The Top 10 Reasons Men and Women Have Sex

Men may be from Mars and women from Venus, but they both have sex for the same reason: Lust.

When it comes to sex, it's more about the lust in the body than the love in the heart. According to a study from the University of Texas, men and women agree that the No. 1 reason they have sex is they are physically attracted to the other person. And while expressing love and affection do make the top 10, this clearly takes a backseat to the physical enjoyment of sex, reports The Associated Press. While most researchers have spent their time exploring how people have sex, the Texas team spent five years and their own money to find out why. The most surprising finding blew long-held gender stereotypes out of the water. Men don't want to just have sex for the physical pleasure and women want more than love.

Led by University of Texas clinical psychology professors Cindy Meston and David Buss, the team questioned 444 men and women ages 17 to 52 to come up with 237 distinct reasons that people have sex. These ranged from "It's fun" to "I wanted to give someone a sexually transmitted disease." Once the list was finalized, Meston and Buss asked 1,549 college students taking psychology classes to rank the reasons on a one-to-five scale based on how each reason applied to their experiences, reports AP.

Perhaps the most interesting finding is that men and women think alike. "None of the gender differences are all that great," Meston said. "Men were more likely to be opportunistic towards having sex, so if sex were there and available they would jump on it, somewhat more so than women. Women were more likely to have sex because they felt they needed to please their partner."

Men: Top 10 reasons to have sex
1. I was attracted to the person.
2. It feels good.
3. I wanted to experience physical pleasure.
4. It's fun.
5. I wanted to show my affection to the person.
6. I was sexually aroused and wanted the release.
7. I was "horny."
8. I wanted to express my love for the person.
9. I wanted to achieve an orgasm.
10. I wanted to please my partner.

Women: Top 10 reasons to have sex
1. I was attracted to the person.
2. I wanted to experience physical pleasure.
3. It feels good.
4. I wanted to show my affection to the person.
5. I wanted to express my love for the person.
6. I was sexually aroused and wanted the release.
7. I was "horny."
8. It's fun.
9. I realized I was in love.
10. I was "in the heat of the moment."