Turns out, having period sex may mean a lot more than we thought. Autostraddle did a massive 8,500 person survey of "lady types who sleep with lady type" and it offers a lot of insight into how queer women feel about period sex. But more than that, they found a really fascinating connection between period sex and the rest of your sex life.
That's right— I wouldn't have expected that at all. You normally think of period sex as sort of an addendum to your sex life. You have your normal sex life, and then in addition to that, you're either for or against period sex. That's it. Turns out it, I was wrong. Like, really wrong.
According to the Ultimate Lesbian Sex Survey, how you feel about period sex is basically a shortcut for how awesome your sex life is a whole. They explain that people who were pro-period sex "were more likely to have more, longer, and more satisfying sex; more likely to be ecstatic in their relationships; more likely to prefer non-monogamous relationships; more likely to be kinky (and among kinky people, more likely to be up for anything); more likely to use safer sex practices; and more likely to report overall satisfaction with their sex lives compared to people 'strongly against' sex on their period."
Seriously. Sounds too good to be true, right? How could period sex mean that you're happier, kinkier, safer, and more satisfied? Well, I guess in part, being open to period sex shows that you're maybe just more open and therefore more sexually adventurous generally, but there seems to be more than that.
Here's the breakdown to how being pro-period sex affects your life:
1. You Are Nearly Twice As Likely To Be Having Sex At Least Weekly
So if you were enthusiastically into period sex, 66 percent are having sex once a week or more. But of those against period sex, only 34 percent, nearly half, can say the same. Maybe that has something to do with avoiding sex one week of the month, or maybe it's just has to do with their sex drive more generally.
2. You're Way More Likely To Be Confident In Bed
Again, it's like twice as likely. Those who are into period sex had a 49 percent chance of feeling "very confident" in bed, which was only true of 24 percent of those against period sex. What!? I guess maybe if you're confident you're more likely to not worry too much about your period? But it seems to be a bigger pattern to do with sex lives generally.
3. You're More Likely To Be Happy With Your Relationship
Yup— it's not just about your sex life. For those in non-monogamous relationships, when dealing with a pro-period sex relationship, 53 percent of those into period sex reported being "ecstatic about that relationship", compared to only 27 percent of those strongly against. Really? If you're into period sex there is more than a 50 percent chance you're ecstatic in your relationship?!
For those in monogamous relationships, there was still a massive difference— 86 percent (HOLY CRAP!) were ecstatic in their relationship if they were into period sex, compared to 57 percent if they weren't. This is blowing my mind.
4. You're Probably Still Kissing
A good smooch is important for keeping the romance alive and 71 percent of those into period sex are still having a good snog for fun. This was only true of 47 percent of those not into period sex. I don't see where this connection is, but I'm totally fascinated.
5. You're More Likely To Try New Things
Over half of people who are into period sex try "something new in bed a few times a month or more." Only the same was true for 24 percent of people who aren't.
6. You're More Likely To Talk About Sex— And Do It Better
So I get the connection between period sex and being open to trying more things, but this shows a way more general openness around sex: 61 percent of people who are into period sex talk about sex once a day or more, compared to 30 percent of those who don't. Along the same lines, 92 percent felt that they were "very successful" in communication with their partner about sex (which is a crazy high number) compared to 60 percent of those not into it.
7. You're More Likely To Be Satisfied In Your Relationship Overall
What does all of this mean? Well, sort of unsurprisingly giving all of the above, 35 percent of those into period sex said they were "very satisfied" with their sex lives overall, and less than half of that (16 percent) said the same if they weren't into period sex. Maybe this is telling us to try to open up about period sex and the rest will follow, because it certainly seems to be the holy grail of happy and open sex lives.
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