YouGov pollsters asked people to pick their sexual fantasies from a list. After controlling for other demographic variables, they found a list of fantasies that were statistically significantly more popular among supporters of one party compared to the others were identified.
“The only thing that distinguished Conservative supporters, when you control for everything else, is that they fantasised about sex with a sports star,” Twyman recalls. “To my eternal shame, I did not ask which sports star.”
Other results that stood out: In addition to fantasising about sex outdoors, Labour voters wanted to hook up with a stranger or movie star. And UKIP supporters – remember them? – “fantasised more than other people about using sex toys”.
“Perhaps not what you might expect!” he says.
Results like this draw headlines, for obvious reasons. But the underlying conclusion of the study was rather different. Researchers found that sexual stereotyping by political preference won’t get you very far.
“There are a few more common fantasies, and that’s interesting,” says Twyman. “But the main thing we found was that you can’t predict, with any degree of statistical accuracy, someone’s political support from their sexual fantasies or behaviour.”
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“It maybe ‘just makes sense’ to people that if someone is into more authoritarian positions in politics, they must be into more authoritarian positions when it comes to sex.
“But in reality, that’s not necessarily the case. Yes, people’s sexual preferences align with their preferences in the real world, but in other times, people want to do exactly the opposite. Crucially, BDSM and other pursuits that are more oriented towards control or authority – they were no more common among those on the right than they were among those on the left.”
In short, it’s hard to tell what someone’s into based on their political affiliations. But easier to predict who they might be into.
Last year, dating platform Tinder found that 71% of Gen Z respondents saw ‘opposing political views’ as a relationship dealbreaker.
Another 2017 study found that “people evaluate potential dating partners more favourably and are more likely to reach out to them when they have similar political characteristics”.
This tendency makes sense, says Dr Briony Hannell, a feminist researcher and sociology professor at the University of Manchester. It’s common enough that there’s a sociological theory for it: ‘homophily’, or the idea that people naturally bond with others who are similar to them.
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“Think about how so many friendships, for example, are built on finding someone ‘like-minded’,” she tells Big Issue.
A partisan approach to partnering is not uncommon: in 2022, Lucy Powell, (then a member of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet) faced criticism after she was pictured wearing a t-shirt with the phrase ‘Never Kissed a Tory’.
The current political landscape is accentuating this tendency, Hannell says.
“I think that political polarisation, and especially given the rise of right-wing reactionary discourses waging a ‘war on woke’ has made this longstanding practice [of screening dates based on political beliefs] more conscious and explicit,” she adds.
The modern dating landscape is another factor. With seemingly endless options to swipe, there are theoretically ‘abundant’ options – at least for women, who are a minority on all platforms. Meanwhile, the rise of Andrew Tate’s brand of misogyny among young men makes such ‘screening’ a legitimate choice.
“Fundamentally we have the feminist mantra of the personal is political at work here – this applies to romantic and intimate relationships as much as it does to other aspects of our personal and private lives,” Hannell says.
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“Yet here the political is also personal. Someone’s political opinions and affiliations (or lack of!) can also provide a useful shorthand for their broader experiences, values, beliefs, knowledge, levels of self awareness, and so on.”
So if you want to woo a Tory this Valentine’s Day, you don’t have to win an Olympic medal. You just have to pretend to agree with them.
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