Men & Women Disagree On This Major Issue

Recently, Cosmopolitan and Esquire teamed up to answer the question “Do Women and Men Agree on What's OK When It Comes to Sex?” The results were surprising. The 2,000-person survey asked men and women questions ranging from the playful (“Have you received a naked pic?”) to the serious (“Only one of you is drunk; you both expressed interest when you were sober. Was that rape?"). There's no mention of the respondents' sexuality or gender identity, although most of the questions skew heteronormative. For the most part, the men’s and women’s responses were largely the same. For example, 97% of both men and women believe it is chivalrous — not sexist — when a man holds a door open for a woman. And, when asked who should make the first move during sex, the vast majority of both men and women answered, "Who cares?" But, there were some disparities. Interestingly, 51% of women reported having sent a naked selfie, compared to only 36% of men. And, 32% of men aged 18 to 29 said they had no sexual partners in the past year; only 19% of women in the same age range said that. On a more troubling note, when asked, “How serious an issue is sexual assault?” 80% of women said “extremely/very serious” — but only 63% of men had the same response. "How do we bridge this gap? We talk about it," the researchers wrote in a summary. "More women than men report being sexually assaulted; thus, more women know how serious an issue sexual assault is. When people see something for themselves or hear about it from a close friend, they're more sensitive to it." The solution, the researchers suggest, is increasing awareness. They point out that 63% of women as well as 54% of men reported having discussed sexual violence with people of another sex, and that "it was productive, interesting, and informative," the researchers continue. "So, talk to your guy friends and boyfriends about this." Check out the complete infographic here. Hopefully, it will help spark some meaningful conversations.