In the past, readers drooled over film stars like Angelina, but the newest sex symbols are three middle-aged politicians.

Celebrity • Kink • Frequency • Perversions • Locations

Every once in a while, a male politician bursts onto the scene with so much charisma and so much intellect that he leaves many women swooning in his wake. John F. Kennedy had this effect. So did Pierre Trudeau and Bill Clinton. President Barack Obama is the latest example of a politician who has morphed into a sex symbol, if the results of the fourth annual Georgia Straight sex survey are any indication.

The reaction of female readers to Obama was overwhelming. In response to the question “Which politician or business leader would you have sex with?” he collected more than three times as many votes from women as his nearest competitor, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson.

The survey collected tens of thousands of anonymous responses to individual questions from people on Straight.com in December and January. It’s not scientific. The respondents were what pollsters call “self-selecting”, which means they don’t necessarily reflect the population as a whole. The timing of the survey coincided with the release of now-famous photos of the presidential hunk walking shirtless on a beach in Hawaii, which might help explain his appeal.

Vancouver’s new mayor also quickened the pulse of many women. But unlike Obama, Robertson also aroused many gay male respondents. Robertson came well ahead of his two nearest competitors, businessman Richard Branson and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, for gay men who would be interested in having sex with a politician. Other gay-male votes went to Vice President Joe Biden, former federal cabinet minister Maxime Bernier, NDP Leader Jack Layton, Liberal MP Justin Trudeau, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom, and, of course, Obama.

Heterosexual men, on the other hand, preferred Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, which befuddled editorial staff members at the Georgia Straight.

For some of us, acerbic comedian Lisa Lampanelli perfectly summed up Palin’s sex appeal in Long Live the Queen for HBO. “Yeah, she’s hot amongst politicians,” Lampanelli said of Palin, who might run for president against Obama in 2012. “She’s hot when compared to Eleanor Roosevelt or Hillary Clinton. But she only rates a two next to Pam Anderson.”

In fact, Clinton was repeatedly mentioned by men in response to one of the more ignominious questions: “Which politician or business leader would you never have sex with?” She narrowly beat out of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The bronze medallist in this category was former president George W. Bush. However, one male reader disagreed, writing that he would like to give it to Bush “up the ass, hard”. We don’t think he meant this in a nice way.

CELEBRITY

Which politician or business leader would you have sex with?

female responses

"Does Strombo count?"

"I'd drop an O-bomb for Rahm Emanuel in an instant."

Barack Obama: 12.6 %

Gregor Robertson: 3.7 %

Justin Trudeau: 3.1 %

male responses

"Sarah Palin...so I could fuck some sense into her."

"President Bush (up the ass hard )"

Sarah Palin: 9.1 %

Belinda Stronach: 3.1 %

Carole Taylor: 2.1 %

gay male responses

Gregor Robertson: 9.8 %

Richard Branson and Stephen Harper (tie): 2.4 %

lesbian responses

Barack Obama: 11.8 %

Hillary Clinton, Jack Layton (tie): 5.9 %

Which politician or business leader would you never have sex with?

female responses

"Donald Trump...the toupee is a bigger turnoff than the arrogance."

"Sarah Palin. That smile and that hairstyle are not appropriate for the bedroom."

Stephen Harper: 15.3 %

George W. Bush: 8.5 %

Donald Trump: 5 %

male responses

"Kryptonite is to Superman as Hillary Clinton is to my dick."

"The Queen, duh"

Hillary Clinton: 5.4 %

Stephen Harper: 5.1 %

George W. Bush: 1.7 %

Which actor would you have sex with?

female responses

"Philip Seymour Hoffman. He'd be great at role-playing."

"Brad Pitt, but he would probably impregnate me"

Johnny Depp: 4.5 %

Brad Pitt: 3.5 %

Angelina Jolie: 2.9 %

George Clooney: 2.7 %

Clive Owen: 2.1 %

male responses

"Jennifer Connelly or Sarah Silverman—whichever wasn't busy at the time"

"Helen Mirren would not get kicked out of bed for dropping her dentures."

Angelina Jolie: 4 %

Scarlett Johansson: 3 %

Jessica Alba: 2.8 %

Jennifer Aniston: 1.8 %

Which actor would you never have sex with?

female responses

"I could do without the passion of Mel Gibson."

"Any of the Baldwins. That's just gross."

