It’s not such a stupid question. To celebrate Valentine's Day, Health24 released the first results from the Great South African Sex Survey, and it turns out we're turned on by… well, read on.

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Let's get this out of the way first: men are emphatically more fixated on sex than women are, with more than 32 percent of them admitting that they fantasise about sex hourly or more, compared to only 7 percent of women. Look around the room you're sitting in. Within any given hour, according to our survey results, a third of the men are having a quiet little moment. It's a thought that gives pause.

That might have something to do with the way we fall in love. When you're in love with a man, say four out of five of South African women, sex is at its best (fewer men make the connection between great sex and being in love). And overwhelmingly, women say it's a man's personality that causes them to fall in love (men are much more susceptible to the charms of a gorgeous body and a beautiful face than women are).

So when a hottie walks through the room, men are more likely to be distracted from spreadsheets or whatever they were working on, than women. Hence the sexy daydreams.

How was the survey conducted?
The Great South African Sex Survey was conducted online on the Health24 website between mid-December 2007 and 31st January 2008, and attracted just under 11 000 entries. The results were weighted to reflect the dominant demographic, which is urban adults, educated to matric level or higher (one in four have tertiary education degrees or diplomas). Just under two thirds are aged 25-49, with the remaining third falling on either side of this age group; and about half have English or Afrikaans as their home language, with the balance being made up of those whose home language was one of South Africa's other national languages.

So, how important is sex generally?
How important is electricity? Just on three quarters of South Africans say that sex is 'extremely' or 'very' important to them.

The urge comes and goes according to various influences, but the middle group of respondents – those aged 25 to 39 – are most likely to have had one or more one-night stands, that infallible indicator of sex for the joy of it (a full 70 percent of us have had at least one of those fleeting liaisons by then). So that's when South Africa apparently hits its sexual stride – out there, available, and up for it. A little younger, we're clearly more cautious, or less keen to leave in the morning; a little older and - well, a lot of us have married, and are not in that game any more.

And sex with yourself – another indicator of the pleasure taken in sexuality – is pretty much a gender-blind activity these days, with roughly equivalent figures for both sexes. Men still have the edge, though: 71 percent of them get with the masturbation programme, compared to 67 percent of women.

The Great South African Sex Survey also found out that:

• We like porn – A full 90 percent of men and women say it blows their hair back all or some of the time.
• Nearly a fifth of all men – 19 percent – think their penis is too small.
• Younger people – those under the age of 24 – are enviably adventurous. For instance, they're more likely to have had a threesome than any other age category (27 percent compared to the overall figure of 20 percent, which means the under-24s are really putting their back into upping the national average, while those who've been sexually active longer are letting the threesome-side down). Brilliant start, girls and guys.
• What’s next? I know – group sex: only 6 percent had got that one under their belt by the time of their 24th birthday (compared to an even more dismal overall 3 percent).
• The under-24s are showing the rest of us the way, too, when it comes to responsible sex, so that's a round of applause due to South Africa's various sex education groups. They've got the edge when it comes to insisting on condoms with new partners – 92 percent, compared to the national average of 86 percent, are condom-wise.
• The definition of 'new', though, is a bit of a moveable feast: 15 percent of women under 24 and 59 percent of men under 24 admit that they have in the past had unprotected sex with someone when they're not formally in a relationship (compared to 33 percent and 55 percent on average). A partner is 'new" until you've had the test, and committed to being faithful to one another.

Good news for toy boys
By the way, that figure about women thinking the best sex happens when you're in love with a man drops significantly to 70 percent when the women hit the over-50-year age group. That should be good news for toy boys the world over.

Oh, and finally: 82 percent of us say we're in love with our partners, and even more (84 percent) have partners that turn us on. Happy Valentine's Day!

Keep your eye on Health24: as this analysis continues, we'll be providing more feedback. We anticipate having the full report-back available by February 29.

(Heather Parker, Health24, February 2008) 

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