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We think about it so often - every seven seconds according to one popular urban myth - that we really ought to be experts by now.
For much of our lives we live sex, breathe sex and will do almost anything to get more sex. Or at least some of it if we are not getting any at all.
Like some kind of insane life force, sex seems almost to define our being for much of our late adolescence, yet even into adulthood many of the most ridiculous myths about it persist and do so despite all the evidence to the contrary.
Part of the problem is that admitting we don't know everything is never easy for a bloke - and it can be virtually impossible in the most obviously testosterone-laden arenas of sex and sport. As teens we never felt comfortable discussing it with our parents, our teachers or the family GP; and even if we were self-confident enough to ask a classmate the chances are that he knew no more than anybody else at that age.
In such an environment myths were free to proliferate like crazy, and proliferate they did. Eventually we managed to separate the wheat from the chaff - but only some of it, and usually only after many years.
MSN Him deconstructs 10 mistaken beliefs men have about sex.
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Wrong. We maybe want it more of the time than the girls do, though if we are honest we are rarely up for it every minute of every hour, seven days a week. We just like to think we are because that somehow strikes us as a normal manly thing.
Our partners differ most obviously because hormones and so on make them feel like having a lot of sex at certain times rather than the urge being equally distributed across 31 days of the month.
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Someone knowledgeable and experienced is probably going to be more adept than a virgin. Technically, anyway, although there's a very thin dividing line between self-confident and cocksure, and most girls will spot you crashing through it as surely as if you had fallen into a minefield.
Instead we know that what we call good sex has more to do with your brain than your bits. Meaning there has to be a connection between the two of you. It also means there are no hard and fast rules and that what hits the spot for some can be the ultimate turn-off for others.
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Sex is natural, so surely great sex comes naturally. Well only in the movies, where boys meets girl, girl climbs into bed with boy, and mind-blowing action continues until daybreak. In the real world communication is vital, and learning how to communicate can take a long time.
But that's good. A willingness to be open to new techniques and positions, and to find out what each other finds most pleasurable, means things get better as you go along. Much better, hopefully, thereby banishing any memories of that first awkward fumble.
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Try telling your parents! On second thoughts, better leave that one be.
It is possible that younger guys do it more often than older ones, but not invariably. The young also expend more energy doing it, and maybe make more noise than their elders, although neither factor is proof positive that they are any more expert.
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Size matters
Well yes and no. It matters because if you worry about it your concern can impact on your overall self-esteem which is clearly bad. Similarly it can be the case that girls want to be, ah, confronted by something of some stature - although many will tell you that too big is offputting.
Physically though it is an irrelevance and size is no barometer of manhood or virility. Ask and she will tell you a single finger can work its magic - it can, it can - added to which, in this field like so many others, enthusiasm can more than compensate for any physical shortcomings.
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That's Latin for 'Viagra conquers all', the idea that there is a silver bullet solution for any sexual woe. It is certainly a miracle drug, I would not argue with that. But the belief that medication of any sort is the only cure for erectile dysfunction is well wide of the mark.
Drugs are only a temporary fix, and anyway very often address the symptom rather than the cause, which in the long term is unsustainable. If you have a problem, or think you have a problem, have it checked out by a pro. It may be embarrassing, but do yourself a favour.
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Maybe for other oysters, but while certain foods may put you both in the mood, there is scant if any evidence that aphrodisiacs actually work. Not these famous bivalve molluscs or a tiger's rude bits, and certainly not dark chocolate on top of good old-fashioned strawberries and cream.
That said, certain ingredients can help establish the right atmosphere and set the scene. The right one might even trigger the hoped for desire by arousing an erotic memory, but as with sex generally it all comes down to personal preferences.
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Safer, maybe, but even that is open to question. Part of the confusion is that for some people - even some quite famous presidential sort of people - not having full sex means not having sex at all. In reality though it is less about definition, and more about exchanging bodily fluids.
Do that and there is always the possibility of something untoward happening. Like any other sexual activity oral sex - whichever way round you do it - carries a risk of transmitting a number of sexually transmitted diseases and even HIV. Not the highest risk, sure, but a risk nonetheless.
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If by PE you mean premature ejaculation then it is a popular misconception that it only affects the young and inexperienced. Certainly it does affect them, quite a lot of them, when they first reach sexual maturity. But like depression it is much more prevalent, with around 30% experiencing at some time in their lives.
The good news is that it is only rarely traced back to an underlying physical or medical problem, and most victims suffer only temporarily.
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Not for a moment is it to be supposed that your partner will be overjoyed to learn that when you are in bed together your mind occasionally wanders over to, say, Eva Mendes.
But the chances are that your partner does it too, and fantasising about someone else is by no means always bad. If you are both committed to the relationship, and the object of your fantasy is an A-lister rather than, say, your mate's sister, it is probably fine - though best kept to yourself.
