# Is sex worth it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168 "2020-04-06T03:43:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/41 "2020-04-06T19:45:20Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > “Sex: the expense is damnable, the position is ridiculous, and the pleasure fleeting.” > – Samuel Johnson It certainly [wasn’t Johnson](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/04/16/pleasure/) who said that. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/42 "2020-04-06T20:07:13Z")
Sometimes it is very worth it, but other times, all you get is the wet spot. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/43 "2020-04-06T20:29:25Z")
I guess it depends on how much you care about the survival of our species. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/44 "2020-04-06T21:08:43Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Either you’re _really_ good at jigsaw puzzles or this is the most absurd humble-brag ever. Hah, I didn’t even think about that interpretation. Substitute birdwatching or the passing-the-time activity of your choice that doesn’t have a defined endpoint. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/45 "2020-04-06T21:11:40Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The proper analogy is sex is like pizza. When it’s good it’s great. When it’s bad it’s still pretty good. Nope. There’s nothing more over-rated than bad sex and nothing more under-rated as a good shit. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/46 "2020-04-06T21:36:14Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > It really does depend on what you are trying to achieve. While sexual reproduction does lead to genetic diversity in complex organisms that reproduce slowly, one can imagine other forms of genetic recombination, as well as mixed strategies involving both sexual and asexual reproduction. The worth of sex needs to be demonstrated in the context of complex evolutionary models, and certainly some research has been devoted to this question. Actually the few times the wife and I were doing it for the purpose of making a baby… well it felt weird. I mean she knew her cycle and I was this . . . well back on the farm we used to rent this bull to come over and service our cows (no really we did). Well I had trouble getting that image out of my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/47 "2020-04-06T22:02:44Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Hey, I didn’t order that pineapple anchovy jello pizza in the first place! I know, I did. It’s probably selfish 🙂 but I still get a kick out of remembering that when I was in a share house / room-mate situation, my pineapple anchovy pizza was safe from social pressure. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/48 "2020-04-06T23:21:21Z")
For me the sexual experience continued to improve as I aged. 71 now and still holds true even though my main weapon is not as consistent as it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/49 "2020-04-06T23:44:58Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > It certainly [wasn’t Johnson](https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/04/16/pleasure/) who said that. Well, that’s what I get for relying on memory and Google. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/50 "2020-04-07T01:10:04Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Nope. Nope, nope, nope. When it’s bad it can be utterly terrible. > > Whether it’s fantastic, good, meh, or awful depends on the person having it, who they’re having it with, and the circumstances. It’s an old joke but if you want to take it seriously that’s fine. If you are interested I have one about a chicken crossing the road… ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/51 "2020-04-07T01:13:43Z")
OP, do you masturbate? My opinion… yes worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/52 "2020-04-07T01:24:24Z")
The position is ridiculous. And after watching only a bit of it you feel like you are watching animals at the zoo. Still, I am generaly in favor of it. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/53 "2020-04-07T01:35:09Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It’s an old joke but if you want to take it seriously that’s fine. > > If you are interested I have one about a chicken crossing the road… Was there a hen involved? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/54 "2020-04-07T02:14:04Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > The position is ridiculous. And after watching only a bit of it you feel like you are watching animals at the zoo. > > Still, I am generaly in favor of it. Being actually in the midst of it rather obscures one’s own view of the activity, and I suspect for most participants the aesthetic composition of the the scene is its least important aspect. At the time. I mean, I can imagine the fuckers reviewing their mutual performance on a video replay and, being critical of some aspects of it, might seek ways to improve their proficiency. Most people are (I think) not like that. And some just [like to watch](https://youtu.be/EqL77G2x61E). ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/55 "2020-04-07T02:27:14Z")
The OP reminds me of [Nudge Nudge](https://youtu.be/4Kwh3R0YjuQ). The answer to the OP’s question is “yes”. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/56 "2020-04-07T06:44:32Z")
Reminds me of > [@Thomas Pynchon](#): > > When the lights of the compound were only a heavenly blur above some ridgeline, she stopped and took the marshal off his limbic subroutine. He sat weaving in the dark, white showing all around his irises, trying to readjust, figure out what was going on. … . > > “Say, Officer,” clapping her hands in his face, “talk to us. Shit, I thought I set it on low.” > > He croaked and swallowed for a while before saying, “Listen, would you like to go out sometime, maybe, for drinks? I mean I’m like a white-wine person myself, but, you know, whatever.” > > “Hrrumph” — DL, rolling her eyes, rattled open a map, snapped on a penlight — “this road here, coming out the north end of the reservation, near the creek?” > > All sheep’s eyes, he directed them onto a turnoff that connected with the road out. Radio traffic stayed routine, and soon they’d passed the unmanned gate and were back in public mapspace again, DL put on the brakes and nodded at the door. " 'Fraid you’ll have to hike back into Dodge, Marshal." > > “Don’t suppose there’s any chance you could show me, uh —” > > DL allowed him a quick but genuine sympathy shrug. “Takes years to learn, and by the time you do, it’s no fun anymore.” ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/57 "2020-04-07T13:08:39Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > For me the sexual experience continued to improve as I aged. 71 now and still holds true even though my main weapon is not as consistent as it used to be. Jumping out from a closet naked, yelling “SURPRISE!”, does lose it’s effect after a while. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/58 "2020-04-07T15:43:46Z")
Ah, his main weapon is surprise. Surprise, and fear. Two main weapons. Surprise, fear, and … oh, you guys finish it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/59 "2020-04-07T15:53:34Z")
Sex is not worth it, but still better than no sex. Way better. Way, way, way better. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2020, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168/60 "2020-04-08T19:41:29Z")
Yes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-sex-worth-it/851168.md?page=4)