How Opinions on Oral Sex Vary Between Americans and Europeans

Blowjobs can be a prominent component of our physical intimacy. It’s no secret that some men enjoy getting them more than others, and some women enjoy giving them more than others, but why is that? We know that there are plenty of variations when it comes to blowjobs, but is variation the only determining factor of what makes for a pleasurable experience?

To take a more intimate look at how much men enjoy blowjobs and the factors that contribute to that enjoyment, we surveyed 1,100 European and American men and women to get their take on giving and receiving oral sex. We asked them how important blowjobs can be to sex life, how long the ideal blowjob should last, and the behaviors after the act. Keep scrolling as we unzip the secrets.

Personal preferences

Studies have shown men think about sex far more frequently than women, and have a more spontaneous sex drive. Our team found that men also confessed that they’re also more likely to consider oral sex an important element in their sex lives than women.

While about 1 in 3 men said blowjobs were only somewhat important in their sex lives, more than 22 percent identified receiving oral sex as either moderately or extremely important to their sense of sexual satisfaction. While 1 in 4 women rated blowjobs as being “somewhat” important in their relationship.

To help put things into a more clear perspective, we asked men which type of intercourse they’d opt for if they could only experience one form of sex for the rest of their lives. Roughly 30 percent of men admitted they’d pick receiving blowjobs over traditional intercourse if forced to chose.

Quality over quantity?

There are plenty of opinions regarding how long a standard session of intercourse should last. One study suggests the optimum length should go on for half an hour, though a vast majority of couples don’t actually make it that long. If you haven’t got that much time to spare or you’re looking for a quicker foreplay option to get things going, both Europeans and Americans had a more efficient perspective on how long oral sex should last.

At most, American women suggested blowjobs on men should go on the longest – just over 11 minutes on average. American men had a somewhat different opinion on the topic suggesting just under 10 minutes from start to finish was ideal. Still, while Americans might prefer a longer oral love making session, Europeans liked to keep things a bit more brief. At 1:47 minutes shorter on average, European women averaged the experience at just over 9 minutes compared to 8 for men. Women thought blowjobs should last longer than men.

Research reveals women are often more likely to go down on their partners compared to men, but women may also be offering up the oral intimacy more often than men request it. 60 percent of European and American women initiated blowjobs with their partners on their own rather than having it requested of them.

Happy endings

One of the most controversial aspects of offering to preform fellatio on a partner is wondering what happens if he comes to orgasm during the act. We wanted to not only understand what women thought of swallowing after the act, but what men thought of it as well.

In reality, more than half of men don’t care if their partner swallows after oral sex or not. Even among those who indicated swallowing wasn’t an important aspect of sexual satisfaction were still extremely satisfied with the blowjobs they’d received over time. Still, if a person decides to swallow after oral sex or prefers it personally, 95 percent of men were still comfortable kissing post-blowjob. Swallowing is not indicative of a good blowjob, according to men.

When it came to deciding which course of action to take, swallowing or not, women were divided on their preference. 30 percent of American women and nearly 36% of European women never swallowed after going down on their partner. However, 1 in 4 of American women reported always swallowing, while less than 1 in 10 European women reported doing the same.

Unraveling the mystery

So if most men don’t care if their partner swallows after oral sex or not, what really goes into the perfect blowjob? As with most things in a relationship, quality communication can go a long way in sexual satisfaction, regardless of the position.

Men who talked to their significant other about the things they enjoyed (or didn’t) regarding oral were more than 10 percent more likely to report being very satisfied when their partners went down on them. Men also preferred making eye contact during blowjobs roughly twice as much as women which is typically a sign of a more intimate connection.

Pleasure in the process

What we found was that women who said they enjoyed giving blowjobs were also much more likely to report their men reaching orgasm easier. In fact, women who said they enjoyed giving blowjobs were 30% more likely to report their men reaching orgasm extremely easily than women who said they didn’t enjoy giving blowjobs. For some men, issues including erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, and orgasms without ejaculating at all are just a few of the issues that can get in the way of finishing at the end of oral sex.

Let's talk about sex

Research shows women are more likely to go down on their partners than men, but a majority of men admitted oral sex was a very important part of their sex lives and nearly 1 in 3 would chose blowjobs for the rest of their lives over traditional intercourse. A majority of women also said they initiate oral sex on their male partners instead of being asked, and many of the preconceived notions about what a man expects (like swallowing) at the end of oral turned out to be untrue.

When it comes to giving (or receiving) the best blowjob, the secret might not be so mysterious after all. Talking about what you do or don’t like during sex can help make those intimate moments more pleasurable for everyone involved. At Superdrug Online Doctor, our goal is to take the hassle out of visiting the doctor for common or private sexual concerns. You can order right from home and have the proper medication prescribed and delivered right to your doorstep. Don’t let anything get in the way between you and the best quality sex life. Visit us online to learn more.

Methology

We surveyed 1190 Europeans and Americans using Amazon Mturk and Clickworker. Our respondents ranged in age from 18 to 84 with a median age of 34. 557 of our respondents were women and 629 were men. 596 of our respondents were European and 594 were American. We surveyed heterosexual women and heterosexual men. The data presented here have not been tested for statistical significance and should be taken as purely exploratory.

Fair use

Think your readers might be enticed by what we had to say about oral sex? Feel free to share the results of this study for any noncommercial use, just play fair and include a link back to this page so they can see our research in its entirety. Questions or comments? Email them to [email protected].