what it is?

Would you consider permanently living in another country?

Would you ever get on a motorcycle?

Aggressive

Do you like to argue?

Have you ever yelled at the TV?

Do you go to great lengths to avoid conflict?

Ambitious

Would you be happy raising the kids while your spouse worked?

Which comes first for you, work or friends?

Do you want to be famous?

Artsy

Are you an aspiring actor/artist/writer or other creative type?

Do you like going to museums?

Do movies with subtitles bother you?

Compassionate

Is it your responsibility to help your fellow human beings?

Are you the type of person to tell a homeless person to get a job?

Do overweight people annoy you?

Competitive

Is it important to you to have the last word in an argument?

Do you like board games?

If someone wrongs you...do you eventually exact revenge?

Confident

Would you say you're smarter than average?

Are you okay with trying things that you're bad at?

Are you intimidated by a partner who is more sexually experienced than you?

Dorky

Do you think the International Space Station would be a cool place to get married?

Do you know what 'http' stands for?

Do you own any dice with more than six sides?

Generous

Do you give your best friend a birthday gift?

How much do you give each year to charity?

When you loan something small to a friend, do you really care if it gets returned?

Horny

How often do you think about sex?

How often do you masturbate?

Ideally, how many dates would you go on with someone before you have sex?

Into Drugs

What's your relationship to marijuana?

Do you think drug use with your partner can be a romantic activity?

Have you tried hard drugs, like, anything you need to 'cook'?

Into Sports

Do you play actual sports?

Do you enjoy exercise?

Do you have a favorite sports team, that you really like to follow?

Introverted

Does the idea of staying in and reading a book on a Friday night appeal to you?

Do you need "alone time" to re-charge after social situations?

At parties, do you go up and talk to people?

Kinky

Does group sex sound like a great idea?

Do you like sex toys?

Have you ever used nipple clamps?

Literary

Can you name an author from each continent (besides Antarctica)?

In high school, did you read books that weren't assigned in class?

Do spelling mistakes annoy you?

Optimistic

Do things generally turn out for the best?

Can just one person significantly change the world?

Do you think happiness is possible for all people?

Polite

Do you say something like 'bless you' when a stranger sneezes?

Do you hold the door for people?

Are you frequently under-dressed for special occasions?

Political

Have you ever marched in a protest?

Is it a person's civic duty to vote?

Do you know who your state's Senators are?

Romantic

Have you been around candlelight recently?

Do you like costume dramas?

Do you like to say 'I love you'?

Religious

Do you believe in the power of prayer?

Is there a God?

Do you believe in miracles? You sexy thing?

Spontaneous

Do you bring an umbrella if it looks like rain?

Do you often find yourself bored in relationships after a few months?

Have you ever had a one-night stand?

Trusting

Do you think most people give to charity?

Do you ever leave your drink unattended at a bar?

Do you think a straight man and a straight woman can truly just be friends?

Violent

Would you find it easier to kill for your beliefs or to die for them?

Have you ever thrown an object in anger during an argument?

Do you own a gun?

702 Responses to “Gay Sex vs. Straight Sex”

  1. Sean says:

    I loved this article – until the comments. I’m slowly growing more and more convinced that we live in a country inhabited by some of the stupidest, socially backward, least educated, head-up-their asses people on earth. And it’s getting worse with the Tea-baggers, and religious nutjobs out there screaming.

    Yes PAUL – that was for you (and the rest of ya.)

    I’m amazed, in this country, that we are still having this discussion. Have we really learned nothing? Have we really not learned that just because you don’t understand something or someone it doesn’t make them wrong?

    I’m embarrassed.

  2. Jen says:

    @Josh – At least half of my “visitors” are straight men, and I state assertively in my profile – in several places – that I am not at all interested in men. I doubt the lack of respect you’re referring to is based on sexual orientation. Perhaps gender, instead.

  3. Seivan says:

    Homosexuals are very generic, so easy to profile.There are twinks, bears and etc. I mean let’s face it, if the facts doesn’t fit in with your world view, just give up.
    They all follow the same characteristics of pathological behaviour. They are very shallow, stupid, vain and quite frankly quite youth obsessed. Which explains the pedophiliac tendencies.

    They are not intelligent, they aren’t into math, physics, science, tech in general, but normally into artsy shit or politics that doesn’t require actual logic or brain cells.
    How many homosexuals has won the Nobel prize in the scientific categories?
    Sure there are anomalies in daily lives, but they are what homosexuals are. ANOMALIES. Calling it natural is just retarded and naive.

