Normal's Big Australian Sex Survey

We set out to survey over 1,000 Aussies, from Gen Z, to Boomers and beyond, to better understand the nation's thoughts on sex, sexuality, and pleasure.

One of the most eye-opening findings from our report has been the lack of good sex education on anatomy and contraception for recent graduates.

We're failing to even teach the basics.

Respectful relationships and consent have rightfully been in the news lately. And the data confirms that our schools are failing students when it comes to consent education - even recent graduates like Gen Z.

Gen Z females self-educate at twice the rate of males, suggesting that there is an important window during school to educate and set up our youth for success.

The 'orgasm gap' was originally used to describe an imbalance in orgasm frequency between straight men and women - but our report found there are orgasm gaps everywhere you look.

Females are orgasming less across every generation.

The Bright Spot

The gender orgasm gap appears to be shrinking in younger generations - with the gap for Gen Z being 64% among males and 46% among females. For females, rates of orgasm are highest among Millennial women (49%) - so still less than a majority!

State Vs State

West Australia is the kinkiest state (18% of people in West Australia have tried Kink / BDSM / Fetish play) and Northern Territory is the long distance lovers' state (19% have tried phone or video sex).

Tasmanians will keep you warm even in cold weather, being the most likely to get things started with foreplay, and to give oral sex - while Northern Territory, West Australia and Tasmania were the most avid sexting states. West Australians were the most likely to give anal sex (23%), while Victoria had the highest rates of receiving at 18%. And who could forget Queensland - the state with the most fans of sex with more than one person (11%).

Faking It

This dynamic flips in older generations, with just 1% of Boomer males and 0% of Senior males faking orgasms, compared to 10% and 13% for females respectively.

Communication

Millennials are the most communicative generation when it comes to sex.

'Always or often talk to their partners about sex'
Gen Z 18% females / 16% males
Millennial 25% females / 33% males
Gen X 18% females / 25% males
Boomers 11% females / 21% males
Senior 16% females / 18% males

Are You Lights On Or Lights Off?

In terms of reasons, 'I don't like how I look naked' is the winner among females, with 34% of Gen Z and 47% of female Seniors reporting this. For males who prefer the lights off during sex, the biggest reason given is arousal.

Frequency Of Sex

The majority of people are having sex between once a month and a couple of times a week - but across the board we think everyone is having more sex than they really are!

Body image is the biggest concern for young females when it comes to enjoying sex, while younger males are most concerned with being able to give partners more pleasure.

Boomer females reported a dramatic rise in the frequency of sexual issues, and not feeling interested in sex (51%) replaces body image as the top issue (26%).

While the #1 concern among younger males (Gen Z, Millennials & Gen X) is giving more pleasure to a partner, it becomes 'not being able to last as long in bed' for Boomers (31%).

The LGBTQ+* community is diverse, and our report finds that this diversity means experiencing sexuality in a number of different ways.

Bisexuals and gay men have had the most partners, substantially above the average for heterosexuals, with lesbians and other LGBTQ+ identities having fewer partners on average than heterosexuals.