Hollywood Movie Sex Is Wildly Unrealistic, and Numbers Prove It

While porn performers themselves freely admit that the sex they have for the camera can be very different from how they enjoy sex in “real life,” or how just regular people do, a recent study shows that the steamy sex scenes in popular Hollywood hits can be highly unrealistic as well. In fact, according to the study by the medical site Zava, only 4 percent of respondents in the British-based survey felt that Hollywood movies gave a “realistic” depiction of sex.  The survey catalogued sex scenes in 50 popular movies, ranging from The Notebook, Skyfall and 50 Shades of Grey, to The Matrix Reloaded, Titantic and Brokeback Mountain. So how unrealistic is silver screen sex? The Zava statistics show some startling differences between the Hollywood version, and the way real people get it on—especially for women. The study found that in Hollywood sex scenes, 39 percent of women depicted appeared to reach orgasm during intercourse. Back in the real world, only 19 percent of women said that they achieve orgasm every time they have sex. Perhaps the difference can be accounted for by the general age of the moviegoing public, which skews young. The 18- to 24-year-old demographic buys more movie tickets than any other age group. Yet the Zava study found that the likelihood of reaching orgasm during sex is highest among people—men and women—who are at least 55 years old. Among that age group 43 percent say that intercourse regularly leads to orgasm. For the younger set, ages 16 to 24, only 26 percent say that they reach orgasm during sex. Hollywood also omits a large part of the sexual experience for most “real” people. In Hollywood sex scenes, according to the study, only 27 percent of sexual encounters depicted on screen involved foreplay. But in real life, nearly seven of every 10 people, 69 percent, said that foreplay comprises a regular feature of their sexual experiences. Another significant discrepancy came in the depiction of condom use. A mere 2 percent of the Hollywood sex scenes showed a character using a condom, while in real life, 20 percent said that they employ a condom most or all of the time when they have sex. But Hollywood sex is not totally divorced from reality. Apparently men are prone to chilly toes during sex, and Hollywood gets it—because in real life, 34 percent of men said that they've had sex with their socks on. In the movies, roughly the same number—31 percent—wore socks during on-screen sex. Photo: Focus Features '50 Shades of Grey' publicity still