Three’s Company: Or is it?

| Sex Columnist

The “threesome,” typically thought of as the sexual scenario of two women, one man and one bed, seems to be the go-to fantasy of the everyday male in the United States. I mean, if I were one Javier Bardem surrounded by the passion-gripped bodies of Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz, it would be mine, too.

In all seriousness, Dr. Steven Lamm of Psychology Today agrees, calling the most common male fantasy something “with women who are willing to perform bisexual acts.” He continues, “The most common time for this behavior is during the college years, when experimentation is more socially acceptable.”

But is this true at Washington University? “Threesomes are unfortunately too rare at this school—just like an A on an organic chemistry exam,” an anonymous male senior said. “The same way that all the nerdy kids hide in their rooms and just study and screw up the grading curves is the same way the sexual experimentation is screwed up on this campus.”

Indeed, according to Student Life’s own sex survey in 2009, only 9 percent of sexually active students experiment with multiple partners, which amounts to under 5 percent of the total Wash. U. population. A female junior, who also chose to remain anonymous, further explained, “Threesomes are like unicorns: You talk about them, but you never actually know anyone who’s had one.”

What is lurking behind this subject is the reason why so few members of our campus engage in threesomes or are so private in their discourse about them. Yes, perhaps it is the prevalence of academia over partying and “social experimentation.” But I think it is a greater problem of sexual inhibition.

For instance, when I was a freshman, at least 10 girls I met had never heard of the term “blowjob”—and with that, had never engaged in any sort of contact relating to oral sex. Even further, when writing these articles in general, I am hard-pressed to find anyone willing to speak about sexuality. OK—if it’s about furries or bondage, I get it. But come on, people!

This week, let me know what you think about virginity—can you lose your virginity by engaging in oral sex or anal sex? Are you still a virgin if your hymen breaks from a tampon? I’m curious! Please email me at luciam​[email protected].

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