Cherwellโs “Sextigation” is back and better than ever. After 450 responses and some pretty groundbreaking analysis that followed, the results are in.ย
This year, 55% of respondents were female, 38.5% were male, and 5.6% were non-binary. In a slight dip from last yearโs survey, the (mean) average number of sexual partners comes in at 4.5, compared with the 5 from last year. Taking a closer look at the numbers yields a different picture. For female students, the mean average is 3.9 sexual partners, with a median of 2. The mean male student has had 5.2 partners with a median of 2 as well. Non-binary students come out on top with an average of 6.2 sexual partners, with a median of 3.
However, not all students share the same experiences. 13.2% of Oxford students have had no sex since matriculating, with 9.9% of students having never had sex before. The most common number of sexual partners for an Oxford student, since being at Oxford, was 1, at 28.9%.
As they say, good things come in threes. 69 respondents (lol) claimed to have had sex with two or more people at once, with 18 students confessing to a threesome, 4 to a foursome, and 1 to a five-and-sixsome respectively. Having googled the term โorgyโ to find it constitutes 4 or more people, perhaps having that as a single category would have sufficed. However, the surveyโs level of detail was not lost on the two adventurous students who clocked in with a tensome each.
Knocking St Peterโs from their throne, this year, Regentโs Park took the trophy for sexiest college, with their students averaging a whopping 11.7 sexual partners since being at Oxford. Close in the runnings were Catz, Anneโs and Worcester, whose students averaged 9.8, 8.6 and 6.9 sexual partners respectively. At the other end, Blackfriars, Kellogg, St Cross and Harris Manchester came bottom of the pile, doing a disservice to Dominicans, post-grads and mature students everywhere.
Whilst Peterโs has been relegated to the middle of the pile, Merton, who came second in last yearโs survey, is the undergraduate college whose students have had the fewest sexual partners since matriculation, averaging just over 2. Clearly, the singular Mertonian who drove up the average last year has since moved on to bigger and better things.
As for satisfaction levels, this year has seen Oxford graduate from 2023โs โmidโ to an average score of 3.5/5. In fact, an encouraging majority of students (82%) would rate their sex lives at a 3/5 or above. Even so, some people had gripes with the โconservativeโ nature of Oxfordโs sex scene, with one student expressing frustration: โtoo! Vanilla!!!โ. Breaking down satisfaction ratings by college reveals a more marked difference, too. While Queenโs students rate their sex lives 4.4/5 , bad news for LMH students who sit at the bottom of the pile with an average rating of 2.6/5.
This year, Geography takes the lead as the top-shagging degree, boasting a whopping 14.7 average number of sexual partners since coming to Oxford. This is followed by Biology (13.5), English and Modern Languages (7.8), Law (7.6), and Biomedical Sciences (7.5). This is almost an exact return to 2022โs โdegrees which get the most actionโ, with last year’s top shaggers, the medics, taking a backseat. Geography has been the only degree consistently in the top 5 of each Sextigation.
On the flip side, Maths and Philosophy come in as the subject having the least sex, with an average number of 0 partners post-matriculation. They are followed by Physics and Philosophy, History and Modern Languages (both with 0.5), and Computer Science and Philosophy (0.75).
Low body count does not necessarily mean an absence of sex, however (apart from for Maths and Philosophy students, sorry). 70.9% of respondents in a relationship of any kind reported having sex more than once a week with their partner. Quite impressively, 7.4% of respondents overcame the challenging Oxford work-life balance, recording that they have sex with their partner multiple times a day. Perhaps this is made easier by proximity: 32.1% of students admitted to having had a relationship with a member of their college.
