Sex By Numbers: Lady Gaga and Settling the Score

A weekly look at sex and culture, by the numbers.

There are certain things we will always want: eternal youth, the upper hand with our ex, and—if you happen to be Lady Gaga this week—everyone to stop obsessing over bodily perfection. Even though we may never get these things, this week’s Sex By Numbers is about our quest to put things right, or at the very least, prove ourselves right.

15: Age that Lady Gaga revealed she was when she began struggling with an eating disorder. Gaga made the confession on her website after the media’s harsh comments about her weight compelled her to start a positive “body revolution.”

642: Contrary to the conventional wisdom that sexual prudence is what leads to relationships, a study examining the habits of 642 adults found no indication that “hookups” aren’t just as likely to turn into relationships as more conservative affairs. But we already knew that.

12 Million: Reported price tag of Monica Lewinsky’s memoir, which was recently picked up by an unnamed publisher. Looks like the world’s most notorious intern is still trying to settle the score.

3 Euros: That age-old moment of female irritation— where you have to remind a male companion that “Actually, my face is up here”—apparently has some evolutionary underpinning. After watching video reels of breasts, men in a European study opted to be given 3 euros immediately—rather than a larger sum of money later —due to a decreased ability to delay gratification.

38%: A study found that 38% of surveyed women admitted that the best sex of their lives was with their previous partner. Not that they’d ever let him know that.

$185,000: In the midst of the sordid female escort scandal involving Backpage.com and the Village Voice, Microsoft has been given a $185,000 grant to help improve intelligence and prevent the “advertising and selling of human trafficking victims.”

682%: A legion of scientists claim that the coveted fountain of youth is finally available in the form of a compound called SeroVital, which has been shown in trials to increase endogenous Human Growth Hormone levels by a mean of 682%.

20-30%: That pesky phenomenon known as premature ejaculation—which is reportedly experienced by 20-30% of men at various times in their lives—apparently doesn’t bother women as much as men think it does.

Image: Zombie Lawyer

Rosie Spinks

Rosie Spinks is a freelance journalist from California with a degree in Environmental Studies. Her work has been published in publications including Sierra magazine, GOOD magazine, the Ecologist, and the Guardian Environment Network. A passion for travel, running barefoot outdoors, and reconnecting people to what is good dominates most of her thoughts. You can follow her writing on Twitter and Tumblr.