Tom Cruise: 9.5 %

Brad Pitt: 2.1 %

Danny DeVito: 1.9 %

Woody Allen: 1.7 %

Steve Buscemi, Mickey Rourke (tie): 1.5 %

male responses

"Meryl Streep (although maybe ”˜angry' sex)"

"The scary woman at the beginning of David Lynch's Inland Empire"

Tom Cruise: 2.3 %

Rosie O'Donnell: 1.8 %

Roseanne Barr: 1.7 %

Angelina Jolie: 1.5 %

Pamela Anderson: 1.3 %

According to our survey, Vancouverites are ready to do it again with former lovebirds Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

Which musician would you have sex with?

female responses

"The whole group from ZZ Top"

"The Indigo Girls, both of them, at once"

Justin Timberlake: 2.9 %

Lenny Kravitz: 2.7 %

Sam Roberts: 1.7 %

Jack Johnson, John Mayer (tie): 1.4 %

male responses

"Christina Aguilera (cuz my GF would join us)"

"Joan Jett...like 15 years ago"

Britney Spears: 2.5 %

Beyoncé Knowles: 2.1 %

Sheryl Crow: 1.8 %

Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Shania Twain (tie): 1.7 %

Which musician would you never have sex with?

female responses

"Ted Nugent (animal murderer)"

"Moby—need a little more meat on those bones"

Mick Jagger: 4.3 %

Ozzy Osbourne: 2.9 %

Chad Kroeger: 2.5 %

Tommy Lee, Marilyn Manson (tie): 2.3 %

male responses

"Madonna, not even when she was younger!"

"Mama Cass—she's dead."

Madonna: 5.3 %

Amy Winehouse: 2.6 %

Britney Spears: 2.3 %

Céline Dion: 2 %

Courtney Love: 1.7 %

Madonna acts like she’s some sort of sex bomb, but many heterosexual men have no interest in completing the deal.

KINK

Have you ever lied to have sex?

female bisexual responses

yes: 30 %

no: 70 %

female heterosexual responses

yes: 25 %

no: 75 %

lesbian responses

yes: 21 %

no: 79 %

male bisexual responses

yes: 32 %

no: 68 %

male heterosexual responses

yes: 46 %

no: 54 %

gay male responses

yes: 47 %

no: 53 %

Have you ever had anonymous sex?

females: 31 %

males: 48 %

Have you had sex outside your regular relationship in the past year?

married women: 21.4 %

married men: 17.8 %

never-married women: 18.4 %

never-married men: 22.2 %

Have you had unprotected sex outside your regular relationship in the past year?

female bisexuals: 24.7 %

female heterosexuals: 20.1 %

lesbians: 13 %

male bisexuals: 40.6 %

male heterosexuals: 20.4 %

gay men: 26.9 %

Have you ever paid for sex?

women 18-24: 0 %

women 25-34: 1.8 %

women 35-49: 3 %

women 50 and over: 21 %

men 18-24: 6.7 %

men 25-34: 19.2 %

men 35-49: 33 %

men 50 and over: 35.8 %

Have you ever been tested for HIV?

bisexual women: 75.4 %

heterosexual women: 64.6 %

lesbians: 57.1 %

bisexual men: 58.1 %

heterosexual men: 48.7 %

gay men: 72 %

Have you ever had sex with someone because they were wealthy?

women: 7.3 %

men: 10.1 %

How important is it to have emotional involvement with a sex partner?

female responses

not important at all: 3.2 %

not very important: 8.4 %

somewhat important: 35.9 %

very important: 52.5 %

male responses

not important at all: 5 %

not very important: 11 %

somewhat important: 39 %

very important: 45 %

% age who can have sex with no emotional connection

bisexual women: 76.5 %

heterosexual women: 66.8 %

lesbians: 66.7 %

bisexual men: 75.7 %

heterosexual men: 70.3 %

gay men: 78 %

Were you under 16 when you lost your virginity?

females: 24.6 %

males: 18.8 %

Were you 25 or older when you lost your virginity?

females: 2.9 %

males: 4.6 %

Ever tell a lover they were better in bed than they really were?

females: 60 %

males: 54.1 %

Ever tell a lover they were worse in bed than they really were?

females: 3.5 %

males: 3.5 %

FREQUENCY

Who has sex 0-4 times a month?

female responses

Burnaby–New West: 43 %

Downtown Vancouver: 45.5 %

Vancouver East Side: 45.9 %

Vancouver West Side: 40.4 %

North Shore: 29 %

Richmond-Delta: 42.4 %

Surrey–White Rock–Langley: 40 %

Tri-Cities: 68.2 %

male responses

Burnaby–New West: 51.5 %

Downtown Vancouver: 43.2 %

Vancouver East Side: 43.2 %

Vancouver West Side: 43.7 %

North Shore: 50 %

Richmond-Delta: 37.9 %

Surrey–White Rock–Langley: 55.9 %

Tri-Cities: 53.3 %

Who has sex more than 20 times a month?

female responses

Burnaby–New West: 10.3 %

Downtown Vancouver: 16.9 %

Vancouver East Side: 7.2 %

Vancouver West Side: 9.5 %

North Shore: 9.5 %

Richmond-Delta: 9 %

Surrey–White Rock–Langley: 14.3 %

Tri-Cities: 9.1 %

male responses

Burnaby–New West: 4.5 %

Downtown Vancouver: 6.2 %

Vancouver East Side: 6.3 %

Vancouver West Side: 5.7 %

North Shore: 5 %

Richmond-Delta: 17 %

Surrey–White Rock–Langley: 6.8 %

Tri-Cities: 3.3 %

In the last month, how many times did you have sex?