Importantly, where mutual pleasure eludes us, in Oxford, self-love is always close at hand. When asked about masturbation, the majority of respondents said they masturbate at least 2-3 times a week, and nearly 3 in 4 do so at least once a week. Male respondents were the most frequent masturbaters, with over half saying they masturbate at least 4-5 times a week, whereas 8.6% of female respondents said that they never masturbate. Meanwhile, 1.2% of male respondents, and all non-binary respondents said that they masturbate at least once in a while. Whilst the most popular frequency of masturbation for both female and non-binary respondents was 2-3 times a week, male respondents preferred masturbating 4-5 times a week, with 1 in 4 saying that they do so at least every day.
A major development from last yearโs survey is that the percentage of queer and questioning respondents has officially overtaken the percentage of heterosexual respondents, with the proportion of heterosexual respondents falling from 50.4% to 46%. The makeup of queer respondents is as follows: 32.8% bisexual, 14.5% gay, 1.8% pansexual. 4.9% donโt know or prefer not to say.
The average partner count for queer people since matriculation is higher than for straight people by one whole person (4.6 vs 3.5), whilst the total partner count for LGBTQ+ was 9.1, vs 5.4 for straight respondents, suggesting that LGBTQ+ beat straight respondents at Oxford and have more sexual experience before coming by an even greater margin. One respondent summed up the scene wistfully: โso much sex, so little timeโฆโ. Though one respondent said that the dating pool offered โtoo much choice tbf itโs like trying to shop at one of them massive tesco(s)โ, others noted its limited size. One respondent wrote that โeveryone has shagged everyone.โ Another particularly effusive respondent said: โThere is a tiny pool, and an even tinier selection of attractive / genuinely normal queer people (ie a lot are a bit too unhinged etc for me),โ noting Oxfordโs peculiar standards for sexual eligibility: โBeing attractive and confident often is seen by others as being narcissistic or a bitch (in this city), so weirdly I donโt get nearly as much attention here as I do in other cities etc.โ Others, however, enjoy the drama: โItโs messy, we love itโ.
There is a marked difference in hookup culture for sexual orientations. Several gay men complained about being pressured into engaging in frequent casual sex, more so than other demographics, and while hookups may be easy to find, one respondent characterised the dating scene as โhorrificโ. โThe stress of life here (and) the fact everyoneโs always busy means that many are inclined towards casual sex/hookupsโ, contemplated one student.
Particularly those seeking female partners reported difficulty: โThere are no lesbians here!!!โ, said one such respondent. Several bisexual women commented on the difficulties of finding female partners, with one person replying that the experience is โupsetting in the way it sometimes feels like Iโm contributing to the erasure of my own identityโ.
But while some find โthe Oxford gay scene is grimโ, for others it has been an โincredibleโ chance to explore their sexuality in a city with a โmuch higher volumeโ than other places. โShout out to tuesgaysโ, remarked one respondent.
Speaking of, the best place to find hookups in Oxford was Plush, receiving the highest percentage of votes at 24.8%. This checks out with the 6 people who admitted the weirdest place theyโd had sex in Oxford was the Plush dancefloor/toilets (but only โbriefly before being asked to leaveโฆโ). While Atik and Bridge offer similar opportunities at 17.7% and 14.8%, respectively, donโt bother trekking to Cowley if youโre looking for a fling: O2 Academy and Bully only received 2.2% of the total votes.
Casual sex is not overwhelmingly popular with Oxford students, with 42.3% of respondents reporting they had not had a one-night stand before. Even so, there was a large range in those who had experienced one-night stands, from the most significant portion having had a one-night stand 2-4 times (43.2%), to the 14 respondents who reported over 20. However, there remains the challenge of deciphering the intentions of those inviting you back, as highlighted by one respondent’s memorable encounter. This experience involved a wrestling fetish, donning leotards, and staying up until 3 am with the initial guy and his unexpected friend.
On hook-up culture in general, 54.6% of respondents found that there was no real pressure to participate in it, or at least the pressure was โnot worse than anywhere elseโ and was โjust the same as other uni cultureโ. โItโs easily accessible for those who want to find it but thereโs not a pressure to participateโ, summed up one respondent. As for why, one person commented โeveryoneโs doing too much work to fuck aroundโ, while another supplied a different reason: โpeople are clappedโ.
