# Samuel Delany had 50,000 partners: credible? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709 "2007-05-04T03:18:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/41 "2007-05-05T06:12:54Z")
[QUOTE=Rubystreak] Why would someone lie about something like this? Any ideas? [/QUOTE] Why would a man lie about how many sexual partners he had? You really don’t understand men, do you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/42 "2007-05-05T14:32:48Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Why would a man lie about how many sexual partners he had? You really don’t understand men, do you? 😉 [/QUOTE] I don’t understand a man who’d say he fucked the population of a small city, no. Don’t think that means I don’t understand men, though. Just maybe this particular man. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/43 "2007-05-05T16:02:37Z")
Does the “NYC gay scene” still exist the way it did before AIDS? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/44 "2007-05-05T16:06:56Z")
One more thing. Note that he’s not saying he had sex 50,000 times, but that he had sex with 50,000 different people. Has he never had sex with the same person twice? Never been in even a brief relationship with anyone? I mean I’ve had a fair amount of sex, but fewer than ten partners in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/45 "2007-05-05T20:10:11Z")
[QUOTE=Rubystreak] I don’t understand a man who’d say he fucked the population of a small city, no. [/QUOTE] There’s a guy in Washington DC who’s fucked a medium-sized country… 😉 ---
**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:** [May 5, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/46 "2007-05-05T20:55:18Z")
Maybe he’s counting the way they do in those STD PSAs. You know, the ones that say “You’ve not only had sex with these three people, but with everyone they’ve had sex with, and everyone _they’ve_ had sex with, and…” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/47 "2007-05-05T21:04:05Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] There’s a guy in Washington DC who’s fucked a medium-sized country… 😉 [/QUOTE] Medium-sized country? He’s done it to a much larger one, too… ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/48 "2007-05-06T05:23:20Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] There’s a guy in Washington DC who’s fucked a medium-sized country… 😉 [/QUOTE] Maybe if he blew each person individually he’d have a higher approval rating, eh? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/49 "2007-05-06T05:29:56Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Does the “NYC gay scene” still exist the way it did before AIDS? [/QUOTE] In three words, yes and no. Just the way it did? No, never again. AIDS changed everything for gay men, nothing is the same as it was before. Is there still a whole fucking lot of unprotected fucking any time you want it? Absolutely yes, and there’s a whole new surge of young morons fueling it. And I believe Delaney did tens of thousands, no problem. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/50 "2007-05-06T05:42:57Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Does the “NYC gay scene” still exist the way it did before AIDS? [/QUOTE] There is a NYC gay scene, but for gay men, \*\*\*nothing \*\*\*still exists the way it used to. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2007, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709/51 "2007-05-06T07:38:29Z")
I was a Gay young slut in NYC (pre-AIDs) for years and, having learned the skills, continued my work in Berlin…but 50,000? I freely admit to thousands over the years (really, and have no regrets whatsoever), and I met lots of guys with totals like myself, but at some point, even the most jaded start to get picky and/or no longer have the body to attract the masses. I won’t say 50,000 is impossible…but I think he might be exaggerating somewhat. BTW, my hetero friends were all jealous of me back then…and most freely admitted that if they only had the opportunity, they too would have been out doing the same - it just wasn’t as easy for them to hook up with women as fast and furious as it was for Gay guys. However, ask them how often they masturbated and, well, the numbers seemed to add up. I would also like to add that I eventually found the man of my dreams and we have been together 26 years last February. He wasn’t exactly inexperienced either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/samuel-delany-had-50-000-partners-credible/402709.md?page=2)