SchrodingersCat
Active member
I also think this poll is in the wrong forum. If anything, I would wager that polyfolk participate LESS in group sex, for the simple reason that they are allowed to have meaningful relationships with other people and have one-on-one sex with those people, so they don't need to rely on the insecurity-based "You can have sex with other people, but only if I'm there and doing it too" mentality.
Problem 1
By targeting any specific group of people, your results are statistically insignificant. This makes it impossible to answer "who is involved in group sex" because any positive responses you get will not be indicative of the general population, but only a small, targeted subset.
Example, it's like walking into a gay bar and asking "Who here is gay?" and then when 95% of people put up their hands, you walk out and conclude that 95% of the general population is gay, which is obviously not true. Not to imply this is analogous to polyamory and group sex, because as you've seen it's not, but since that was what you were expecting when you asked the question, it definitely applies to your methodology.
Even if you did come here and find that we were all group-sex-maniacs, the fact that we're poly and actively working to live open, honest, and communicative relationships could mean that we're all really good at having group sex without negatively affecting the health of our relationships. But this would not answer whether or not, for the general population, group sex affects the health of relationships.
Problem 2
None of your questions will give significant insight into whether or not group sex is "healthy" for a relationship. The closest is 9 and 10, but these are subjective and require people to accurately self-assess the health of their relationship and to identify the specific cause of these problems, which is generally difficult for the average population.
Example, if you have a manipulative, controlling boyfriend who gets to the point of pressuring you to have group sex, then is it the group sex that hurts the relationship? Or the manipulation and control from the boyfriend?
If a couple with poor communication skills mutually decide to have group sex and are unable to talk about and deal with the emotions brought on by this activity, is it the group sex or their poor communication that hurts the relationship?
You have not identified or referred to any recognized meters of health in a relationship nor how they apply to group sex. I suggest you get online and read some respected journals, or at least open your textbook.
Problem 3 (regarding #6)
I believe the earlier objection to this question wasn't "what about more than two" but rather "what about one of each, or one tranny and one male, or one non-gender-identified person and a female, or no preference I just love group sex with anyone?"
Obviously in a threesome, unless all three participants are the same gender, then two of the participants will be involved with "one of each." So simple statistics says that roughly 2/3 of participants in threesomes are with neither two men or two women.
Problem 4 (regarding #7)
You really should do your homework for this so-called sexuality class. If you opened your textbook, you would know that there is much much more than just straight/gay, and that "etc" is a big fucking category that you are lumping together, which I find offensive. By analogy, answer me this: What is your research experience? (None/Minimal/etc.)
Conclusion
I just find this whole poll offensive and worse, unscientific. I mean, I can deal with being offended, I do it all the time. But as a scientist, I am much more disturbed by your research methodology. First you start with an assumption, admitting that you know assumptions are dangerous but ignoring that fact and following through with it regardless. That is not a way to do science, even social science which is soft at best.
I guarantee, a number of respected researchers have done very thorough surveys of these exact topics, using proper sampling techniques, respected meters of relationship health, and proper statistical analysis. They published their results, and if you're in a college or university then you should have access to those journals. Try talking to your professor about how you can access these results. Because if your reference list includes "I asked some people on the internet" then you'll probably lose marks, but if your reference list includes "Kinseley, A. 'Sex Behavior in the Human Animal.'" then you might do a bit better.
For the record...
1. Male/Female/Intersex
Female
2. Have you ever been involved in group sex?
No
3. How many people did you engage in group sex with? (Ex: 3,4,5...)
n/a
4. Did you participate in the act of sex or did you watch?
n/a
5. How many times have you participated in group sex?
n/a
6. Do you prefer 2 women or 2 men?
n/a
7. What is your sexual orientation? (Straight/Gay/etc.)
etc.
