"You and your boyfriend are hotter than Brad Pitt"

German gay men are at the top of online surveys and know a lot about HIV, but there is room for improvement in their sexual satisfaction. These are the first results of EMIS, the largest survey of gay men of all time. Plus: our favourite men

Science is no longer what it used to be. At least not when it comes to researching sex between men. When the largest survey of gay and bisexual men of all time was launched in the summer under the name EMIS, the German slogan was "Size matters!". And the final question: "Who is the hottest man on the planet?"

The researchers have now shared the reason for this in a first "community report" on the results: "The EMIS team values love and sex between men."

This attitude was rewarded: 180,000 men from all over Europe completed the EMIS questionnaire online. This is actually a world record. The researchers can thus gain differentiated insights into the sex lives of gay men as well as their knowledge and behaviour with regard to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

"Thank you very much: you and 180,000 other men were part of something big ..."

The EMIS team would therefore like to thank everyone who took part and supported the study: "You were part of something big!"

German men took first place in terms of the number of participants: 55,992 completed the online questionnaire. For the sake of fairness, however, it should be mentioned that the Slovenians achieved the same top performance in relation to the number of inhabitants with 1,036 participants.

While the computers and minds of the Robert Koch Institute and the other European EMIS partners are still busy analysing the vast amounts of data, the creators of the study have already announced the initial results in Community Report 1.

• 64,5% of German respondents live openly gay. A good value, but not a top position. The Netherlands has the highest value here (81%).
• 61,6% of respondents stated that they satisfied with their sex life are. This puts Germany in tenth place in Europe. Our neighbours Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and the Netherlands are ahead of us. (Admittedly, that sounds a bit like the Eurovision Song Contest. But why not?)
• The following generally applies: In countries, where many men are openly gay, the sex is also perceived as better!
• The Knowledge about HIV is pleasingly high - in Germany as well as overall. 95.8 % of Germans knew the most important facts.
  The knowledge of the Benefits of the HIV test - Only those who know their status can start treatment in good time.
• In Germany 33.8% of respondents had an HIV test in the last 12 months made. This is roughly in line with the European average.
• 8% of respondents in Germany stated that HIV-positive to be. However, this does not necessarily reflect the actual number of HIV-positive people in Germany, as the study is not representative.
• In Eastern European countries live very much more HIV-positive menwho have sex with men, than the official statistics show. However, it is not possible to say exactly how many.

Has to settle for 3rd place: Brad Pitt

And who is the "hottest man on the planet?" The most frequent answer on EMIS: "My boyfriend". 2nd place: "Me". A great result, as it shows great satisfaction in the partnership and a high level of self-confidence. Brad Pitt only managed bronze. The EMIS team draws a highly scientific conclusion: "You and your boyfriend are both hotter than Brad Pitt!"

Here is the complete hit list:

1. My friend
2. I
3. Brad Pitt
4. Cristiano Ronaldo
5. David Beckham
6. Ricky Martin
7. George Clooney
8. Hugh Jackman
9. Jake Gyllenhaal
10. Zac Efron
11. Jude Law
12. Johnny Depp

Lukas Podolski was voted the hottest German. Other favourites (including the most popular ballet dancer, designer, footballer, politician, porn star and so on) and lots of other revealing information can be found in the Community Report 1 (PDF). Part 2 is expected to follow in spring and the final evaluation in autumn 2011.

(Holger Wicht)

More about EMIS in the IWWIT blog