Until recently, Tina Fetner鈥檚 sociology students at McMaster University were skeptical when she presented statistics about sexual activity.

Though researchers at Indiana University have long conducted surveys about Americans鈥� sex lives, Fetner鈥檚 students wanted to see Canadian data 鈥� which didn鈥檛 exist.

鈥淎s soon as you present U.S. data to them, they鈥檙e like: 鈥榊eah, but that鈥檚 not us,鈥欌�� Fetner said.

It peeved Fetner, too. Her research focuses on sexuality and social change, but she didn鈥檛 have access to the same scope of information as her American counterparts.

鈥淚 was like: why doesn鈥檛 Canada have this? And then I was like: wait a minute. I know a researcher. I could do this.鈥�

The results ofher survey, modelled after the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior in the U.S., are detailed in the book 鈥淪ex in Canada: The Who, Why, When, and How of Getting Down Up North,鈥� published on Valentine鈥檚 Day by the University of British Columbia Press.

Fetner surveyed a representative sample of more than 2,000 Canadians back in 2018, positioning the data as a sort of baseline for Canadians鈥� sexual activity and attitudes before the COVID-19 pandemic turned everybody鈥檚 lives upside down.

The respondents answered an array of questions about their sexual activities, opinions and identity, ranging from whether they had ever used a vibrator or had anal sex, to whether they achieved orgasm in their most recent sexual encounter.

Fetner expects some things will have evolved in people鈥檚 sex lives since the pandemic. Take virtual sex, for example: pre-2020, when asked about their most recent sexual encounter, Canadians didn鈥檛 count sexting or phone sex.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an open question whether that鈥檚 changed, whether what we count as 鈥榬eal sex鈥� (includes) cyber sex,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l only know if we do more research.鈥�

But more than a jumping-off point for further studies, the findings offer a glimpse into Canadians鈥� bedrooms.

The survey results suggest the greatest determining factor in how much sex a person has is whether they live with a partner.

鈥淎 lot of people might say single people have more sex. Marriage puts a damper on your sex drive. You get tired, you get bored, you get busy, especially with kids. And of course, it鈥檚 the opposite that is the truth,鈥� Fetner said.

鈥淢arried people have more sex than single people.鈥�

She said it makes sense when you think it through 鈥� if you鈥檙e single, you have to go out and find a sex partner.

The survey also noted differences between participants who identified as straight, gay, lesbian or bisexual, though it didn鈥檛 take transgender or non-binary Canadians into account 鈥� there wasn鈥檛 a big enough sample to draw any conclusions.

Of the respondents, those who identified as bisexual were most likely to have had sex in the past month: 71 per cent of bi men, and 58 per cent of bi women.

The survey also found that gay men were more likely to have recently had sex than straight men, and straight women were more likely to have had sex in the past 30 days than lesbians.

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For Fetner, the survey has already led to more research. She鈥檚 published studies on the sex lives of those who identify as feminists, condom use among Canadian adults and discordance between sexual activity and sexual identity 鈥� in other words, straight people who have sex with members of the same gender, and gay people who have heterosexual sex.

Likewise, she followed up on results about the so-called 鈥渙rgasm gap.鈥� The research suggests that when it comes to sex between men and women, men were more likely to have an orgasm.

Of the men who have sex with women, 86 per cent reported having an orgasm in their last sexual encounter. For women who have sex with men, the proportion was just 62 per cent.

Fetner and her colleagues expanded on the survey by conducting in-depth interviews with 40 participants.

鈥淲hen heterosexual couples count real sex as just when the penis is inside the vagina, it means that stimulation of the penis becomes central to what counts as the real deal, the main act,鈥� she said. 鈥淪timulating the clitoris becomes secondary.鈥�

However, research shows that clitoral stimulation is key to female pleasure. If it鈥檚 thought of as supplemental, women are less likely to achieve orgasm 鈥� even though contrary to popular belief, it鈥檚 not physiologically harder for women to climax.

But ultimately, Fetner said, there鈥檚 good news out of the survey.

鈥淟arge majorities of the population are feeling really good about their sex lives,鈥� she said. 鈥淚sn鈥檛 that a beautiful thing to discover? I think that鈥檚 probably the best news in the whole book.鈥�

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press