Women say foreplay is overrated

Poor men. All that time and effort wasted. A study has shown that foreplay adds little to a woman's overall enjoyment of sex.

The main event itself is far more important, the researchers found.

Their findings contradict traditional bedroom etiquette, which dictates that men must take it slow.

More than 2,300 women were quizzed about their sex lives for the study. Questions covered areas such as the division of time between foreplay and intercourse, and how often the women had an orgasm.

Foreplay lasted for an average of 15.4 minutes and intercourse for 16.2, the Journal of Sexual Medicine reports.

Further scrutiny of the results, collected in the Czech Republic, led the researchers from the University of the West of Scotland and Charles University in Prague to conclude that foreplay contributed little to a woman's enjoyment of the encounter.

The researchers said: 'In contrast to the assumptions of many sex therapists and educators, more attention should be given to improve quality and duration of intercourse rather than foreplay.'

They added that the figure of 16.2 minutes for intercourse dwarfed the figure of seven minutes found in American studies, suggesting Europeans are better in the bedroom. Read more >>