It was a bit disappointing.LAURA, 22I first had sex at 18, a late starter Virginity was cumbersome I was quite submissive I just lay on my back and felt detached. Some people seem to get a lot of pleasure out of giving other people pleasure I don’t seem to be one of those people. I aspire to romantic heroines and I want to be swept off my feet by a non-communicative hero. Non-communication gives you scope to fantasise about the other person I make rational decisions about sex.

It’s a healthy pursuit, so why not do it all the time? Often I sleep with people I don’t find attractive. If the offer is made in a forthright manner I’ll generally accept. But if it is some shallow effort to know the real me in three dates, then I get cross I’ve had one long-term relationship. I haven’t had sex since September, I’m too busy and I’m going through a reassessment – like maybe it would be a good thing to get involved.GARY, 27 I slept with women until I was 19, but I suspected I was gay from about 14 I enjoyed sex, but I felt there was something else. When I was 20, I went to a party and talked all night to a guy and that was it I knew it would be difficult at home. My father still doesn’t know – he’d be wielding a carving knife I never cruised, but I have been cruised. One time a guy followed me and we went down an alleyway and were hard at it when a policeman came across us He let us off with a caution Now when I’m in a relationship, I’m monogamous I’ve slept with roughly 100 guys I always practise safer sex I’ve been in groups of three or four men.

I was curious to see how I compared – to guys on the gay scene, size is very important.. CAN we believe a word of what people tell us in our sex survey? That figure for masturbation, for example, looks on the low side and the oral sex findings are hard to swallow. Our survey was carried out by an experienced, professional polling organisation and was based on the famous “representative sample” of the population. It is not one of those sex surveys where newspaper and magazine readers are invited to phone in or to cut out a questionnaire.