divorced female responses

0-4 times: 46.5 %

5-10 times: 30.2 %

11-20 times: 18.6 %

21-30 times: 2.3 %

more than 30 times: 2.3 %

married female responses

0-4 times: 38.4 %

5-10 times: 33.3 %

11-20 times: 15.2 %

21-30 times: 12.1 %

more than 30 times: 1 %

never-married female responses

0-4 times: 45.5 %

5-10 times: 25.2 %

11-20 times: 18.4 %

21-30 times: 7.8 %

more than 30 times: 3.2 %

separated female responses

0-4 times: 50 %

5-10 times: 18.8 %

11-20 times: 18.8 %

21-30 times: 6.3 %

more than 30 times: 6.3 %

divorced male responses

0-4 times: 44.4 %

5-10 times: 31.5 %

11-20 times: 14.8 %

21-30 times: 3.7 %

more than 30 times: 5.5 %

married male responses

0-4 times: 48 %

5-10 times: 32.7 %

11-20 times: 14.2 %

21-30 times: 3.9 %

more than 30 times: 1.2 %

never-married male responses

0-4 times: 50.4 %

5-10 times: 28 %

11-20 times: 13.6 %

21-30 times: 5.2 %

more than 30 times: 2.8 %

separated male responses

0-4 times: 41.9 %

5-10 times: 32.3 %

11-20 times: 25.8 %

PERVERSIONS

Have you ever been videotaped or photographed during sex?

women: 48.8 %

men: 44 %

Have you ever had sex:

female responses

in the car: 78.1 %

in the great outdoors: 76.4 %

on the phone: 54.3 %

over the Internet: 37.4 %

at school, college, or university: 28.5 %

at the office: 25.4 %

in an airplane: 4.8 %

in a bathhouse: 4.1 %

in a massage parlour: 0.8 %

male responses

in the car: 74.8 %

in the great outdoors: 74.4 %

on the phone: 42.2 %

at school, college, or university: 36.3 %

over the Internet: 32.7 %

at the office: 30.4 %

in a massage parlour: 14.9 %

in a bathhouse: 11.6 %

airplane: 6.4 %

What are the best places to find willing sex partners?

female responses

parties: 41.3 %

bars and nightclubs: 40.1 %

Internet: 27.7 %

school: 21.5 %

work: 17.8 %

coffee shop: 8.9 %

gym: 7.9 %

classified ads: 4.5 %

grocery store: 4.1 %

male responses

bars and nightclubs: 30.7 %

parties: 28.9 %

school: 19.1 %

work: 18.8 %

Internet: 18.5 %

classified ads: 9.6 %

coffee shop: 8.9 %

grocery store: 7.6 %

gym: 6.8 %

Have you ever participated in group sex?

women: 26.7 %

men: 31.8 %

Have you ever tried domination?

women: 31.6 %

men: 31.4 %

Have you ever tried submission?

women: 40.5 %

men: 25.1 %

Have you ever dated or married outside your race?

bisexual: 68.5 %

heterosexual: 63 %

gay or lesbian: 68.3 %

Have you ever slipped away from work for midday sex?

female bisexuals: 34.2 %

female heterosexuals: 42.6 %

lesbians: 53.3 %

male bisexuals: 56.7 %

male heterosexuals: 60.8 %

gay men: 43.1 %

Have you and a partner ever looked at pornography during sex?

women: 65.4 %

men: 69.8 %

Should there be bathhouses for lesbians and heterosexuals?

female responses

yes: 71 %

no: 29 %

male responses

yes: 74.3 %

no: 25.7 %

Would you post a video of yourself on the Internet having sex?

female responses

yes: 5.7 %

no: 94.3 %

male responses

yes: 14.6 %

no: 85.4 %

LOCATIONS

What's the most unusual place you've had sex?

10 female responses

"I used to work on a cruise ship; we had sex in every public room onboard."

"An igloo. Canadians will be Canadians..."

"Buddhist shrine temple in Tokyo at night"

"Gender-neutral washroom on the UBC campus"

"Grandmother's bed while she was outside gardening"

"Hollow tree"

"In a park on the hood of our BMW, put a dent in it!"

"In the pews with the preacher's son"

"On a stranger's yacht that we broke into"

"On the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland"

10 male responses

"Against the wall of Canada Place...with surveillance cameras looking on"

"ATM machine kiosk"

"In a doghouse"

"In the disabled washroom at a public swimming pool"

"Ladies' bathroom, Hyatt Regency Vancouver with my wife's friend"

"Nitobe Gardens UBC"

"On an anthill"

"SkyTrain"

"Wax museum"

"Zamboni room, Trout Lake Arena"