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Friday 3rd September, 2010
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Exposed: Oxford sex laid bare Bookmark and Share

by Marta Szczerba | 19:43 GMT, Thu 28 May 2009

Photo: Raffaele de Leon

One-night-stands, STD's and clinches in college libraries: the full story of student sex at Oxford University has been laid bare this week.

Historians get the most action, only 15% of students are still to lose their virginity and you are much more likely to achieve a First Class degree if you are homosexual.

The revelations were among an array of dirty details exposed by a Cherwell survey of more than 850 students.

According to the responses, the most promiscuous colleges were Somerville and New, whilst in contrast, it was University College that had the greatest proportion of virgins.

Meanwhile it was those studying History that claimed to have the most sexual activity, with almost a quarter of respondents scoring between three and five times a week.

Closely in behind were Politics, Philosophy and Economics undergraduates and students of English Literature.

Interestingly, the survey also suggested a correlation between the amount of sex had by students and the final results they achieve in exams.

Those that have the most sex tend to attain a 2:1 or 2:2 result, whilst students who have sex less than once a month or abstain altogether are just as likely to achieve a First as fail altogether.

There was also a further relationship between students' grades and their sexual orientation: 41% of homosexuals who replied to the survey achieved a First in exams, compared to 38% of asexuals and a third of those who feel attracted to the opposite gender.

More generally, the survey also threw up concerning results with regard to sexual health: although a mere 5% of students confessed to having had a sexually transmitted disease (STD) - much lower than the national average of one in three people - around half of respondents admitted to having unprotected sex. Furthermore, approximately 59% of students said they had never been tested for an STD.

Sam Tucker, JCR Welfare Rep at St Anne's College thought that the reason for a relatively high number of students having unprotected sex could stem from lack of knowledge about the risks.

"I think people sometimes don't realise the consequences of their actions," he said. "If we make it easier for condoms to be accessible and to be obtained anonymously, then this number should drop."

The survey also seemed to debunk many college stereotypes regarding sex: Wadham College - the home of the infamous annual 'Queer Bop,' and traditionally seen as a liberal college - had the lowest proportion of homosexuals, with a mere 3.5% of respondents claiming to be gay.
In contrast, Merton and Mansfield topped the table of the colleges with the highest proportion of homosexuals, scoring 21.4% and 16.6% respectively. Meanwhile St Hugh's and Hertford had the largest percentage of hetrosexuals.

Asked to comment, Mohsin Khan, Chair of University's LGBTQ Council downplayed the results, saying the distribution of sexuality among colleges varied from year to year.

"From personal experience, I have not found college stereotypes about sexuality to be true in any way," he said.

"Every year, the distribution of LGBTQ people differs from college to college. There is no liberal gay college here and there is no straight college either."

Khan also emphasized the need of protection, after the survey demonstrated that homosexuals were more likely to have unprotected sex than heterosexuals by more than 13%.

"LGBTQ Council has been working quite hard to inform lesbians and bisexual women that they do need to practice safe sex," he said.

"Just because you don't penetrate doesn't mean you are safe. Women may want to use dental dams, just as gay men may want to use condoms. Lesbian-lesbian sex poses less risk, but it isn't zero."

Such a message seemed just as relevant to graduate as undergraduate students, after results showed older students to be getting far more bedroom action: 27% of graduates claimed to be having intercourse 3-4 times per week, in comparison to only 21% of undergrads.

Also, a staggering 81.4% of graduates admitted to regularly masturbating in comparison to 75.3% of their younger counterparts. Only 10% of student respondents said they have had more than 10 sexual partners.

 

Page last updated: 2009-05-29 06:13:31
Comments and Opinions:
"Numbers Questionable" by mikee
Posted: 05:08 GMT, Sun 7th March 2010
The self-reporting of sexual activity, like the self-reporting of any activity, is likely to produce a large amount of false answers, skewed toward the more exciting lie. Unless there is some way to validate this data with objective research, it is uselessly uncertain, except to demonstrate that college kids say a lot of interesting things about themselves. I, myself, have two heads! See?
"Say what?!" by Punkindrublic
Posted: 02:55 GMT, Sun 7th March 2010
Simple refer to the "gay" community as the "gay community"...hell, maybe that will make them happy; or "gay"? They are a confusing lot. I'll stick with admiration of the pink, purple, and brown parts of females.
"Staggering!" by Neal
Posted: 01:11 GMT, Sun 7th March 2010
"Also, a staggering 81.4% of graduates admitted to regularly masturbating in comparison to 75.3% of their younger counterparts." Staggering, yes, because those percentages are far too low.
"Homosexual vs. Gay" by soubriquet
Posted: 17:59 GMT, Fri 5th March 2010
Andy, the homosexual community, if one can be said to exist, is undeniably homosexual, but far from universally cheerful and carefree, therefore, not universally 'gay'. Gay is thus a less accurate description than Homosexual.
"Delightful article" by Michael
Posted: 21:44 GMT, Sun 21st June 2009
This is one of those delicious reports that shed light on education, sexuality, and norms. --But, a question, why the higher marks for homosexuals (or, in deference to Andy, gays)? --Any theories?
"Who's in the shot?" by Amelia
Posted: 17:29 GMT, Wed 3rd June 2009
Is that Simon Millar?
"jesus" by chris
Posted: 10:43 GMT, Wed 3rd June 2009
OMFGZ sex = 2.1 because: a) most people get a 2.1 b) most people have sex blank shock
"pornogrammarphy" by student
Posted: 19:30 GMT, Tue 2nd June 2009
Seriously, grammar complaints? The sentence you quote makes perfect sense. Unable to express their anger at the article's content without implying their own crippling sexual inadequacy, the hordes point the finger at grammar. Poor old grammar.
"terrible" by pedantzRus
Posted: 14:09 GMT, Tue 2nd June 2009
'Terrible' isn't strong enough, Jennifer. It's appalling. Spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes abound - e.g "they do need to practice safe sex..." - and what the heck does "Closely in behind " mean? Given the context, the mind boggles. Fewer clinical terms, and less of this low-standard writing, please.
"nice" by Dave
Posted: 21:49 GMT, Mon 1st June 2009
nice...to see that Oxford is concentrating on valuable and useful research.
"On the implications of this study on the student body" by Jack
Posted: 19:34 GMT, Mon 1st June 2009
I can indeed confirm that the results of the survey are reliable. I speak as a historian at Merton college, Oxford, and I receive many sperms daily.
"to jennifer" by duh?
Posted: 07:38 GMT, Mon 1st June 2009
'What the hell does that mean? They have an equal chance of failing and getting a first? ' Yes jennifer, i think it does.
"terrible" by jennifer
Posted: 10:27 GMT, Sat 30th May 2009
I can't believe how badly written this article is! 'Those that have the most sex tend to attain a 2:1 or 2:2 result, whilst students who have sex less than once a month or abstain altogether are just as likely to achieve a First as fail altogether.' What the hell does that mean? They have an equal chance of failing and getting a first? Grammar mistakes all over the place.
"Irritating" by Andy
Posted: 19:05 GMT, Fri 29th May 2009
Can we please refer to the gay community as, I dunno, 'gay'?! 'Homosexual' has a horribly clinical overtone . . . it makes us feel like we're being categorized. In your defence, you did use heterosexual at one point -- but you spelt it wrong.
 
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