# Straight Men & Sexual Thoughts **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2012, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244 "2012-02-28T10:22:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/1 "2012-02-28T10:22:55Z")
How often do you think about sex? I mean things along the lines of imagining a specific/non-specific woman naked or picturing engaging in some specific act with her (from kissing to whatever). Does something trigger the thoughts? How has this frequency changed (if it has) with age? I’ve read statistics on this, but I’d like to hear from the source. Also, have you ever had long periods of time (days, weeks, months, years) when you didn’t think about sex much or at all, maybe due to grief, illness, or other plagues/woes? Did you ever deliberately try to stop thinking about sex for a long period of time? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/2 "2012-02-28T10:50:31Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > How often do you think about sex? A lot. It’s not easy to come up with an estimate of how often but I guess I’d say there probably isn’t a waking half hour period that goes by without it entering my mind in some way. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Does something trigger the thoughts? Sometimes, but not always. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > How has this frequency changed (if it has) with age? I’m only 22- I think I probably think about it as much as I did in high school. Maybe more in high school because I was surrounded by girls every day. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Also, have you ever had long periods of time (days, weeks, months, years) when you didn’t think about sex much or at all, maybe due to grief, illness, or other plagues/woes? When I’ve been sick enough to actually be in a lot of pain I think about it less but it still enters my thoughts pretty frequently. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Did you ever deliberately try to stop thinking about sex for a long period of time? Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/3 "2012-02-28T11:06:37Z")
Not that frequently IME. Typically 3 or 4 times a day maybe; I can certainly go all day at work without thinking of such things. If I’m in the early stages of dating probably double that. But part of it depends on how we define sexual thoughts. If I see a hot girl, there’s an instinctive “Wow, look at her!” that happens; and this can happen many times in a day. But for me these don’t usually progress to actually imagining these women nude or thinking about sex itself. I’m 32 FTR. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/4 "2012-02-28T11:31:14Z")
I’m 44, straight, and yeah, probably a couple of times an hour. Doesn’t mean my libido is necessarily enormous, but it’s never far from my thoughts. The only time it went away was when I had acute depression. And yes I do undress hot women in my mind. No apologies - it’s in my nature. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/5 "2012-02-28T11:33:57Z")
If I were to survive a nuclear attack, I think I’d stop thinking about sex once in a while. Then again, the thought of all those babes roaming the shattered, uninhabited, irradiated city with their blouses in tatters–that is HOT!! ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/6 "2012-02-28T13:51:13Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I’m 44, straight, and yeah, probably a couple of times an hour. Doesn’t mean my libido is necessarily enormous, but it’s never far from my thoughts. The only time it went away was when I had acute depression. And yes I do undress hot women in my mind. No apologies - it’s in my nature. Pretty much the same for me, right down to the age (except the part about depression- N/A). ---
**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:** [February 28, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/7 "2012-02-28T14:37:00Z")
Why is this thread only for straight guys? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/8 "2012-02-28T14:42:56Z")
I think the OP was asking about sex with women, but yeah, I don’t know why the constraints. The thoughts about sex have never changed for me. The capacity to follow up on such thoughts- well, that is another story. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/9 "2012-02-28T15:07:57Z")
When I was in my teens (1970s) I read about a study showing that teenage boys thought about sex about once a minute. Teenage girls averaged once in five minutes. I remember thinking about that article off and on for the next ten years and feeling that, yep, I was thinking about sex about once a minute. I’m in my 50s now, and sometimes hours go by without sexual thoughts. That might not be the case if I didn’t work at home. Footnote: A few years back I tried to find some internet reference to that study, or to any similar, more recent studies. No success. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/10 "2012-02-28T15:08:41Z")
I’m 31. I think about sex probably a few times an hour, but the frequency can be vary wildly. If I’m engaged in an activity that is mentally stimulating then such thoughts don’t usually ever interrupt what I’m doing. On the other hand, when idle or just working on a low level of intellectual engagement, sexual thoughts can creep in all the time to distraction. I think I’m just basically horny unless distracted by something more interesting. It doesn’t take much to distract that type of thought process though. Actual _active_ sexual thoughts are different, and more interesting than just about anything else. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/11 "2012-02-28T15:10:00Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Footnote: A few years back I tried to find some internet reference to that study, or to any similar, more recent studies. No success. [It’s not true](http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/thinksex.asp). ---
**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:** [February 28, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/12 "2012-02-28T15:14:00Z")
I think about it a lot I guess. Depends on what I am doing. If I’m busy I’m concentrating on that. If I see a pretty girl then of course I think of it. Age hasn’t changed it. Having sex on a very regular basis makes me think less about it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/13 "2012-02-28T15:43:22Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > A lot. It’s not easy to come up Giggity. > [@](#): > > with an estimate of how often but I guess I’d say there probably isn’t a waking half hour period that goes by without it entering my Giggity. > [@](#): > > mind in some way. Giggity giggity goo! ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/14 "2012-02-28T15:48:28Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If I see a pretty girl then of course I think of it. You say “of course” but I can see a pretty girl and be attracted to her, heck, even think she has a great body, without actually thinking about sex or genitalia. I am a freak? I’d always suspected as much, but I didn’t think it would be because of being under-sexed. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/15 "2012-02-28T16:41:43Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > [It’s not true](http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/thinksex.asp). It may very well not be true, but that Snopes report doesn’t seem to refute it. The report deals with averages (everyone. rather than people in their peak hormonal years), and reports on studies made with golf clickers – which seems pretty inefficient. (My thoughts were most active in classrooms or other social settings where clicking away with a golf counter would be very embarrassing.) I’m not sure how a valid study could be conducted. Wiring brains to record patterns typical of sexual thoughts and sending the subjects out into the everyday world? But as a teenage/young adult the once a minute figure seemed very believable. (The “seven second” figure that Snopes mentions, much less so.) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/16 "2012-02-28T16:45:49Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Why is this thread only for straight guys? Because I’m a woman and that’s what I’M interested in knowing. It’s not a scientific study-- it’s my personal research. By all means, someone start a different thread for YOUR own question. 🙂 To whoever said “no apologies”-- not looking for any. I’m delighted with these responses. They confirm what I was hoping would be the case. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/17 "2012-02-28T16:48:13Z")
It’s an unanswerable question as asked. What does it mean to think about sex? If I see an attractive women, like **Mijin** says, I will acknowledge to myself that she’s attractive, but not think about her sexy bits much. Full blown (giggity) sex fantasies (giggity) come (that is also sexual) to me probably less than once a day. But it’s not like I really take note of when that happens. I will admit that I often think about sex while masturbating. Is that wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/18 "2012-02-28T17:22:28Z")
I’m interested as well. If I may barge in, ThelmaLou, how far do these sexual thoughts go? “The projections for this quarter… hey there comes Jane from accounting…nice ass… okay, the projections for this quarter” . Or is it more along the lines of “The projections for this quarter… hey there comes Jane from accounting…nice ass…hmnn, how would it feel to caress that ass all the way to…\… okay, the projections for this quarter” . ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/19 "2012-02-28T17:27:42Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > I’m interested as well. If I may barge in, ThelmaLou, how far do these sexual thoughts go? > > “The projections for this quarter… hey there comes Jane from accounting…nice ass… okay, the projections for this quarter” . > > Or is it more along the lines of > > “The projections for this quarter… hey there comes Jane from accounting…nice ass…hmnn, how would it feel to caress that ass all the way to…\… okay, the projections for this quarter” . The first, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244/20 "2012-02-28T17:29:49Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > The first, IMHO. Me too, most of the time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-men-sexual-thoughts/614244.md?page=2)