I've made jokes that food is better than sex. Jokes. As in, no one could ever really mean that, right? But it turns out there are people out there who think that food is just as good as sex and would even pick food over sex.
Have you recovered yet? Because I still haven't. But according to a recent study, it's the truth. Havas Worldwide partnered with Market Probe International to survey 11,976 men and women about how we view and consume food in their Eaters Digest survey. One of their findings was that we've returned to the idea of food as an experience, which I'm completely on board with — food as something we enjoy together and celebrate, rather than prepackaged nonsense that sacrifices nutrition and joy for convenience and trans fats. What blew my mind is how many people rated it up there with sex. I must be eating the wrong food.
"Food, much like wine and craft beers, has become a very important aspect of people in their road to being healthier versions of themselves," relationship coach and founder of Maze of Love, Chris Armstrong, tells Bustle. "More importantly, good and inventive food has become a bit of a celebrity in its own right... a lot of people have a love affair with good food, and if they meet a potential partner that shares this love affair, the intellectual and emotional intimacy factors rise in conjunction."
A previous survey by MiumMium, a marketplace for on-demand chefs, found that only 28 percent of people would take the best meal of their lives over sex. So at least that's the minority. But the new data by Havas Worlwide shows a different picture. They found that more than half of women— 51 percent— said that eating can be as pleasurable as sex. And interestingly, more Millennials agreed with this than Generation Xers or Baby Boomers. Young people think food is as good as sex... I have never felt less like a young person.
But that was not only an age difference, there're also some differences between the genders. Here's what else Havas Worldwide found about food and sex:
1. Fewer Men Think Food Is As Pleasurable As Sex
While over half of women thought food could rank up there with sex, only 46 percent of men felt the same. But that's still nearly half of men — and way more than I would expect.
2. Only 26 Percent Of Men Would Chose Dinner Over Sex
Luckily, only about one in four men would choose dinner over sex. And we're talking "an excellent dinner at a restaurant" kind of dinner, so the most tempting kind.
3. But Over 40 Percent Of Women Would
Yep – 42 percent of women would take the "excellent dinner at a restaurant" over sex. And even though that's less than half, it's still too close for comfort for me. And to make things even worse, according to the survey, an additional 31 percent of women neither agree nor disagree, meaning that fewer than one in four women pick sex over a great dinner. We live in a confusing time.
4. Most Millennials Think Food Is As Pleasurable As Sex
Remember how I said that more Millennials agree with food being as good as sex? Well, a whopping 54 percent said that food is on the same level as sex, compared with 42 percent of Baby Boomers.
5. But Age Makes Less Of A Difference When It Comes To Dinner
When it came to choosing between dinner or sex, 35 percent of both Millennials and the Baby Boomers said they would choose the dinner, and 30 percent of Generation X said the same.
Images:Andrew Zaeh for Bustle; Giphy (5)
