“According to a recent study by Dr. Eric Corty, an associate professor of psychology at Penn State Erie, and student Jenay Guardiani, a seven to 13 minute quickie is the hottest way to get hot and heavy. ScienceDaily.com recently reported that researchers Corty and Guardiani surveyed 50 members of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research and found that 34, or 68 percent, of the members consisting of ‘psychologists, physicians, social workers, marriage / family therapists and nurses who have collectively seen thousands of patients over several decades’ responded that seven to 13 minute intercourse was the most desirable. The group rated this and other ‘time amounts for sexual intercourse based on penetration of the vagina by the penis until ejaculation.’ This did not include the time spent on foreplay prior to the time of penetration, and they noted that optimal times depend on couples. 1 to 2 minutes was considered ‘too short’ and 3 to 7 minutes was believed to be ‘adequate.’ What was shocking is that 10 to 30 minute sex was deemed ‘too long’ and anything longer than 30 minutes, well, that wasn’t even worth discussing… Researchers said in the ScienceDaily.com article, ‘A man’s or woman’s interpretation of his or her sexual functioning as well as the partner’s relies on personal beliefs developed in part from society’s messages, formal and informal. Unfortunately, today’s popular culture has reinforced stereotypes about sexual activity. Many men and women seem to believe the fantasy model of large penises, rock-hard erections and all-night-long intercourse.’” — eCollege Times (US)

The original research article, “Canadian And American Sex Therapists’ Perceptions Of Normal And Abnormal Ejaculatory Latencies: How Long Should Intercourse Last?,” is available via PubMed for anyone who cares to pay for it. Most news outlets covering the article truncated its results to something like “Best Sex = Fast Sex,” but really that’s misleading. “Fast” is relative, particularly since the story didn’t take foreplay into account. Maybe the best sex requires a week of courtship, an hour of foreplay, and then 7 to 13 minutes of penetration. Is that “fast?”

That being said, a scientific measurement of the optimal duration of intercourse is certainly to be welcomed. In the first place, it counters a lot of misleading propaganda. A generation ago, nobody spoke openly about sex. Nowadays we speak about sex as though it’s an extreme sport. We veered from silence to hyperbole, from “[fill in the blank]” to “stay hard all night!!!!” Perhaps expectations are coming back down to earth. After all, fucking all night is rather like playing football for eight hours straight. It’s fun but liable to leave you sore enough that you’ll want a day off afterward.

In the second place, perhaps some of this research will make itself known to the gullible idiots who respond to spam emails. If people stop responding, spammers will have less incentive to pound the world with their Viagra messages. That may even suggest an additional study. For how long will people maintain their belief that the duration of the best sex is something approaching eternity?

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