OkCupid: Gay sex vs. straight sex

Say what you want about dating websites, but the fact is that the bigger ones with millions of registered users can provide a keen insight into the minds and habits of the average online dater (and by extension, the general population). That is the purpose behind OkTrends, a handy little research blog devoted to rounding up as much data as is made available by OkCupid users and presenting the results through graphs and charts for all to see. (We’ve already learned that atheists rank amongst the best writers, in general.)

Their latest post is one that may turn out to be much more relevant than the rest as it’s purpose isn’t only to provide advice for online dating. It’s a detailed and comprehensive examination of the differences between heterosexual and LGBT people, specifically in what pertains to bedroom activities. The findings, taken from a pool of 3.2 million OkCupid users both LGBT and straight, are nothing surprising to people who actually know some gays or lesbians (or are homo- or bisexual, themselves), but they are definitely worth sharing if only to serve as further confirmation of the almost painfully obvious.

Shocking revelation #1: Gays and lesbians aren’t out to pervert you (and thereby destroy society)!

First of all, gay sexuality is not a threat.

Gay people are not sexually interested in straights.

The subtext to a lot of homophobic thinking is the idea that gays will try to get straight people into bed at the first opportunity, or that gays are looking to "convert" straights. Freud called this concept schwanzangst; the U.S. Army calls it Don't Ask Don't Tell.

We combed through over 4 million match searches, and found virtually no evidence of it:

Match Search Returns

• only 0.6% of gay men have ever searched for straight matches.

• only 0.1% of lesbians have ever searched for straight matches.

• only 0.13% of straight people's profile visitors are gay.

[…]

Gay people aren't promiscuous.

Another common myth about gay people is that they sleep around, but the statistical reality is that gay people as a group aren't any more slutty than straights.

Median Reported Sex Partners

• straight men: 6

• gay men: 6

• straight women: 6

• gay women: 6

You’d think this (along with, well, everything else in this post) would be rather evident, but then, you’d be underestimating the brainpower (or, at least, the education) of the average gay-basher. No, LGBT people are not hankering after anything that moves, they don’t want you in their bed if you’re not interested in them, and they aren’t about to go out and shag a goat. (Poor caprine. Never gets any.) Strangely enough, being attracted to people of the same gender, rather than the opposite, doesn’t simultaneously turn you into a horndog. Otherwise, the world would be a rather gayer place (in both senses of the word).

Shocking revelation #2: Many straight people like to join in on the fagginess, too (and somehow not destroy society)!

Results are the average between men & women.

That’s almost a full quarter of the 252,900 straight respondents declaring they’ve already made out or full-on fornicated with someone who shared their particular type of genitals. Granted, less than 20% did so and actually enjoyed it, but that’s still just under 64,000 people who did, and that’s just from a group of people the size of a moderate city. You probably know more than one person around you who’s done it. And yet, they don’t seem to be degenerating into sluts, do they?

(Full disclosure: I’m well part of that wishful 11%, though only under certain conditions.)

We also get a gay little infographic (don’t hit me) showing some interesting yet, again, unsurprising cultural divides within the US and lower Canada:

Warmer (redder) = more gay curious, cooler (bluer) = less gay curious

Yup, just as I thought. That’s what we get for being all liberal and open-minded and hung like the moose that prowl our snow-swept streets. (Well, save for that last part. Somewhat.)

I’m actually a little surprised that the US northeast isn’t warmer. Isn’t that supposed to be the hub of pro-LGBT liberalism these days? Or are the anti-gay ravings of gubernatorial candidate Carl “bestiality videos are funny” Paladino (R-NY) that influential in the area?

There’s more to be gleaned about the differences (and similarities) between gays and straights, though it begins to boil down to inanities. However, there was one bit of bad news to be found …

For fuck’s sake, people. (Or, as the OkTrends blogger put it, “#facepalm”.)

(via @jakiking)

Tags: OkCupid • OkTrends • LGBT people • gays • lesbians • sex