When it comes to sex, how long is too long?
Hello everyone and welcome to DNews, I’m Dr. Crystal Dilworth here to discuss Intravaginal
Ejactulatory Latency Time.
Otherwise known as the time it takes a heterosexual couples to have sex.
So how long “should” you be having sex for anyway?
And are you…”normal”?
Well in attempting to answer these questions, I discovered that “normal” has actually
changed with societal expectations, and the average length of intercourse has varied over
time.
So it’s not just biology that we are dealing with here.
How long we *think* we should be having sex is an influence too.
In the late 1940s at the time of the famous Kinsey Report, 75% of males surveyed reported
intercourse lasting approximately 2 minutes.
A number that seems objectionably short to me personally and could warrant a premature
ejaculation diagnosis in these modern times.
For the record, the diagnosis of PE is heavily weighted towards self and partner reported
satisfaction but one to two minutes is commonly considered premature.
Researchers are finding that since the late 60’s, since the start of the feminist movement,
and sexual revolution, intercourse has been taking us slightly longer.
How long?
Well survey data from studies done at the University of New Brunswick show that duration
of vaginal intercourse is now reported to fall within a range of 5 - 10 minutes, with
durations in excess of 20 minutes being undesirable to most study participants.
So that average sweet spot is really, as one scientist put it: “approximately the duration
of one Marvin Gaye song”.
Sadly, sex research is notoriously penis-centric and historically hetero-centric, so these
averages only apply to the time it takes for male ejaculation with a female partner and
only the more recent studies investigate qualitative measures like sexual satisfaction.
In a 2004 study, participants were asked to report how long they wanted sex to last as
well as the actual duration of their intercourse.
Female study participants indicated they desired an average of 7 min longer intercourse then
what was standard with their current partners, and men reported wanting another 11 min.
The funny thing about this survey, is that when asked about duration of foreplay both
men and women also reported desiring an average of 5 or 10 min longer respectively.
So, take a look at your partner.
Are they smiling?
If not, it might be time for a conversation about sexual expectations and needs.
Because, ultimately, it doesn’t matter what study group survey subjects think, or what
your friends, neighbors, or professionals on your computer screens are doing, what matters
is self and partner satisfaction.
Something to keep in mind as you check out this video where Julia asks the question “How
much sex should you be having?”
So, are you sexually normal?
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down below.
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