    Homosexuals should not be given rights because without rights they have something to struggle, for, before accepting homosexuals we had great men like Alan Turing, of course the brits killed him, so we should let them live, but keep it a bit stricter then it is right now.

    Then again Alan Turing fucked a 16-year-old who then robbed him, and admitted acts of sodomy to the police, not that clever.

  4. Dave says:

    I’d say this was interesting but OkCupid isn’t a very good sample for gay men especially. Definitely to be taken with a grain of salt. I wonder what the stats would be like from sites like “Dudesnude” or “Manhunt” haha. I’d even bet those data sets would have many more gay men identifying with “Horniness” and “Aggression” and “Sports” but also a dramatic increase in partners and promiscuity.

    Lets be honest – if straight guys could get their hands on a “Pussyhunt” they’d have just as many partners.

  5. Rob says:

    In the interest of researching thoroughly, I noticed that you didn’t look at bi people who searched straight people of the same sex. I wonder if it is more, less or relatively the same that bi people majorly search people by gender and interested sexuality or if they are more likely to tread the mysterious waters. Would love to know what you come up with.

  6. BrianEvo says:

    Im not gay but I would consider my self a supporter of gay rights though I havnt done much supporting (lol).. So maybe this can contribute as my approach to support!
    Anyway, great article. I think in another 100 years or so no one will give a shit about treating gay and straight people [and for that case people of different ethnicities] differently. I think the world has moved forward. We aren’t there but we’re getting better at it haha.

    Good article.. It was put together well.

  7. Mike says:

    What is meant by “number of reported sex partners”? Is that in the same day or at the same time?

  8. kronis says:

    Heres a statistic. 99.9% of the coments here were made by assholes. Lets break this down shall we? Im a gay man. I work with straight men. Hell their landscapers. Men of Men. When i strike up a conversation its about a movie i saw or a news story or a funny thing that happened to me. Because thats what i have. When THEY strike up conversation its all about how they went to a party got smashed and screwed some girl. which is sick because they all have girlfriends and wives. Us gays are fighting tooth and nail to be married and be with that one person we truly love in every way and you straight shit holes are doing everything you can to RUIN your marriage. And dont give me that shit about straight guys are just talking tough about all those girls because guess what. IVE FUCKIN SEEN IT. In fact a gay guy who has had too many partners is just like a slutty bitchey whore of a girl. so what because one guy has sex with evrything in sight hes worse then YOU? no assholes hes just a slut. same with lesbians. oh and dont forget the HIV thing.
    ANYONE can get HIV at ANY TIME. its caused because the skin on your sexual organs is sensitive. and even when a penis enters a vagina or an ass or mouth it doesnt matter. the skins rub together cause friction and flakes thus momentarilyy revealing that over senstive body part. and thats how it enters the body. its a desease people are born to carry that found a way out through unprotected sex of BOTH GENDERS.
    And to all you bible thumping MORONS out there i got some homework for you. GO LOOK IN THE FUCKING MIRROR. If i were you i would look at history and see how many wars gays have started. How many unjust mass urders gays have caused. NONE but you? HOLY FUCKIN SHIT.
    AND LASTLY TO ALL YOU STEREOTYPICAL MOTHERFUCKERS OUT THERE. I WAS ASHAMED TO SEE THE LIST OF THINGS GAYS LIKE. COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY ASHAMED. i mean hell ill enjoy and episode of greys anatomy. I like the mall. BUT THAT DOES NOT DEFINE ME. If thats who you are then fine but DO NOT BE DEFINED BY A WORD.

  9. dg says:

    I wonder how you controlled by sample size in the last section, where you compare different groups to “the norm.” If gays and straights are different, and you have 10x as many straights in your sample, then you’re going to find that the norm is skewed towards what is the norm..for straights. Same thing for Indian people – if Indians are different that Caucasians, and you have a lot more Caucasian, you’ll find that Indians have non-mainstream view You’d have to do a more careful statistical analysis to determine whether the preferences of different sets are outliers from the mainstream views across sets.

  10. justicefan says:

    I’m not even someone who owns a gun and I was more than a little offended that you included owning a gun as something that makes a person more violent.

  11. D says:

    Thanks so much for for an article that reinforces stereotypes. Just what the community needs. You aren’t from the deep south, are you?

  12. Casey says:

    I think it was awesome of okcupid to do this and I thank you for your support to the LGBTQ community.

  13. Methodical Reader says:

    A quick comment on the data set you’re using…

    While it is very large and therefore probably very useful for analysis, you shouldn’t forget that it isn’t free of bias, and as a result you shouldn’t be making statements that say either “Gay people are like this _________” or “Straight people are like this ____________.” The data set that you’re using is not in fact “3.2 million people” but, rather more specifically, it is “3.2 million people who date online using your website.”

