The Top 5 Most Commonly Believed Sex Myths

By Em Sloane

When it comes to sex education, many individuals feel left in the dark, leaving many of us believing in various myths and falsehoods about sex, pleasure and their health well into their adult lives.

In an attempt to better educate Britain on sexual health, Lovehoney ran a survey, revealing the most prevalent sex myths and partnered with a sex expert to debunk the most common misconceptions about sex.

According to Lovehoney’s research, it’s clear that there is no shortage of sexual misinformation circulating and sex expert Ness Cooper from The Sex Consultant debunks the top 5 most commonly believed sex myths.

1. ‘Erectile dysfunction is a normal part of growing older and men have to learn to live with it.’

Believed by a third (34%) of individuals

‘Almost 70% of men / those with penises will experience erectile dysfunction by the time they are 70. However, we shouldn’t classify it as normal, as there are many reasons it can affect an individual and these can vary from person to person.’

‘Anyone experiencing erectile issues should see a medical professional to find out the cause. Once the cause of erectile dysfunction is found whether that is psychological, physical, or a mixture of both, there are many treatment methods to help manage symptoms.

2. Sex shouldn’t be painful for women if they are attracted to their partner

Believed by over 1 in 4 (27%) individuals

‘Being attracted to your partner doesn’t stop sex from being painful if you’re experiencing pain during penetration. If you are attracted to your partner it can mean you become aroused easier when thinking or being with them, and this can lead to producing more vaginal lubrication naturally, but may not solve intercourse related pain. There are many reasons someone may experience pain during penetration but whether or not you’re attracted to someone isn’t one of them.’

3. You can tell when you have a STI

Believed by 1 in 5 (21%) individuals

‘Sometimes STIs can go unnoticed due to the incubation time before they really become active in the body. Even when an STI is active and showing up on test results, there aren’t always symptoms. This is why it’s important to get tested regularly as we can’t always tell if we have contracted one.’

4. You can get an STI from a toilet seat

Believed by almost 1 in 5 (18%) individuals

‘STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) don’t spread on toilet seats, and ones that spread through contact of bodily fluids don’t survive outside of the body long enough to be transmittable through sitting on them on a toilet seat. The fear of STIs being transmitted via toilet seats has been going around for far too long.’

5. Pulling out is an effective method of contraception

Believed by 15% of individuals

‘Whilst precum often only contains trace amounts of active sperm there is a possibility someone could get pregnant from penetration that has pre-ejaculation. This means that the pull-out method isn’t always reliable.’

Other key findings

Almost 1 in 3 individuals do not seek sexual health advice from any source
One in ten men get their sexual health advice from porn
Understanding the importance of communication is the number one thing individuals wish they had learned about sex sooner.
Feeling sexy in your own skin was one of the most popular lessons women wished they’d learned sooner with a third (33%) agreeing compared to only 19% of men.