Are you ruining your sex life by believing in these 7 myths?

Think you know a thing or two about sex? From misguided myths to half truths, sex has them all. Here are some massively popular ones that you need to stop believing.

1. Men are the only fantasists

According to research, 80 per cent of women had sexual fantasies about people who weren’t their partner, compared with 98 per cent of men.

2. Women are naturally less interested in sex.

Though women might actively think about sex less often than do men (the above Kinsey study found that 19 per cent of women think about sex multiple times a day and 63 per cent think about it a few times per week), that doesn’t mean women want sex any less.

According to a survey, around 53 per cent of women don’t have as much sex as they’d like to.

3. Eating oysters will get you in the mood

Did you know that there’s really no truth behind the aphrodisiac powers of food?

Oysters are made up of elements (water, protein, carbohydrates, fat, etc.) that have no power to chemically stimulate sex drive. The placebo effect could be aided by the sexual nature of eating, but the food itself doesn’t get you going.

4. Sex burns more calories than running

According to researchers from the University of Quebec in Canada, the following number of calories are burned per minute:

9.2 Man on treadmill
4.2 Man having sex
7.2 Woman on treadmill
3.1 Woman having sex

5. Men are more promiscuous

The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction says 54 per cent of men think about sex daily compared to only 19 per cent of women. And men aged 30 to 44 claim to have had six to eight partners in their lives compared to four among most women.

6. Two condoms offer better protection

Some countries it is common practise to use two condoms to avoid sexually transmitted diseases as well as unwanted pregnancies. Most health authorities do not agree with this as according to them, this increases the risk of condoms breaking due to friction.

7. Women do not ejaculate

Some scientists had the opportunity to collect expelled liquid and confirm that it is not urine, although they are unable to determine its composition.

This article was first published in The Singapore Women's Weekly.