8. Are you in a relationship? (Married/BF,GF)
Married
9. Does this hurt your relationship?
n/a
10. Is this what you prefer or are you making a sacrifice for you partner?
n/a
And in the last thread I was asked about the background of this poll and here it is. I am a College college student. I am doing a presentation in my Sociology of Sexuality class on Group Sex. The goal of this poll is to understand who is involved in group sex and if it's healthy for a relationship. I chose this website because the poly community heavily participates in the act of group sex and I thought it was a good place to get some information.
Thank you for answering the questions.
Problem 1
By targeting any specific group of people, your results are statistically insignificant. This makes it impossible to answer "who is involved in group sex" because any positive responses you get will not be indicative of the general population, but only a small, targeted subset.
Example, it's like walking into a gay bar and asking "Who here is gay?" and then when 95% of people put up their hands, you walk out and conclude that 95% of the general population is gay, which is obviously not true. Not to imply this is analogous to polyamory and group sex, because as you've seen it's not, but since that was what you were expecting when you asked the question, it definitely applies to your methodology.
Even if you did come here and find that we were all group-sex-maniacs, the fact that we're poly and actively working to live open, honest, and communicative relationships could mean that we're all really good at having group sex without negatively affecting the health of our relationships. But this would not answer whether or not, for the general population, group sex affects the health of relationships.
Problem 2
None of your questions will give significant insight into whether or not group sex is "healthy" for a relationship. The closest is 9 and 10, but these are subjective and require people to accurately self-assess the health of their relationship and to identify the specific cause of these problems, which is generally difficult for the average population.
Example, if you have a manipulative, controlling boyfriend who gets to the point of pressuring you to have group sex, then is it the group sex that hurts the relationship? Or the manipulation and control from the boyfriend?
If a couple with poor communication skills mutually decide to have group sex and are unable to talk about and deal with the emotions brought on by this activity, is it the group sex or their poor communication that hurts the relationship?
You have not identified or referred to any recognized meters of health in a relationship nor how they apply to group sex. I suggest you get online and read some respected journals, or at least open your textbook.
Problem 3 (regarding #6)
I believe the earlier objection to this question wasn't "what about more than two" but rather "what about one of each, or one tranny and one male, or one non-gender-identified person and a female, or no preference I just love group sex with anyone?"
Obviously in a threesome, unless all three participants are the same gender, then two of the participants will be involved with "one of each." So simple statistics says that roughly 2/3 of participants in threesomes are with neither two men or two women.
Problem 4 (regarding #7)
You really should do your homework for this so-called sexuality class. If you opened your textbook, you would know that there is much much more than just straight/gay, and that "etc" is a big fucking category that you are lumping together, which I find offensive. By analogy, answer me this: What is your research experience? (None/Minimal/etc.)
Conclusion
I just find this whole poll offensive and worse, unscientific. I mean, I can deal with being offended, I do it all the time. But as a scientist, I am much more disturbed by your research methodology. First you start with an assumption, admitting that you know assumptions are dangerous but ignoring that fact and following through with it regardless. That is not a way to do science, even social science which is soft at best.
I guarantee, a number of respected researchers have done very thorough surveys of these exact topics, using proper sampling techniques, respected meters of relationship health, and proper statistical analysis. They published their results, and if you're in a college or university then you should have access to those journals. Try talking to your professor about how you can access these results. Because if your reference list includes "I asked some people on the internet" then you'll probably lose marks, but if your reference list includes "Kinseley, A. 'Sex Behavior in the Human Animal.'" then you might do a bit better.
For the record...
1. Male/Female/Intersex
Female
2. Have you ever been involved in group sex?
No
3. How many people did you engage in group sex with? (Ex: 3,4,5...)
n/a
4. Did you participate in the act of sex or did you watch?
n/a
5. How many times have you participated in group sex?
n/a
6. Do you prefer 2 women or 2 men?
n/a
7. What is your sexual orientation? (Straight/Gay/etc.)
etc.
8. Are you in a relationship? (Married/BF,GF)
Married
9. Does this hurt your relationship?
n/a
10. Is this what you prefer or are you making a sacrifice for you partner?
n/a
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