    When doing statistical analysis, this difference actually does matter, and in some cases it can matter A LOT. For example, when you’re drawing conclusions about relative promiscuity, the results could be fatally biased if people who are more promiscuous are less likely to date online, perhaps because they seem to be having plenty of success without it. It’s possible that such a trend, if it exists, could apply more significantly to the gay population than the straight population, or vice versa — either way it would compromise your analysis.

    Just something to keep in mind. This is still a very interesting post!!

  14. Mackenzie says:

    @Josh:
    Have you considered that your friends are just braggarts?

  15. MacPeach says:

    I’ve often wondered what is the percentage of gay people coming from hetero families? It must be some astronomical number. So many homophobes spout the “becoming gay,” or fear gay parents, especially adoption because of their “influence” over the children and the danger therein. Yet every gay person I’ve ever met in all my sixty plus years, and thirty years working the theater, every single one came from a hetero family. Every. Single. One.

    And the incidence of children being sexually abused more often than not happens in their families, their friends, by straight men.

    This whole homophobic “The sky is falling, the sky is falling” is a deliberate distraction from more substantive issues. It seems to me we have far more to fear, actually fear, from straight men than gay men any day of the week.

  16. demonyc says:

    if it’s here i missed it, is there any stat on how long the time lag is before straights start to dress like gays?

  17. LR says:

    @Fabulous_Fact

    Heheh… I’m a dorky breeder. I like it.

  18. JT says:

    “have you ever had a sexual encounter with someone of the same sex?”

    i wonder how many straight people have said “no, and i don’t plan on it, but i’m not saying it would never happen”.

    also would like to see that chart breakdown by gender.

  19. Ryan B says:

    David, there are no stupid questions… except yours.

    If a straight male has anal sex with a female would he also have anal with a man if no one knew about it? No. He’s straight. He’s not attracted to men.

    Why do lesbians use toys on each other if they hate that part of a man? Because lesbians don’t hate penises. They like women.. as in more than just a vagina and a pair of tits.

    Sure more straight males are execting of lesbians because of the taboo that goes with them but are they really? What is this I don’t even

    Do gays/lesbians really care if some actor claims to be part of the cause? I can’t tell you how happy I was seeing Jack Harkness on Doctor Who. The character is pansexual. You don’t ever see a character on TV who is neither gay nor straight.

  20. lunarrainbow13 says:

    i don’t think it should matter if the person is gay or not as long as they love each other and treat each other right it shouldn’t make any difference if they r the same sex or not but that’s just me

  21. Kay says:

    @Jim, you’re absolutely right. Never mind that the political arena is open to any citizen (and in the United States, FCC v. AT&T allowed corporations the same rights and privelages as citizens– might be ‘off’ on my citation there, though; anyone care to confirm this?), groups like “OKCupid” should stop their meddling. I mean, it’s perfectly permissible for the Catholic Church (and those who flagrantly plagiarize the Church’s teachings while on a political podium) to do so, but they’re “speshul.”

    @David, there’s more to sexual attraction than genitalia. Given the way you used “know one,” I’ll phrase it differently; there’s more that makes someone horny than where they stick their junk/what gets stuck in their junk. Say you like boobs, and hips, and seksy feminine legs; you go get it on (uhntss uhntss uhntss) with a chick, or one who fits your definition of a chick. Whether you go for anal, vaginal, oral, or something else suffixed with an “al” doesn’t really matter– because in the grand scheme of things, you’re attracted to the person as a whole.

    On the flipside of that, lesbians don’t necessarily “hate that part of a man.” Some may, but I’m pretty sure being a lesbian is not defined by what they hate (eww, man-cooties D:) but what they like (’cause boobs ARE pretty neato). Further, not all lesbians use toys. Some straights use toys. Some gays use toys. Some loners who are bored and curious and are pretty sure their parents won’t be home for AT LEAST a couple of hours use toys. Short version? People are far too complicated to sum up their very being with something as binary as “straight/not straight.”

  22. Sid says:

    Homosexuality is a mental disease and perversion, by any sane definition of the words.

  23. Josh G says:

    The trick where you click the man/woman icon to see different views of the data is fantastically tasty UI-candy, but at least in one case—the Personality Traits by Orientation display—and probably more, it makes it hard to see answers to questions like: on which of these attributes are gay men like straight women, and vice versa. Tufte would say (I think) put all the data out there at once so we can see the contrasts, rather than making us flip back and forth. Your demonstrated graphical/UI taste will make itself known in other ways.

  24. Josh says:

    I’m curious about the sharp demarcation between state lines. The map appears to be subdivided by county to show in-state outliers like Austin in Texas, but there also appear to be drastic differences between adjacent counties in neighboring states where you wouldn’t expect there to be a massive cultural swing. For instance, why do the attitudes shift so sharply between Louisiana and Mississippi, or between southwest Virginia and its Appalachian neighbors? I have to think it must be a artifact of the number-crunching somehow.

  25. o says:

    How do you actually “report sex partners” on OkCupid?

  26. Kasidie says:

    Absolutely fantastic post! People underestimate how absolutely critical sexual compatibility is in relationships. OKCupid is highly regarded as a site for open-minded singles (heck, numerous of our staff here at Kasidie.com are single and are rabid OKCupid members and fans, and we’re a swingers site!) and it’s great to see you writing these articles!

  27. Adam says:

    KB has it nailed. The tone of this piece reads like pure propaganda, and Humor Rainbow should stick to non-partisan dating technologies. Here are some more “statistical realities” for readers:

    Percent of homosexual population: 4% (CDC, BMJ)
    Percent of population in favor of homosexuality: 34% (Pew Global Attitudes Project)
    Homosexuals 5,000% as likely to get HIV/AIDs (CDC, PHAC)
    Pedophilia cases by orientation: 80-90% homosexual (Jay, Marshall, Schmidt)
    Sex abuses in the Catholic church: 80% homosexual (John Jay Report)
    Domestic abuse rate, 5 year: 40% homosexual vs. 10% heterosexual (US Dept of Justice)
    Percent of Bible opposing versus promoting homosexuality: 0% promoting

  28. Bill says:

    Regardless of what your stats say, I don’t believe any of it for a second. I am bisexual and I can tell you that gay men have far more sex then straight people do.

    In regards to the HIV testing, good chance that might be the case. I know there is a greatly increased risk with bi or gays. Most get tested far more then straight people. However, I like many others won’t get tested because I would rather live happy not knowing. If I knew I was HIV positive, that would be a death sentence I couldn’t handle to hear about.

  29. Christopher says:

    This is not accurate at all. I know lots of gay guys and they have hit on me, especially when they are drunk. They have even told me that they want to convert me over and I refuse. Also I know some of their sexual histories and they are way over 6. Most of them are 50+ and don’t use much protection. I know their HIV prevalence is much much higher being an EMT. Just wiki it and you’ll see it’s much higher. I’m guessing whoever made this is either gay, had gay experiences and just has an agenda to try and curb public opinion. It’s not true but thanks for trying :)

  30. Devin says:

    “Can we see how much we deviate from the norm?”

    Well Curtis, everybody got to evelate from the norm.

  31. ken riegel says:

    Meh, do we really need all this research to know we should just treat everyone the same?

  32. Ragna the Bloodedge says:

    Daniel AJ, you’re a jackass.

  33. bryan says:

    Awesome statistical analysis!!!! I love when people try and quantify things like this to debunk BS that people throw out there. Also, as a scientist, I totally geek out on data. (despite that I’m gay, ha)

  34. Zeus McFly says:

    According to trends, I’m an incredibly gay man who likes lesbians. I guess it all balances out.

  35. Smeg says:

    What this informal study fails to address is this: why is is that lesbian sex is titillating to straight men, but the thought or image of two men together does not have a similar effect on a straight woman? Or in short, why are lesbians so hot?

  36. Kepesk says:

    Wow, as a straight guy from Oregon, I think I might know why I’m still single.

  37. Shawn says:

    Loved the bit about “Beyond Sex: Gay & Straight Personalities”. I would love to see the same date applied to gay male – straight female and straight male – gay female.

    shawn

  38. S says:

    @David

    1. Anal sex with a woman is still sex with a woman; it has no bearing on whether someone who performs that act would want to do it with a man.

    2. Not all lesbians “hate” penises and/or men. There are women who have them, after all! Besides, toys are not the same thing as a dick at all, because it’s still two women having sex. Lastly, not all women like penetrative sex, so there might not be those sort of toys used at all.

    3-5. Good questions! lol

    6. I figured it was a “one woman is great, two are better!” type thing, but I’m not gonna guess an absolute appeal or reason. It only becomes stupid when straight men think that lesbians want to have sex with them.

    7. It can be that, or just plain instilled hatred.

    8. I can’t speak for everyone, but every bit of public support helps, in my opinion. Whether anyone else cares… who knows.

  39. Sarah says:

    Oh wow, this is amazing and it really made my day. It’s interesting to see statistics on all of this (and nice to know not all dating sites are like eHarmony!)

