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Firemen beat footballers in sexual fantasy league - Our obsession with celebrities goes further than we think

  • Firemen feature in 47.3% of women’s sexual fantasies
  • Footballers are only a fantasy for 20.2% of women
  • 40% of the nation fantasise about sex with a celebrity

Tues, 22 August 2006

New research commissioned by Budget Van Insurance has revealed the nation’s ultimate fantasies. Firemen are the ladies’ clear favourite, featuring in 47.3% of their sexual fantasies, followed by soldiers (28.0%). Powerful businessmen score an impressive 27.3% proving that money and power are potent aphrodisiacs.

The UK’s obsession with celebrities stretches to our fantasies, with a massive 40% of people fantasising about sex with them. Threesomes featured strongly appealing to the majority of men (55.3%) and 31.3% of women. Sex in a public place is another favourite among men’s fantasies (34.5%) and 39.1% of men still dream of joining the mile-high club. Same sex fantasies are significantly more common among women (23.5%) than men, who rank it as their least likely fantasy (5.3%).

Women’s other favourite occupations include doctors (25.7%), pilots (25.5%) and policemen (25.1%). Gardeners beat builders for the top tradesman fantasy with 18.2%.

Men appear to be suckers for a uniform, their fantasy favourites are nurses (53.9%), maids (44.2%) and air hostesses (39.6%). Men are less impressed than women by power, only 24.0% fantasise about high powered businesswomen. Men’s least favourite fantasy babes are traffic wardens who score 6.5%. Teachers are a pupil’s favourite, featuring in 66.7% of male students’ fantasies.

A significant number of men (37.9%) and women (26.8%) fantasise about sex with a stranger. Women are less keen on meeting people through the internet for uncomplicated sex, it only features in 8.8% of their fantasies compared to 27.9% for men.

Guilty conscience

Men are more comfortable with their fantasies than women, 73.6% of men feel fine about fantasising compared to 68.2% of women. 9.5% of women block their fantasies out compared to only 4.4% of men. Across the sexes 16-24 year olds are the most likely to feel very guilty about their fantasies (4.5% compared to national average of 1.9%).

Despite being happy to fantasise, most people keep their thoughts to themselves. Women are more likely to share their fantasies (35.5%) than men (32.2%). The older we get the more secretive we become, a reflection that it has become more acceptable to talk about our sexual desires. People who are married or in long term relationships are more likely to share their fantasies with their partners (38.2%).

Unsurprisingly men fantasise more often than women, 46.9% of males fantasise at least once a day and this figure falls to 21.3% among women. 16-24 year olds fantasise even more frequently, 40% of younger males fantasise at least once a day and females are not far behind (34.8%).

Freshen up

Fantasies play an important role in keeping couples’ sex lives fresh with 22.9% fantasising together. Other ways that couples spice things up include experimenting with different positions (68.6%), trying different locations (34.6%), using sex toys or props (31.5%) and using adult films (18.1%). Couples don’t appear to be living out their threesome fantasies, only 1.1% invite a friend to join them and 0.5% are joined by a stranger.

Corinne Sweet, psychologist says:
“These survey results show how far the celebrity and media-led culture has penetrated the nation’s unconscious in shaping and stimulating our sexual desires. For instance, Jesse Metcalfe, the gardener in Desperate Housewives, provides a typical male fantasy object for many women as he displays a fit body, strong muscles and shoulders, and signals, sexually, he’d be a perfect virile mate, siring healthy children. Sexual fantasies are no longer taboo, indeed, they reflect a healthy guilt-free sexual appetite. Women, as well as men, should feel relaxed about fantasising, as it can be a normal adjunct to their sex lives, creating an extra buzz, whether they are single, married or divorced”.

Emma Maziak, Budget Van Insurance says:
“It is clear that the nation is not short of imagination when it comes to sexual fantasies! While for many women the fireman is the all action hero, it is interesting to see that gardeners beat builders and plumbers as the ladies’ favourite tradesmen.”

Notes to Editors
The BGL Group
The BGL Group was established in 1992 and has grown to be the UK’s third largest personal lines intermediary, through a combination of organic growth and a series of major strategic acquisitions.

It now has over 1,000,000 customers, contact centre operations in Peterborough, Coventry, Sunderland and Cape Town, South Africa and a number of websites, including – www.budgetinsurance.com. It currently employs over 2000 people, and its head office is in Peterborough.

As an intermediary, Budget is able to access a wide range of underwriters, making it highly competitive in the marketplace.

Budget’s core products are motor, home, commercial vehicle and bike insurance. The Group also offers a wide range of supplementary products, which include breakdown cover, legal protection, travel insurance and mortgage payment protection insurance.

In 2003, Budget launched Junction, its affinity arm, which provides outsourcing services for major UK brands including Bradford & Bingley plc, Homebase, Marks & Spencer Money, National Australia Bank Group and the Post Office.

Budget’s motorcycle division, Bennetts, is a leading player in the motorcycle insurance market.

Budget is the trading name of BISL Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Registered Address: Pegasus House, Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate, PE2 6YS. Registered in England no 3231094.