This is the 'optimum' number of people to sleep with before you die

Apparently, there's not enough peer pressure and slut-shaming going on. So someone's carried out research on the "optimum" number of people to sleep with in your lifetime.

The research - which we're calling BS on - comes from Illicit Encounters, a dating site for married people.

That's right, a website that's sole-purpose is to help people have extra-martial affairs is telling you how many people to sleep with.

The site that's designed to encourage infidelity says that the ideal number of sexual partners in a life-time is 12.

According to the research, 40 per cent of men and 49 per cent of women thought that between 10 and 14 partners is best, with 12 being "perfect."

The magic number apparently indicates that someone is "sexually adventurous, liberal and transient", according to a majority of both men and women surveyed.

70 per cent of men and 66 per cent of women say having less than 10 partners indicates "sexual inexperience and a lack of adventure in the bedroom" but more than 19 indicates "someone is too eager to jump from partner to partner, or simply too selfish and very difficult to please."

The only thing men and women disagree on is disclosing sexual history. Over half of men (53 per cent) want to know how many people their partner has slept with, yet only 45 per cent of women care.

A spokesperson for the infidelity enablers, Christian Grant, commented:

We are more liberal, tolerant and sexually adventurous than we’ve ever been, so the numbers game matters. A good sexual connection is the cornerstone of any solid relationship, so someone who is lacking in sexual experience, is a little too conservative between the sheets, or both, is a legitimate cause for concern for some people.

Men are a little more self-conscious when it comes to competition, too. Their need to know how many people their partner has slept with derives from their competitive streak. They want to be seen as the biggest and best; whether that stems from genuinely wanting to satisfy their partner or to massage their own ego is another matter entirely.

Women on the other hand, they’re just happy to enjoy the moment, past experiences aside.

Here's a crazy idea - sleep with as many or as few consenting adults as you like - and don't worry about what an arbitrary number says.

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