# Men Obsessed by Sex? Cite? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 15, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118 "2007-01-15T20:36:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/1 "2007-01-15T20:36:49Z")
One often hears it bandied about that “On average, men think about sex every eight seconds.” While this seems to confirm our suspicions about the subject, is this statistic correct? Is it backed by scientific research? Also: how often do _women_ think about sex? Surely someone has studied that question as well? ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/2 "2007-01-15T20:41:58Z")
[QUOTE=SSgtBaloo] One often hears it bandied about that “On average, men think about sex every eight seconds.” While this seems to confirm our suspicions about the subject, is this statistic correct? Is it backed by scientific research? Also: how often do _women_ think about sex? Surely someone has studied that question as well? [/QUOTE] I’ve heard it too. I think it’s right up there with aliens as the biggest load of horse-puckey I’ve ever heard. I certainly don’t think about it that often. Perhaps it’s another of those instances where statistics lie. If you’re thinking about sex _during sex_, and it lasts for x amount of time, plus the time you spent planning said sex, plus the “assumed” dreams about sex, maybe you could get an average…but certainly nowhere nears 8 seconds out of a minute…that’s 7.5% of the day, or 1.8 hours. How many guys do you know that HONESTLY last for 1.8 hours? EVERY DAY?!?!? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/3 "2007-01-15T20:47:49Z")
[QUOTE=SSgtBaloo] One often hears it bandied about that “On average, men think about sex every eight seconds.” [/QUOTE] Not even close. From [here](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003668.html): > [@](#): > > Andersen and Cyranowski do, as it happens, report some other research that actually measured the frequency of sexual thoughts among women and men – with results totally at variance with Brizendine’s assertions: > > > [@](#): > > > > Data comparing the frequency of internally generated thoughts (fantasies) and externally prompted thoughts (sexual urges) among young heterosexual men and women indicate that men report a greater frequency of urges than do women (4.5/day vs. 2.0/day), although the frequency of fantasies were similar (2.5/day; Jones & Barlow, 1990). > > That reference is Jones, J. C., & Barlow, D. H. (1990). “Self-reported frequency of sexual urges, fantasies, and masturbatory fantasies in heterosexual males and females.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 19, 269-279. (According to its PsycInfo abstract, this study involved “49 male and 47 female heterosexual undergraduates” – probably one introductory psychology course – who “self-monitored the frequency of fantasies, urges, and masturbatory fantasies for 7 consecutive days”. And “urges” are “externally provoked sexual throughts”, while “fantasies” are “internally generated sexual thoughts”.) > > Hmm. **Adding up this study’s tally of undergraduate male sexual thoughts, we get 4.5 male urges + 2.5 male fantasies per day on average, for a total of 7 sexual thoughts, or one every (24_60_60/7 =) 12,342 seconds.** Compare Dr. Brizendine’s figures: “85 percent of twenty- to thirty-year-old males think about sex every fifty-two seconds”. That’s more than 237 times hornier – even if the other 15 percent never thought about sex at all, the average frequency would still be at least two orders of magnitude greater than Jones & Barlow report. (And they sampled male undergraduate psychology students, who must surely be near their life maximum of sexual consciousness.) The quoted study is published [here](http://content.apa.org/journals/ccp/63/6/891.html), for those with a subscription. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/4 "2007-01-15T20:50:22Z")
With any topic like this, you must realize that science couldn’t have provided any study that backs up the claim because the definitional problems preclude any real science. “On average, men think about sex every eight seconds.” 1. Problem #1 is what they mean by average. That statistic would lead you to believe that the thoughts occur frequently and extremely regularly throughout the day. However, literally thinking about sex about every 8 seconds would preclude getting anything else done. The thought itself would take some time. At the very least, that means that men think about sex for a solid three hours a day. That may or may not be reasonable for a teenager but does it accurately capture the thoughts of 40 and 60 year old men as well? 2. Problem #2 is the killer for being truly scientific if it isn’t just flat made up. What does think about sex mean? Does it mean hard-core porn going off in your head or does it just mean things that are peripherally related to sex like thinking about a SO fondly or contemplating asking someone out on a date? All statements of this type are crap just for future definition. I went to grad school in a related field and I have never seen such a study although I have heard of this statistic before. A truly scientific study would never be given in such terms. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/5 "2007-01-15T20:52:36Z")
What did you say? My mind was elsewhere… ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/6 "2007-01-15T21:23:35Z")
I always figured it meant 8 seconds _between_ periods of sexual thought. In other words, we men have occasional 8 second interludes of _non-sexual thought_. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/7 "2007-01-15T22:12:36Z")
I think this is one of those situations where “my post is my cite” is entirely appropriate 😉 (I can’t believe I just wrote that) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/8 "2007-01-15T22:23:20Z")
I always want to know how long we spend thinking about work, or money, or the kids or… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/9 "2007-01-15T22:24:45Z")
::fap fap fap fap fap:: ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/10 "2007-01-15T23:08:18Z")
> [@](#): > > ::fap fap fap fap fap:: I don’t know what this sound signifies, and I don’t want to know! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/11 "2007-01-16T01:39:55Z")