However, a significant minority of people who responded either with yes or maybe โ 18.7% and 26.2% respectively โ worried that there was an expectation to sleep with people they had got with in a club, with one respondent noting โyou canโt really get with anyone in a club without being told you have to go back to their accommodationโ. Similar pressures were sometimes present while dating, with one student commenting, โwhen Iโve gone on dates the expectation seems to be to hook upโ.
A related aspect of Oxford’s sex life is slut shaming. A third of respondents – 33.5% – felt that there was a culture of shaming people for promiscuity. It seems that this is more nuanced than โactual slut SHAMINGโ. Instead, it underlies the lighthearted merriment of โthings like sconcing on crewdatesโ – as explained by one respondent, โeven though it is funny, getting sconced every couple of weeks for something that happened once can start to feel a bit like a form of slut shaming, especially for girlsโ.
29.8% of students answered that they do use dating apps to find sexual partners, with Hinge being the most popular dating app, beating Bumble, Tinder, and Grindr. Students seem to use dating apps for a variety of purposes, mostly with the intent of finding longer relationships: โmost peopleโฆ are looking to meet people and go on dates more than just hook upโ, wrote one student. For the LGBTQ+ community, however, dating apps seemed more limited in providing opportunities to meet partners, who are โfew and far between”, due to the limited user base.
Regarding the types of relationships Oxford students enter with each other, 51.1% of respondents answered that they had entered an โofficialโ relationship while at Oxford. As some students noted, the culture in Oxford seems to be โway more focused on serious relationships or at least fwbโ. While universities, in general, can provide the meet-cute needed for any good love story, Oxford is apparently the 2nd university in the UK where you are most likely to marry the partner you meet here, at 21%, aligning with the 36% of respondents who have had an official relationship of a year or more. Situationships followed, with 40.5% of participants having not put a label on it, and one student creating their own category of relationship: โโPure delusion :Dโ.
When it comes to sex positions, missionary – including related sex positions, such as โeagleโ or โlegs in the airโ – was most popular. Of the 268 people who gave a preference, 33.2% said that missionary was their preferred position, with cowgirl coming in second at 24.2%. Notably, missionary was the most popular position for both female and male respondents, whilst cowgirl took the prize for non-binary respondents. However, whereas 17.7% more male respondents opted for missionary than the second most popular position, cowgirl, for female respondents, missionary, doggystyle and cowgirl all came within 4.8% of one another. Although roughly the same proportion of female respondents as male ones nominated cowgirl as their sex position of choice, 4.9% more female respondents than male respondents said that doggystyle was their favourite, and around 7.4% of both female and male respondents chose speed bumping. Oral sex was nominated overwhelmingly by non-binary respondents, with no female respondents saying that it was their go-to.
For some respondents, it was not the position, but satisfaction that counts above all. Viewing the question in a more abstract sense, one respondent wrote that their preferred position was โseeing her happy.โ Another respondent was either flustered by the subject matter or spoilt for choice, writing: โI donโt know ๐๐.โ Others were fans of some more niche positions including โseashell,โ โthe big dipper,โ and – the ominously titled – โFrench delivery.โ Nevertheless, nearly 80% of those who gave a preference said that either doggystyle, cowgirl or missionary were their favourites. Evidently, when it comes to go-to sex positions, in Oxford, you canโt go wrong with a classic.
There has been little change in relation to the safety of sex in Oxford since last year. This year, 59.2% of respondents said they ensure that some kind of contraception is used when having sex, whilst 26.3% said that they do not, up a perhaps concerning, but marginal 2.5% on last yearโs survey. Much like last year, condoms were the most used form of contraception, used by 51.6% of people who use contraception. As regards the differing attitudes towards contraception of female, male and non-binary respondents, the differences were relatively minor. Whilst female respondents were most likely to ensure contraception was used – 71.1% of female respondents who gave a definitive answer said that they did so – non-binary respondents were the least likely to, with only 63.2% answering positively.