    And you caught me on the Tegan and Sara, Bravo~ <3

  40. Josh says:

    This is the best blog on the internet.

  41. Love Is Love says:

    @KB

    With all the facets of facts you have on living the gay life, it’s a wonder gays can make it out of the womb without being instantly diseased, having banged at least 3 of the hospital staff and molested at least one of their fellow kiddies… and then getting dying (murdered, even)!

    Gosh, that’s a ROUGH life.

  42. Jason says:

    @Josh

    Your sample size is limited to your personal life and your personal life in show business is hardly representative of the norm. It makes no sense to draw conclusions about the entire country based on your limited personal experience. Okcupid’s sample is limited to those who use their site. Since not all people use their site, it is unlikely that their data is totally accurate to the country as a whole, either. But their sample size is much, much bigger and broader than yours and so is far more representative of the norm than yours. I would venture to guess that a population density map of Okcupid users would be similar to the more gay curios/less gay curious map in the article. If true, then the more conservative areas of the country would be underrepresented by their data.

  43. star says:

    @KB
    With all the facets of facts you have on living the gay life, it’s a wonder gays can make it out of the womb without being instantly diseased, having banged at least 3 of the hospital staff and molested at least one of their fellow kiddies… and then getting dying (murdered, even)!

    Gosh, that’s a ROUGH life.

  44. jason says:

    Regarding the “guns=violence” link that OKCupid made – violence is sometimes good and necessary, and sometimes it’s bad. It doesn’t really have a moral/normative component. Though I would like to see more gay people that own guns and know how to shoot, which is why I work with the Pink Pistols.

    Armed gay people don’t get bashed as easily.

  45. Paul says:

    I am so PROUD that I grew up in Oregon! (And now in Seattle, the gayest city in the USA) Way back, who’d have thought that choosing “The BEAVER State” for it’s moniker would turn Oregon so gay?

  46. Arianna says:

    OMG, people, please stop reading so literally into this. “I liked The Devil Wears Prada and I’m not gay” and “Women don’t know anything about the size of the Earth.” These are not pure facts, they are TRENDS. While trends do say a lot about the overall conditions of people/places/etc., they should not undergo such nitpicking. You guys are missing the point. The point is that gay, straight, bi, trans, whatever–people are very similar, and stereotypes are just that: stereotypes. With National Coming Out Day, recent gay-bashing, and recent suicides, we should be paying more attention to the fact that people are not so different despite identifications with certain orientations.

  47. Maria says:

    *Low* number of sex partners?? From my perspective, it seems rather high. I think you need to consider the fact that not everyone looks at sex the same way. If you’re OK with hooking up, even infrequently, then you’ll easily get over 25 in your lifetime. However, if you believe that sex is something you save until marriage, then more than one is vaguely sketchy and more than 5 is ridiculous. I think most people are somewhere in between – save sex for a long term relationship. 5 long term relationships over a lifetime seems pretty reasonable to me,and that’s where 50% of people end up. If you’ve been in 25+ long term relationships, you’re probably doing it wrong.

  48. Harry says:

    Mostly makes me wish I could date lesbians.

  49. heinousfairy says:

    KB says:
    October 12, 2010 at 4:40 pm
    Apparently OkCupid is biased and hasn’t done research on all the facts. Or of course they are purposely keeping you blind to the full grim truth.

    Of 80% of people engaged in homosexual acts half their partners are total strangers. How many partners do they have? The latest statistics that I can find indicate that the average homosexual has had more than 500 sexual partners. By their own admission, 50% of them are total strangers. 30% have had a thousand partners. Some as many as 1600. The average has 300 a year, translating into almost one different person a day. The conduct of their acts has no bounds, it all was launched in what were called gay bath houses where they used to have anonymous contact with 10 to 30 unknowns in one day. Similar kind of behavior is now found its way into other places. Every conceivable and inconceivable act is included, none of which we need to talk about.

    Homosexuals represent 1% to 2% of the population, but 50% of the people with AIDS. 1 in 20 of these people is a child molester; for the normal population it’s about 1 in 500 at the most. They are 1000 times more likely to get AIDS and 100 times more likely to be murdered. 80% of them have sexually transmitted diseases. The average death of our population is now 75. The average American dies at 75 while the average person engaged in homosexual life dies at 39. 2% live to 65.

    So, KB, where did you get your stats? The Westboro Baptist Church? These aren’t stats but hatred expressed through numbers. I’m so happy not to live in the US.

  50. Jack says:

    Congratulation Oregon for successfully removing the Puritan stick from up your ass.