The “Harvard Independent’s” annual Sex Survey offers a look at the relationships, preferences, and private lives of Harvard undergraduates. The 2026 survey received 407 submissions, with respondents sharing everything from their relationship statuses to their preferred hookup soundtracks.
Respondent Demographics
First-years made up the largest share of respondents: 39.6% were in the Class of 2030, followed by 29.7% in the Class of 2029, 16.9% in the Class of 2028, and 13.8% in the Class of 2027. By age, 62.2% were 17-19, 37.0% were 20-22, and 0.8% were 23 or older.
The survey also captured a range of genders: 61.3% of respondents identified as female, 35.9% as male, and 2.8% as nonbinary. In a separate question, 3.4% identified as transgender.
In terms of sexual orientation, 58.3% reported being straight, 29.2% bisexual, 6.0% gay or lesbian, 2.3% pansexual, 1.6% asexual, and 0.8% queer. The remaining 1.8% supplied other descriptions, expressed uncertainty, or gave a nonspecific answer.
Turning to students’ broader outlooks, political views clustered toward the left: 79.8% selected very left, 11.1% selected moderate, and 9.0% selected conservative. As for religious views, 63.7% were nonreligious, 12.9% somewhat religious, and 23.5% very religious.
Relationships and Hookup Culture
This year’s percentage of virgins on campus has remained roughly the same as in recent years. When asked about virginity, 27.3% of respondents said they were virgins, while 72.7% said they were not. These numbers are roughly the same from last year, when 26.5% of students reported being virgins. Among respondents who have had sex, 69.2% reported having sex at least within the past month.
Among those who named an age at which they lost their virginity, 18 was the most common answer at 28.1%. The median age was 17, a year younger than the 2025 median. Students found sex most commonly through their relationships, 39.5% of the time. Students also reported a median of two previous sexual partners. It’s safe to say that hookup culture is a dying art at Harvard.
Attraction and Preferences
The survey also went beyond figuring out where students met their partners and explored why they were drawn to them. Men and women had the same expectations of their partners’ sexual history: the median number of previous sexual partners considered “too many” was 10 for both genders. Most nonbinary respondents (55.6%) did not care about sexual history.
Additionally, 82.5% of students reported clean-shaving or trimming, while only 61.4% preferred their partners to shave or trim theirs. Among women, 53.3% reported being clean-shaven, but only 19.5% preferred clean-shaven partners. Meanwhile, 16.7% of men shaved, but 34.4% preferred their partner to be clean-shaven.
The importance of height in a partner differed by gender. Among female respondents, 81.2% preferred partners who were at least as tall as they were. Among male respondents, 54.4% preferred partners at least as short as themselves. Nonbinary respondents most commonly expressed no preference (45.5%).
Regarding what nether endowments respondents preferred, 39.7% liked girthier and longer penises, while 38.1% did not care. 48.4% of respondents preferred their partners to be circumcised, while 44.7% had no preference. This was consistent with the typical male genitalia at the College: 63.6% of respondents with penises said they were circumcised and 36.4% said they were not. The median penis size among respondents was 6.5 inches.
Students preferred tits over ass on campus. Respondents’ median bra size was B though this statistic does not provide data on the quality of the average breast.
Attraction also extended to the groups students belonged to on campus. 46.5% of respondents found athletes more desirable. 33% of respondents were more attracted to people with impressive jobs or internships. This was followed by the arts, theater, and music scene at 25.5%, and final clubs at 23.1%. Students could select multiple groups.
How did students practice safe sex? Condoms were the preferred contraceptive method at 56.2%, followed by 33.4% using some form of birth control. 5.3% said they pulled out—which does not count as safe sex.
Unique Sexual Experiences
The campus was also moderately interested in fetishes: on the survey’s 0–6 kinkiness scale, the average response was three. 42% of students reported themselves as very or extremely kinky.
The written responses gave those ratings more detail, naming choking, piss, bondage, breeding, edging, BDSM, and submissive or dominant dynamics. Other answers included “fascist/feminist” and “a moderate amount of body odor.”
Additionally, some students reported having controversial relationships on campus. 0.7% reported having sex with a proctor, 3.6% with a teaching fellow, and 2.9% with a professor. Roommates accounted for 7.3%, blockmates and entrywaymates each for 13.9%, and teammates for 10.9%. As far as how many partners students had at one time, 6% of respondents reported having a threesome, 0% a foursome, and 0.4% participated in an orgy.
70.9% of students were also open to sex during menstruation, though only 28.3% had oral sex during menstruation. 32.2% of respondents reported having used sex toys with a partner.
Students were less experimental with sex positions, with missionary as the most popular option at 42.5%. Before getting to those positions, foreplay most commonly lasted 15 to 20 minutes at 36.4%, though 15.5% preferred it to last longer than 30 minutes.
Masturbation
Sometimes, sex doesn’t need to involve any partner at all. Respondents reported masturbating an average of two times per week, though 27.9% of respondents reported not masturbating at all. Separately, 18.4% reported having masturbated in public.
Alongside masturbation, respondents described their pornography habits: 73% reported watching or reading it occasionally (weekly to monthly), while daily consumption accounted for 3.3%, and multiple times per day for 0.9%. Another 17.5% reported they had never watched porn, while 5.3% selected, “I looked once and felt ashamed.”
Soundtracks and Aftercare
The survey also explored students’ preferred soundtracks for intimate moments. The Weeknd was the most frequently named artist for sex at 15.5% of music responses, followed by Lana Del Rey at 6.9%. Daniel Caesar and Deftones tied for third at 2.6% each.
Once the music stopped, respondents had their own ideas about what to eat. For after-sex meals, Mexican food and restaurants led at 28.2%, including Felipe’s, El Jefe’s, and Achilito’s. Pizza tied with chicken, wings, and chicken restaurants at 8.4% each. Ice cream and frozen desserts followed at 7.6%.
The top 3 desired professors on campus were Sergio Imparato, Steven Levitsky, and Amanda Claybaugh, respectively.
Student Commentary
Biggest misconceptions about sex?
“That it’s never awkward, and that it’s always very serious.”
“Everyone is having it!”
“That you can be ‘dirty’ for having a lot of sex, and that it has to have a lot of moral weight to it.”
Weirdest sexual fantasy?
“Getting pregnant.”
“Watching my significant other fuck someone else”
“Threesome with my suitemates.”
“Being left in a cage/leashed by the door while my partner goes to work.”
“Being kicked in the balls by my girlfriend and her friends, then teased. And worshipping them.”
“Stepsibling or stepparent sex or with [actual] ones.”
“Pedicare ego Aurelium pathicum et irrumare eum, et quoque cinædum Furium eocum…”
Most awkward sexual experience?
“Guy I was with kept asking if it was in because he was too crossed to know.”
“Turned on during section.”
“In the back seat of my car at a cematary [sic].”
“Breakup sex cum on face.”
“Sidechat hookup who got uncomfy after and blocked me.”
“When his dick was so small I asked if he was hard.”
“His foreskin caught on my braces.”
Written by the “Harvard Independent” News staff.