Besides being โtoo! vanilla!!!โ, we wondered whether there were any other peculiarities that make sex at Oxford stand out. Some respondents noted with great fondness some classic aspects of the Oxfordian sex life. One in particular recalled โleaving someone at 5am to go to rowing practice,โ whilst another reminisced about โbeing asked for my LinkedIn after a hook-up,โ a testament to how truly no kind of relationship is sacred for Oxford hacks and careerists. Another respondent ruminated that โless neeks would vastly improve the quality of sex at Oxford.โ
The city of dreaming spires is naturally home to some more unconventional locations where one might โget jiggy with it.โ Particularly astounding was one respondent, among the 43.1% of respondents who confessed to having had sex in a public place, who โhad sex in the Bridge of Sighs,โ noting that โit is really difficult to have sex in the Bridge of Sighs but I managed it.โ Other notable sex spots included: the Radcam, the Sackler, apparently everywhere in New College, Exeter College chapel, the alleyway between the two Spoons pubs, St Johnโs boat house, Green Templetonโs garden, and โ… Brasenose.โ
Some students noted their frustration with Oxford sex life. One respondent took issue with its stiffness in particular, writing that โeveryone needs to loosen up.โ Another wrote regretfully, โI wish I hadn’t had sex here. I’d have been happier waiting until marriage.โ Others noted troubles in finding sexual or romantic partners around Oxford. Besides expressions of disappointment such as โHow do people ever enter relationships with each other?”, another respondent spoke to a feeling of alienation arising from Oxfordโs clubbing culture: “It’s just hard to get into if you don’t go clubbing, I think. Lots of people just want one-night stands while they’re drunk, not friends-with-benefits arrangements or, God forbid, proper relationships.” Finally, while this sex survey sheds insights into the varied and diverse sex life of the Oxford student, one student remarked that they wished โpeople were more open about their sex lives, not because I want to be creepy or anything, but just because it would help me rationalise it all better (and hopefully let me know Iโm not alone in my inexperience)โ.
On a more serious note, a number of respondents expressed concern at the normalisation of sexual assault within Oxford: โthe prevalence of sexual assault and rape here is absolutely insane. Even worse is the acceptance from the rest of the cohort, and apparent mission to protect their reputations once they find outโ. Others noted the lack of education around consent, and that โsome people arrive here and have NO boundariesโ. But the problems seem to start earlier than Oxford โ with one student attributing such attitudes to the culture in same-sex private schools, a reminder of the Everyoneโs Invited initiative, which began in 2020 to eradicate rape culture, and allowing survivors to share stories. Within Oxford too, then, it seems there needs to be a change in countering such normalised practices, to โhold people accountableโ.
Concerned with the betterment of the sexual experience in Oxford, a number of students proffered insightful words of wisdom and advice. โDonโt f**k your ex or lend them ยฃ2,000,โ wrote one student, whilst another suggested that the โwalls ought to be thicker because I can hear you f***rs screaming.โ Another took issue with the stiffness of Oxford sex life, saying โeveryone needs to loosen up.โ Whilst โOxford has really hot women,โ another respondent noted that โOxford men are very disappointing (sorry).โ One respondent suggested that a solution to this problem would be to โbranch out from Uni of Oxford menโ to other male residents, writing that โOxford Brookes were better, but better still were the flight school and people who work around the city.โ Good to know.ย
Despite the generally sex-positive attitudes students expressed, we found that there sometimes is a lack of conversation talking about sex at Oxford. While some students celebrated their friends as providing a โsupportiveโ, โopen, respectfulโ, space, others noted that โeveryone seems to be having it [sex] but nobody ever talks about itโ. Perhaps then the answer is openness, normalising conversations to understand that there is no singular sexual experience which defines the average Oxford student. As the wise Salt-N-Pepa once proclaimed: โLet’s talk about sexโ.

