Sometimes there are no good answers
There are some questions to which there are no good answers. What is the difference between the Reform Treaty and the European Constitution is one. How many women have you slept with is another.
This is party because the answer changes depending on the audience. If you are male and your friends ask, it is somewhere higher than reality but within the realms of believability. If it’s your brother it’s a lot and if it’s your dad it’s even more.
The problem comes when your girlfriend asks because she doesn’t want to know the answer.
Telling them that it’s quality not quantity that counts doesn’t get you anywhere. They will either think that you have slept with a supermodel and feel fat or you started from a low base and therefore they could do better.
“I don’t know” only raises more questions. Why don’t you know? Did you have a drugs problem? Were you abused? What are you hiding? You slept with your sister didn’t you?
They want numbers, hard stats. Fortunately numbers are complex. Numbers are flexible.
If you go too high (27) you will ruin her fantasies of your suitability for a long-term relationship and have to spend Saturday morning in your nearest clinic. Never ever point out that she is the beneficiary of everything you’ve learnt from the previous 26.
Too low (3) and she’ll start asking herself what’s wrong with you when the simple truth is you either get drunk too soon and/or you lived with your mum too long.
The key to success is to try and guess how many she has slept with. For a 25 year old graduate 8 sounds alright. A couple before university, 4 at university (mostly in the second year) and a couple after (one a mis-guided short term fling with a work colleague in a job she’s since left).
Finally if hers is higher than yours dump the dirty little tramp.
