Halloween is a time to get frightened out of your wits, and what else is horrifying yet brainless? No, not a zombie, but a scary sex myth! You know the kind: masturbate and you'll get hairy palms — thereby turning yourself into a werewolf — or if you happen to be a young girl who likes sex and goes so far as to have it, you'll probably be the first to get hacked to death by a passing supernatural serial killer.
Sure, these horror-filled examples are somewhat seasonal, but the majority of sex myths are scary year round. The misinformation that is perpetuated about our favorite pastime isn't just wrong, it's dangerous. While abstinence-only sex education can be blamed for a lot of the erotic urban legends out there, sometimes it's just cultural stigma against sex that causes outlandish ideas to circulate.
Even the most educated of folks can be in the dark about the ins and outs of sex, because once you get to a certain age, you probably think you already know all there is to know — from experience, of course. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case, as you're never too old to learn a new trick (or get a new treat). So in the spirit of Halloween, here are six sex myths more bone-chilling than any freaky ghost story you've heard.
1. Women Always Form Emotional Bonds After Sex Because Of Oxytocin
The so-called "bonding hormone" oxytocin is released during hugs, childbirth, breastfeeding, and sex, but it does not automatically make women fall in love with whomever they're bangin' at the moment. Romantic attachment arises from a far more complex cocktail of hormones, socialization, and interaction, which varies from individual to individual — and from gender to gender. "Oxytocin is not this indiscriminate love drug," said Carsten K.W. de Dreu, a psychologist at the University of Amsterdam.
2. Women Hit Their Sexual Peak In Their Thirties
As someone in their early 30s, this sounds pretty spot on. However, according to science, this is absolutely not the case. Sexuality ebbs and flows throughout a woman's lifetime, and there is no one time that she'll necessarily be more ready and willing.
3. Men Cheat More Than Women
Any study that claims it can figure out which gender is cheating more is kinda bogus. Are they really going to get a large enough sample of people to answer questions about infidelity in a way that such a sweeping generalization can be made? Unlikely.
4. Women Prefer Monogamy
Hell to the no. This pervasive myth is linked to the idea that women like to settle down and raise a family while men like go wild and spread their seed. Time to move past these old caveman cliches, thanks! A recent study went so far as to suggest that perhaps the opposite is true, and that monogamy hurts women more than it hurts than men. But, again, this is a case by case basis, so don't get it twisted.
5. Women Aren't Turned On By Visual Stimuli
Men like porn because they're visual creatures, and women like to read a nice romantic story to get off, right? Wrong. A recent study actually found that women are turned on by a wider range of erotic visual stimuli than men are.
6. Women Don't Want Sex As Much As Men
This might be the scariest sex myth of them all, because it is at the root of slut-shaming and so many disastrous perceptions about the sensual divide between the sexes. There is absolutely no evidence that women have a lower libido than men. I repeat: women desire sex as much and if not more than men!
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