I’m starting to wonder if the old saying two is company and three’s a crowd is a bit old school for todays ever evolving sexual culture.  Is three really a crowd? Maybe two is company and three is a party is more like it.

I’ve actually been pondering this question for a while.   It all started when I had a candid conversation with a couple of friends one night over drinks.  These young, wild, and free bachelors and bachelorettes in their mid to late twenties, sort of let me into their personal lives, inadvertently giving me a peek into what I believe to be the secret bedroom activities of Los Angeles singles and couples.

To my surprise, they reported several scenarios including one time encounters, recurring participants, and even one night stands where 3-way sex occurred on the regular, once even in the bathroom at a bar in Westwood.

It was a birthday gift he told me; he was turning 25 and two gal-pals made it a very memorable night for him.

Of course I was well aware that threesomes have been happening since the first documented erection, but it wasn’t until very recently that I am discovering how prevalent, casual, and common this once taboo encounter actually is in LA.

Ménage à trois is a French term that literally translates to “household of three”, but refers to three persons having sexual relations with each other.  Urban Dictionary defines it as 2 women 1 man, 2 men 1 woman, 3 men, or 3 women.

Whatever the grouping – all must engage in sexual activity with one another for the activity to be a ménage à trois.

Only the French could give a sex act such a lovely, titillating, roll off your tongue name like ménage à trois.  It sounds like something I ordered last night at Bouchon in Beverly Hills that paired well with my coq a vin and foie gras.

I did a little research on the subject and here’s what I found out.  According to a 2010 survey conducted by Cosmopolitan and Ask Men magazine, of 100,000 men and women who participated in the survey, less than 10% of women confirmed they’ve ever had a threesome.  25% of guys are not at all interested in a threesome, while 33% of men say it’s their number one fantasy they wish they could have with their partner.  Considering that images of the ménage a trios are readily seen on any adult website and is included in almost every adult film, you know the classic scenario involving a pizza guy and two hungry co-eds, it should come as no surprise that it’s every guy’s dream to get picked up by two chicks resembling Shakira and Scarlett Johansson.

But are women in LA really down with it? Or, perhaps this trend is a result of marketing from the porn, fashion, television and music industry, all alluding to this being common practice among the sexy, powerful, rich and beautiful.

Consider Katy Perry’s smash hit song “Last Friday Night”, where she describes an out of control party involving drinking, dancing and a ménage à trois, that ended with photos on Facebook.  This song belongs to an album, “Teenage Dream”, sold to hoards of teenage girls, no doubt planting a seed of normalcy around this practice. As if her song “I Kissed a Girl” from her first album “Just One of the Boys” didn’t already influence the masses enough.  Listen to any Lil Wayne or Drake song and I challenge you to find one NOT talking about the girls they are going home with.  Ménage à trois  is a featured story line on main stream TV shows like Gossip Girl and Vampire Diaries whose fan base are young and very impressionable adults.  Even Charlie Sheen’s shenanigans from last summer, which was heavily covered by the media, promoted him and his “goddesses”, two 24 year old live in girlfriends.

Winning?  I’m not sure…

There does seem to be a constant feed of this particular emerging message from the media, music, porn and fashion magazines.  It stands to reason that the boundaries are significantly more blurred for todays couples and singles than they have ever been, especially for adolescents and young adults.

I took an informal poll among some of the people I know, all Angelinos, in various career fields, educational levels and ages varying from 23 to 52 and found that yes, the ménage à trois is quite common.  I’m not sure if this is new or if it’s just that more people are willing to talk about it and admit participation.  I think in our city of Angels, boasting a population of  over 10 million, the chances to meet like minded people and make any vision happen are pretty high.

I have no judgment either way in the sexual practices of consenting adults, but I do hope to suggest that some things are left better to fantasy.

To illustrate what I mean, allow me to tell you of the time my girlfriend and I were planning her husband’s birthday party.   We decided it would be super sexy to hire a pole dancer for the party.  We found a professional studio in Los Angeles who will bring the pole, music and dancer to your home or party where she will tastefully perform 3 songs.  We watched the YouTube videos of the owner, a gorgeous, acrobat, model, and dancer who looked like across between Zoe Saldana and Rosario Dawson.   It was exciting to see her do all kinds of tricks and flips on the pole while wearing those 8-inch stripper shoes and booty shorts.

She was hot, trust.

The night of the party we anxiously awaited the 10:30 arrival of our Nubian Barbie doll.  Imagine how far out jaw dropped when in walked an overweight, out of shape, broke down version of Brandy.  Lets just say, we didn’t want to be down.  After three ill executed, out of breath, sweaty performances that were spaced out between her extra long breaks in the guest bathroom, (we can only assume she was consuming fat lines of blow during her long hiatuses), my friend graciously paid the girl and then apologized to her husband and guests.

We still crack up at that story to this day, but I am pretty sure that any attempt I make to have a sexy 3-way would have the same result.  High Expectations , blow being done in the bathroom, with the actual event being an ill executed sweaty let down. The worst part being that when it’s all over, I’d most likely be left feeling a little shamed, embarrassed and  wondering, did I look fat?

The only ménage à trois I can recommend, in good faith, is wine. Even if you aren’t a fan of red wine, try it.  It’s delicious.  Regarding the real ménage à trois,  I will leave you with a line from the show Gossip Girl that warns;

“Inside every threesome is a twosome and a onesome”.

Good luck lovers.