One study of 425 men and women found that
creative people had more sexual partners than non-creative people. The study done in New Zealand reported that the average number of partners for professional artists and poets was seven. Non-creative people had three partners.
One of the authors of the study, Dr. Nettle, said, "Creative people are often considered to be attractive and get lots of attention as a result. It could also be that very creative types lead a Bohemian lifestyle and tend to act on more sexual impulses and opportunities, often purely for experience's sake, than the average person would. Moreover, it's common to find that this sexual behavior is tolerated in creative people. Partners, even long-term ones, are less likely to expect loyalty and fidelity from them."
This set of findings supports a theory offered by evolutionist Geoffrey Miller, in his book "
The Mating Mind" (2001), that artistic ability may have evolved as a form of human sexual display. He believed that artistic men were more likely to have multiple sexual partners than women. Yet Dr. Nettle's study (conducted with Helen Keenoo of the Open University) found no differences between men and women.
I think that there are many more facets to sexuality than one particular trait -- such as professional level artistic talent. For example, if we were to base a projection on stereotypes alone, professional athletes or actors might also be expected to have a higher number of sexual partners. Clergy members might also be expected to have fewer partners.
There's a risk when conducting a study about sexuality -- whether the questions asked and the answers received reasonably lead to the apparent conclusions. And, there's one more risk -- whether the sample of the study has provided reliable answers in the first place. People routinely lie about their sexuality in many of life's settings. There's no reason to think that lying would not also occur in the course of a research project.
That's why I am always a bit hesitant to rely heavily on the newest and latest sex study.
Update: The phrase referring to Catholic priests has been removed, with apologies for any offense caused to readers. - WebMD Blog Administrator
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Technorati Tags: sexuality, creativity, Daniel Nettle, Geoffrey Miller
