The jury's out on whether or not it's a good idea to tell your partner the number of people you've had sex with, but at some point in a relationship, the topic will probably come up.
While we all have our reasons for keeping (or not keeping) our numbers on the down-low, a new survey indicates that women may feel more shame over a "high" number than men do.
In fact, in a survey of 1,000 Europeans and Americans, nearly 40% of American women said they didn't share their number with partners because they thought it was too high, while 36.7% of men felt their numbers were "average." And while only 14% of women thought their number was too low, 22% of men didn't share theirs because they thought it was on the lower end.
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That's compared to 30% of European women who thought that their number was too high, and 18% of men who felt the same way.
The survey, conducted by DrEd.com, an online health consulting website, analyzed how comfortable people are with sharing their sexual pasts with a new partner.
Americans, however, seemed more willing to be open about it — 54% of Americans preferred to tell a partner about their sexual history before getting into bed together, 17% preferred to do so after sex, and 29% didn't do so at all. On the other hand, 35% of Europeans said they'd discuss sexual history before bed, 21% would discuss it afterwards, and 43% never discussed it.
When it comes to your sexual history, you don't have to discuss everything — it's up to you and your partner to determine what's important to you. However, it's also good to keep in mind that there's really no such thing as a "normal" amount of people to have slept with, and your number is your business. Whether or not you choose to share it with someone.
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