How Often Do Gay Couples Have Sex?

Compared to lesbians, gay men tend to have sex more frequently (including oral or anal sex), with 19.7% reporting that they had sex with their main partner more than 156 times in the previous year. [2]

In this article, we’ll explore how frequently gay men have sex within a relationship and/or with casual partners, as well as their likelihood of starting new (or having concurrent) same-sex partnerships.

How Often Gay Couples Have Sex

• When males in a same-sex relationship were asked how often they had sex more than 2 times per week [1]:
  • About 8% reported “never”
  • About 17% reported “hardly ever”
  • About 24% reported “occasionally”
  • About 28% reported “usually”
  • About 23% reported “always”
• One study found that among men who have sex with other men (MSM), 86% of those aged 18 to 24 and 72% of those aged 35 to 39 “formed a new partnership” with someone during the past year. [3]

While every couple is different, on average gay couples tend to have sex more often than lesbian couples.

Frequency Of Casual Sex Among Gay Men

• Among men who have sex with other men (MSM), 19.7% reported having sex with their main sexual partner more than 156 times in the previous year, compared to 5.1% who reported doing the same with a casual partner. [2]
• Among MSM, 18.9% reported having sex with their main partner between 52 and 155 times in the previous year, compared to 2% who reported doing the same with a casual partner. [2]
• 20.9% of MSM reported having sex with their main partner 36 to 51 times in the previous year, compared to 18.5% who reported doing the same with a casual partner. [2]
• Among men who have sex with other men, 20.3% reported having sex with their main sexual partner between 24 and 35 times in the previous year, compared to 45.3% who reported doing the same with a casual partner. [2]
• One study found that among men who have sex with other men (MSM), 38% reported that their last sexual partner was a casual one, compared to 62% who reported that their last partner was their main partner. [2]
• Compared to heterosexuals, men who have sex with other men are 2-3 times more likely to report having concurrent partnerships (multiple sex partners) recently and are also more likely to select partners who are greater than 5 years older than themselves. [3]

Our previous research found that gay men have about 30 sexual partners over the course of their lifetimes.

On average, men who have sex with men tend to be more active than heterosexuals or lesbians.

Sexual frequency tends to be higher within relationships than with casual partners, likely because of opportunity.

Sources: