Topic Tuesday: What's Your Number?

There is a film out at the cinema at the moment called What's Your Number? It is about a girl who has slept with quite a few people and is worried, after reading a magazine article, that she could have met 'The One' and split up with him. So she goes back through her exes....

What I found interesting is the controversial topic of how high a person's number is and why people think it is ok to judge people based on the number of sexual partners they have had. Around 18 months ago I was involved in a debate on a magazine page which got out of hand, when a girl started calling those of us who had slept with a certain number of people names. Since then, I have made friends with the girl and have no hard feelings, but the subject is clearly a controversial one.

A lot of people seem to think it is ok to judge those of us who have had more than a handful of sexual partners in their time. Women are a lot worse of than men in this case, as men are often congratulated for having a high sexual number and given nicknames such as player and stud, whilst girls are given names such as slut, slapper and whore. I also believe that often men increase their number to sound cool, whilst girls often end up cutting their number to seem less like a 'slut', as this is what a lot of people think.

I am not about to go and tell you all my magic number. I do have some secrets left, and besides, my mum and my nan read this Blog! However, it is safe to say that I am in double figures. Don't be so quick to judge though, as you don't know the ins and outs of each and every relationship I have ever had. In fact, despite this number being considered relatively high for a girl in her early twenties, I have never once had a one night stand, I have always been safe, and reguarly get tested just in case, and I have been in a couple of long term relationships since I was 15. I have also been with barely anyone in the last two years, despite being single for 18 months.

People are so quick to judge and call people names but at the end of the day, life is for living, what does a number mean really? To me it means that I had fun in my teens, acted a bit wild and enjoyed myself. I am not ashamed for having slept with the amount of people I have slept with and I don't judge others who have slept with more people, or those who have only slept with one person, or are yet to sleep with anyone. It is a matter of personal opinion and one that should not be judged.

What is your opinion on having a high magic number? Would you be put off if someone you were dating had a higher number than you? Get involved and let me know your opinions below. (Personal attacks will not be tolerated, however, and comments of this nature will be deleted).