What's Your Number?

"What's your number?"

"555..."

"No, you know, your number." 

Ah, the ever intriguing question regarding how many sexual partners we've racked up. I remember when someone asking for my number was simple, not convoluted. Now, there are many circumstances in which I have to pause for a minute and decide which number the inquiring party wants. This can turn into quite an awkward situation if you give the wrong answer (mainly, if someone really does want your phone number and you decide to tell them you've slept with 25 guys--this year). 

I remember when I first started sleeping around (keep reading because after AJ deflowered me things start to go downhill as far as my sexual promiscuity...), I always told my friends I was going to keep my 'number' on both hands for my life. As in, I thought I was going to be able to count my number of sexual partners with just 10 fingers. For my life. For eternity. 

Really?

According to a study done by MSNBC, the average number of lifetime partners for a man is 7, while it is only 4 for a woman. This makes me seriously confused. Where are these women who must be fucking with the curve by only sleeping with 1 man. And why the hell are they doing this? Haven't they heard you need to test drive the car before you buy it? Plus, this makes others (like myself) look quite bad. I had 4 sexual partners by the time I was 19 and that is obviously not my lifetime. Okay, well obvious to me at least. 

Juvenile delusions aside, I am usually quite frank with people when they ask for my number. I don't really care if they know how many people I've slept with because really, does it matter that much? However, recent events have led me to contemplate what situations this is appropriate in. Should you tell your true number? Should you lie? If your going to lie, would it be better to just plead the 5th? 

All of my close girlfriends know how many people I've slept with, and I think this is fine. But what happens when a guy asks you? What happens when you start dating a new man and he wants to know how many people you've been with? I casually made a comment around my last boyfriend about sleeping with these brothers (not at the same time, stop judging me). Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled (nor is he any longer my boyfriend). Even though this wasn't the, hey guess how many guys I've slept with conversation, I felt like maybe it was too much for him. So I ask, what is the appropriate etiquette regarding this situation? 

One thing we know for sure: guys always lie about their number. They round up if it will make them look good, they round down if the girl (a.k.a. new girlfriend) will be upset. 

Bottom line--that 7 partners average for guys, lets just go ahead and round it down to 5.