According to new YouGov data, we’re all seriously divided over what can be considered sexual intercourse.
The market research and data analytics firm asked 5807 adults in the UK what they considered to count as ‘sex’ and it’s safe to say we all have different views depending on our age, sexuality and more.
The sampling pool included gay men, lesbians, bisexual men and women and heterosexual individuals from the age of 18 to over 65.
Let’s get into it.
So, do blow jobs and cunnilingus count as ‘having sex’?
Whether it be oral sex on a man or oral sex on a woman, the results are the same: 44-45% consider that act, on its own, to not count as ‘having sex’.
By contrast, 40-41% disagree, saying that it does count (8% are unsure and 7% prefer not to offer a view).
Sexuality plays a greater role in people’s opinion, with gay and bisexual men significantly more likely to say a blow job counts as sex (57% say so), with lesbian and bisexual women likewise saying so of cunnilingus (54%).
The generational divide also comes into play – according to YouGov’s results, Brits over 50 consider oral sex to count as having sex: 54-56% say it is whether it be on a man or a woman, compared to 29% who say it is not.
But go under the age of 50 and these figures are basically reversed.
Do hand jobs and fingering count as having sex?
While many of us consider oral as sex, the same can’t be said when it comes to getting our hands dirty.
Hand jobs and fingering are both generally seen as not counting as having sex by themselves (52% in the case of the former and 48% for the latter).
Only around a third (34-37%) of those surveyed considered the two acts to be sex in and of themselves.
However, lesbian and bisexual women are more likely to see fingering as sex in its own right (49%).
But then age comes into play again.
The older you are the more likely you are to see getting handsy as sex – older Britons do tend to see fingering as sex by 48% to 37%.
Younger Brits however? They reckon hand stuff does not count as sex (58% say hand jobs don’t, and 62% say fingering doesn’t).
Our take on it all? There’s no right answer – as long as sex is safe and consensual, we’re all about it (and whatever you define it as).