I'm sure that you are correct, but there are a couple of complicating factors. 1. The statistics are very highly skewed for both men & women -- some have very few (0 or 1), while others have thousands (e.g., prostitutes). While those with thousands are very few, they really screw up the averages. As these people are very rare, most people who don't know of them wouldn't believe in their existence, and therefore wouldn't believe in studies that include them. 2. Male homosexuals (on average) have a far higher number of partners than female homosexuals. (I've had this confirmed to me by homosexuals of both genders.) The Canadian flight attendant (male) who is reputed to have been "Ground Zero" in the AIDS epidemic, apparently had thousands of partners all over the world.