Silly **Shoshona** , never say on the SDMB that you don’t want to know something. I believe that the allusion is to our own **Diogenes** ’ namesake, an ancient Greek philosopher who enjoyed getting the Athenians into unusual modes of thought. One of his excercises in this regard was masturbating publicly in the middle of the forum. When challenged upon it, he replied that he was harming nobody, and in fact was addressing a biological need and therefore doing some good, and asked why, therefore, he should be punished for it. Given this, I believe that that sound effect was meant to signify the repetetive back-and-forth stroking characteristic of typical male human masturbation. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/12 "2007-01-16T01:50:01Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] Silly **Shoshona** , never say on the SDMB that you don’t want to know something. I believe that the allusion is to our own **Diogenes** ’ namesake, an ancient Greek philosopher who enjoyed getting the Athenians into unusual modes of thought. One of his excercises in this regard was masturbating publicly in the middle of the forum. When challenged upon it, he replied that he was harming nobody, and in fact was addressing a biological need and therefore doing some good, and asked why, therefore, he should be punished for it. Given this, I believe that that sound effect was meant to signify the repetetive back-and-forth stroking characteristic of typical male human masturbation. [/QUOTE] Ew. There’s a brief scene in the newest Jimmy Buffett book where Our Hero, Tully Mars meets two hot young things in Belize, and they’re obviously interested in him. One of them makes the comment about: [paraphrasing because I lent the book to my neighbor] “Studies have been shown that within 5 seconds of meeting a woman, a man thinks about having sex with her” At which point the sister says “one thousand one, one thousand two…” [/paraphrasing] It’s funnier when you read it. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/13 "2007-01-16T03:11:32Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Bus Guy] It’s funnier when you read it. [/QUOTE] Yes, it is. One thousand one, One thousand two, One thousand three, … ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/14 "2007-01-16T03:19:06Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] Silly **Shoshona** , never say on the SDMB that you don’t want to know something. I believe that the allusion is to our own **Diogenes** ’ namesake, an ancient Greek philosopher who enjoyed getting the Athenians into unusual modes of thought. One of his excercises in this regard was masturbating publicly in the middle of the forum. When challenged upon it, he replied that he was harming nobody, and in fact was addressing a biological need and therefore doing some good, and asked why, therefore, he should be punished for it. Given this, I believe that that sound effect was meant to signify the repetetive back-and-forth stroking characteristic of typical male human masturbation. [/QUOTE] You’ve got it. This is the only message board I know of where I could be sure that at least one person would get the historical reference. ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/15 "2007-01-16T03:37:52Z")
Is anyone else here wondering how on earth such a “study” would be done? Do researchers follow men around with a clipboard asking, “Are you thinking about sex now? What about now? Now? Surely you are now! What about this time? Now? Now? What about now?” “Well I wasn’t thinking about it the first seven times you asked, but then I wondered why the hell you’ve been following me around all day, then I remembered it was a study about sex, so now I’m thinking about sex.” ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/16 "2007-01-16T04:13:44Z")
[QUOTE=Tully Mars] Yes, it is. One thousand one, One thousand two, One thousand three, … [/QUOTE] “You can stop counting now cowboy…”\* - Pointing out that the above is in quotation marks, before y’all get ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/17 "2007-01-16T04:18:27Z")
What is this “sex” of which you speak? ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/18 "2007-01-16T04:21:00Z")
The statement in the OP doesn’t parse at all. For example, if I spend 1/10th of a second thinking of sex, and I do so every 8 seconds, that’s less than 18 minutes a day. OTOH, I’m sure I could spend hours at a stretch thinking about sex with a little incentive (hot psych undergrads with papers to do, msg me!). Heck, if you’re a porn star or a Harlequin romance writer, you’re slacking off if there’s less than 7 hours of sex in your day! Though it’s more likely the study was as thorough as the one that inspired [this item.](http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/04/12) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/19 "2007-01-16T04:25:24Z")
[QUOTE=Mbossa] Is anyone else here wondering how on earth such a “study” would be done? Do researchers follow men around with a clipboard asking, “Are you thinking about sex now? What about now? Now? Surely you are now! What about this time? Now? Now? What about now?” “Well I wasn’t thinking about it the first seven times you asked, but then I wondered why the hell you’ve been following me around all day, then I remembered it was a study about sex, so now I’m thinking about sex.” [/QUOTE] I’ve had the same thought only it was guys jotting down in a journal. “Oh, I just thought of sex. Must record that for the professor . . . and again! Can’t miss getting that one down. Once more. Dang, my writing hand’s getting tired.” and so on ad infinitum. Kind of reminds me of a recipe I saw once for converting lead into gold. Quite simple, really. You just take a bar of lead, melt it in a crucible, and stir it widdershins for a half hour while _not_ thinking of the word elephant. ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118/20 "2007-01-16T07:27:00Z")
[QUOTE=DesertDog] I’ve had the same thought only it was guys jotting down in a journal. “Oh, I just thought of sex. Must record that for the professor . . . and again! Can’t miss getting that one down. Once more. Dang, my writing hand’s getting tired.” and so on ad infinitum. [/QUOTE] I always imagined some poor guys running aound with one of those [pushbutton counter thingies](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_i_2/002-2067502-4816062?ie=UTF8&keywords=tally%20counter&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Atally%20counter%2Ci%3Atools&page=1) in one hand, frantically pressing the button while trying to keep up with his overactive imagination. Say, Mods! If nobody produces a cite before Wednesday, let’s just shove this over to IMHO, okay? Tanks! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-obsessed-by-sex-cite/388118.md?page=2)