Oh, Come On...Extroverts Have More Sex???
Plus 10 Time-Tested Tips for Introvert RelationshipsI recently read Peter Hollins' book The Science of Introverts. After all, some of the most shocking things I've learned this past year have to do with the root cause of introversion being science and our own brain - not from shyness, lack of...
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Oh, Come On...Extroverts Have More Sex???
I recently read Peter Hollins' book The Science of Introverts. After all, some of the most shocking things I've learned this past year have to do with the root cause of introversion being science and our own brain - not from shyness, lack of confidence, or anxiety.So I was curious to see if Hollins could teach me more lesser-known facts to share with you. What stood out most was the assertion that extroverts have more sex than introverts.
Hypothesis: Extroverts have more sex
Statistically, Hollins quotes what appears to be a large, reputable study in Germany that reported that extroverted men have sex 5.5 times per month on average compared to 3.0 for introverted men. Extroverted women had sex 7.5 times per month on average compared to 3.1 times for introverted women. These are significant disparities - more than double! Why?
Hollins offers two primary causes. First, in order for two people to have sex, they must meet. Extroverts simply socialize more. After a day's work and certainly when the week is over, extroverts re-energize in the company of others while introverts tend to go home. So naturally, one has a better chance of meeting a potential partner if you are "in circulation" than if your nose is buried in a book. This supposition seems to make logical sense.
Secondly, Hollins suggests that since introverts tend to be more introspective and also suffer more from anxiety that we are less apt to create an atmosphere conducive for sex; ie, our conversations are not typically fun and carefree but intense and perhaps depressing. Thus, each party may not be as open to sex, presumably whether this is early in the relationship or part of a long-term relationship or marriage. I understand what Hollins is talking about. A while back, I wrote about Introvert's Paralysis - our difficulty in being able to generate relaxing, natural conversation when thrust into the spotlight. I even extrapolated that further in a Facebook post titled Coitus Introvertus, the theory that the act of sex can be challenging for some introverts when minds wander from the lovemaking itself to the many other thoughts, concerns, or dreams floating around in our own brains. So I can recognize Hollins' second point as well.
Counterpoints
However, I'd like to flip this script on its head a bit. Like many conversations and research regarding introversion, this assumes a lack of social skills which, in this case, can be detrimental to one's sex life. I disagree.
While introverts are less likely to be hanging out at the bar, and therefore I suggest we have a lower chance of contracting STDs, our tendency to dive deeper into relationships leads to a quicker assessment of our compatibility and a greater degree of interest and understanding. This likely doesn't happen in a 10-minute conversation, but can happen in a one-hour chat in the car while parked in a grocery parking lot (yes, that's how my wife and I knew we were meant to be)! So perhaps I'm agreeing with Hollins a bit. Maybe our frequency of sex particularly early in relationships (like day one), may be less, but the longevity of those relationships and, dare I say, perhaps the quality of sex resulting from a deeper bond rather than a one-night stand, may swing toward the introvert's advantage.
I suspect some of you introverted readers are nodding your heads in violent agreement. Others may recall that one-night-stand that perhaps even developed into your long-term commitment and disagree with me. I can (barely) recall the latter when I was in college (before I met my wife). But my memory is faint not because it was so long ago (though it was), but because of the sheer amount of alcohol that was necessary for me to relax and actually talk to a female, not to mention a stranger, back in those days.
My further research doesn't identify a discernable difference between introverts' and extroverts' marriage or divorce rates but does find that infidelity is the second largest reason (sandwiched between #1: lack of commitment and #3: too much arguing/conflict) for divorce. Intrinsically, I'd suggest introverts have a greater degree of loyalty (our Introvert Talent Quiz found this as one of the key strengths of introverts) and certainly a disdain for conflict. A Psychology Today 2019 article, Are Extroverts More Likely to be Unfaithful Than Introverts?, suggests that especially highly extroverted individuals are indeed more likely to be unfaithful while those that strive for agreement (read: introverts) are more likely to sort through issues and remain together.
The conclusion is that assuming Hollins' statistics are accurate, I can probably see why extroverts, on average, may have more sex than introverts. However, I would also suggest that introverts have more quality, long-term relationships filled with communication and compromise.
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