There’s a Weird Connection Between Your Parents and Your Sex Life, According to Science

Here are two things you probably don't like seeing in a sentence together...your parents and your sex life.  However, we're going to talk about the connection between the two because science.  You know how Freud basically said that everyone secretly wants to have sex with their mom or dad or something along those lines?  It might not have been the cocaine talking.  That said, Freud might be the father of modern psychology, but he had some f*cked up ideas about sex.  Anyway, according to a study done by Glasgow University, there is a connection between our parents and a certain quality we seek out in our sexual partners.  Read on...it's about to get sexy, and a little awkward.

Eye color. According to the study, we seek out a similar eye color in our sexual partners to that of our parents. For straight women and gay men, it's your father's eyes. For gay women and straight men, it's your mother's eyes. And speaking of your own eyes, stop rolling them. This is serious.

Your personal experience. So, does your current sexual partner have the same eye color as the corresponding parent listed above? If, that is, you have a sexual partner right now. (Silently judging you.)

Freudian nip slip. Of course, this is oversimplifying everything, but you can't help but be reminded of Freud's Oedipus/Electra complex. The theory that all humans are born with this innate sexual desire to sleep with one of their parents, an urge suppressed by the cultural taboo of incest. Again, remember, this guy did a ton of coke. Also, he was Austrian. Austrians have some weird ideas about sex. They also don't take their lederhosen off when they have sex, FYI.

Other ways your parents influence your sex life. Sometimes, the way your parents raise you can have a very negative effect on your feelings about sex. For example, if you were raised in an extremely religious household and were taught that sex is dirty, it might be hard for you to overcome those feelings of shame and guilt that were ingrained in you.

Uncomfortably open parents. Then again, having parents who are open about their sexuality can be really embarrassing and awkward. Like having the sex talk. So, even if your parents teach you that having sex (responsibly and safely) is okay, you might still feel weird about it.

Waiting until marriage. If your parents are extremely old school, they might have abstained from premarital sex. Hopefully, you did the same thing. Otherwise...shame on you!

Let's take it to Reddit. Let's read what the good people over at Reddit have to say about how their parents influenced their attitudes toward sex. Let's pretend here for a moment that the people who post on Reddit have actually HAD sex before, and aren't speaking in hypothetical terms.

Reddit user Kanikkers. "I'm incredibly shy/tentative/possibly even damaged due to my parents' views on sexuality. I never had "the talk", I got books I was supposed to read. There was never an open dialogue in my family. I'm also fairly certain that my parents have absolutely no romantic relationship anymore and are still together just because of convenience."

Reddit user localgyro. "My folks just didn't talk about sex, ever. Dad was proud that he barely even touched mom's knee before they were married. As much as I don't want to be like them, it's left me far more sky and tentative than I think a lot of my colleagues are. I'm open-minded, but not comfortable being 'out there.'"

Reddit user PriscillaPresley. "They were repressed and didn't talk about it. As soon as I realized my mother was doing half of Florida, waiting seemed kinda silly." Wow, way to go, PriscillaPresley's mom!

Reddit user youmiserablebastard. "My father was physically abusive towards my mother. Witnessing that at a young age I believe has had a lasting effect on my view of men in general. I'm sort of afraid of them. I can't imagine being in a close physical relationship without thinking I might get hurt."

Reddit user firefawkes23. "My parents were very conservative about sex - it was sinful unless you were married. The expectation was that I'd wait for marriage, and I bought into it for a while. That...didn't survive my teenage years. I don't think growing up in (as iconocast put it) a sexual vacuum did me any lasting damage; I was a little naive at first, but would say I'm very sex-positive and knowledge enough now. I'm learning to express my kinky side, too, which I've always known existed but never had a chance to explore before my current relationship."

Anon Reddit poster. "My mom NEVER talked about sex until I was sixteen, and even then, she only mentioned it to insert her opinion about how she disapproves of everything I do and she'll always feel that way. My dad treats sex as if it's absolutely disgusting, and that I'm disgusting for having an interest in it. Because of that, I've always felt extremely timid to sexual things."

Reddit user myhusbandswife. "My parents are extremely repressed. They even only hug or kiss in front of us maaaaybe once a year. Kind of depressing actually. Whenever the topic of porn or sex toys comes up, my mom acts like only psychopaths and cheaters use them. And I'm a huge pervert, the biggest pervert I know IRL. I think about sex a lot, I am all for some tasteful PDA. I love talking about sex. I consider sex/pleasure sort of a hobby really. BDSM, spanking, sexy clothing, body paint, gags, the list could go on. I don't broadcast everything I do, but sometimes I do like to voice my opinions in front of my parents just to stir the pot a little, and to show my parents that, yes, normal people do have and ENJOY sex, not just cheating psychopaths."

Reddit user killclaudio. "Mom: killclaudio, we don't need to have the sex talk, do we? Me: NOPE. Mom: Okay, good. I think I was fourteen or fifteen when she asked me that. Our only prior discussion of sex occurred when I was four or five and she explained reproduction. Fortunately, being growing up with an Internet-capable computer, I filled in all the blanks by myself."

So, in conclusion. While it's almost painful to acknowledge the fact that your parents are (or at least, were) sexual beings, it's undeniable that they probably influenced your sex life in one way or another. So, while you can't blame the fact that you're a big huge pervert on your parents for being prudes, but it might have had a little something to do with it.