"Every Single One Of My Female Friends Lies About Her 'Number'"

What's in a number anyway? My philosophy has always been that as long as my number of sexual partners is less than my age, then I'm doing okay. I realize this standard isn't for everyone, but for me it works. And for most people I know, their number isn't something that fazes them at all. 5? 23? 62? Does it really matter if it's safe and fun? 5 Thoughts He Has When You Tell Him How Many Guys You've Slept With

When What's Your Number? came out a few weeks ago, HowAboutWe conducted a survey asking people to share their "number," their threshold (the point where you've considered yourself to have had too many) and whether or not you think someone's number is important at all.

Some interesting highlights from the results: Women, although only slightly so, are less concerned than men when it comes to their "number." Woohoo! We've embraced the sexual revolution and made it our own, ladies! On a scale of 1 to 5, women scored 2.1 in their distress on the topic and men scored 2.4, with both genders being only "somewhat concerned" that their number of romp buddies would hurt their future chances of love. Forty-seven percent of the 1,000 respondents said they didn't have a personal threshold, but those who say it's an average of 20.3 (for women) and 29.2 (for men).

I've never understood how one's number can interfere with trying to find love. Honestly, most of my female friends who are either married or in committed relationships lie to their significant others about the number of people they've been with. While the average "number" among my friends is realistically closer to 15, based on the "white lies" they've told the fellas in their lives that average is more like 5 — oh, the secrets we keep! Personally, I don't understand this type of thinking. Although I don't flaunt my number, I've also never, ever lied about it. Yes, there are some I'd like to forget, experiences that were less than great and probably under circumstances that were not to my liking, but these were also moments and people who have shaped my life in way or another. When I do finally settle down, the person with whom my husband will fall in love would not be the same person without her past. In my opinion, each number is like a laugh line — and that's the stuff that makes you, well, you.  

Do you agree?