Deciding to swipe your V card is a BFD to most women, and the main event often comes after a lot of careful consideration. However, while we like to think that losing our virginity is our choice alone, new research says that your genes actually help influence when you’ll take the P-in-V plunge.
For the study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, scientists examined the genes of 125,667 men and women from Iceland and identified 38 sections of DNA that influenced when a person would have sex for the first time. (Hmm, wonder what “Jane the Virgin” would think of that.)
Those DNA segments drive the release of sex hormones and when you start puberty, as well as behavior, personality and appearance.
People with one of the genetic variations, CADM2, were more likely to have sex earlier in life, engage in more risk-taking behavior and have a large number of kids.
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On the flip side, people with the MSRA genes were more likely to lose their V card at a later age and have irritable personalities (though there’s no word if that’s linked to horniness).
Another weird finding: Women (but not men) who had the gene linked to red hair and freckles tended to lose their virginity at a later age. But whether that’s good or bad depends on the person, right?
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As a whole, people who had sex younger were more likely to have their first child at a younger age, and were less likely to get a higher form of education. Another insight: Overall, the most common age for men and women to lose their virginity was 18. In case you were wondering where you fall on the spectrum.
While the fact that scientists can get close to predicting when you first got down is pretty freaking fascinating, you should know that it isn’t entirely out of your control. Researchers say your DNA can sway up to 25 percent of your decision. Other factors, like religion, family background, peer pressure, and, you know, having a partner to do it with, make up the rest.