Tag Archive for 'sex'

February Sex & Relationship News Round Up

Published on February 10, 2009 in Health. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

As you should know by now, one of my random interests in research into human sexuality and relationships.  It’s fascinating.  So I periodically bring you news of the latest, often preliminary findings, announced by researchers…

1. Can’t help but seriously date more than one guy at a time?  Consistently  bored with your main squeeze? Blame it on sex hormone oestradiol.

The researchers found that a woman’s oestradiol level was positively associated with self-perceived physical attractiveness. Women with a higher oestradiol level also reported a greater likelihood of flirting, kissing and having a serious affair (but not a one-night stand) with a new partner.

Oestradiol levels were negatively associated with a woman’s satisfaction with her primary partner.

2. A microbicidal gel for women in an international trial possibly protected 30% of users from contracting HIV by blocking the virus from attaching to white blood cells.  Further testing is necessary to confirm.

Researchers hope gels and other microbicide creams could help protect women whose partners refuse to wear condoms.

I want to know why women are willing to date men who don’t care enough for their partners’ health to wear a condom.

3. Despite young African-American women being one of the fastest growing demographics contracting sexually transmitted diseases, only 1 in 4 African-American teens are receiving the HPV vaccine, which severely limits likelihood of cervical cancer.  Roughly 1 in 4 American women between 14-59 years of age are infected with HPV.

4. Kissing lowers cortisol levels in men and women, making it a great stress reliever. But unexplainably, kissing also increases the oxytocin (AKA the love hormone) level in men, while simultaneous decreasing it in women.  Researchers plan to investigate if the kissing venue plays a role in the oxytocin changes in women.

And just for fun: balloon animal sex.

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News round up for singletons

Published on October 28, 2008 in Gen Y and Society. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

There have been a lot of thought-provoking news bites lately that are relevant to young adults living single.  I’ve compiled a few for your consideration.

Singles Statistics

Which cities are home to the most singles, which might make those cities more likely spots to find a partner?

Rank Metro % Single
1 San Francisco, CA 44.7
2 Detroit, MI 44
3 New York, NY 39.8
4 Boston, MA 39.2
5 New Orleans, LA 39.1
6 Los Angeles, CA 37.7
7 Fort Lauderdale, FL 37.2
8 Las Vegas, NV 37
9 Miami, FL 36.9
10 Albuquerque, NM 36.8

But singleton stats alone don’t make for great dating opportunities.  Consider the ratio of males:females, as well as age breaks. (H/T Sullivan).  Women tend to be outnumbered by men in urban areas. . . which means we get to be pickier, since there are fewer women on the dating market.

Ezra Klein points explains the discrepancy and points out a flaw in the data that should shift the blue globes a bit.

The reason for this, basically, is that women marry younger. About 1/3rd of women are married by age 24. Only 1/5th of men are. That creates some imbalance. . . Single, in this definition, is counted as never married, divorced, or widowed, so you’re missing a lot of folks, particularly in the upper ranges, who are on the dating market but not caught in this data.

Since census data was used to crunch data for each of the above breaks, it bears reminding that the census doesn’t factor in homosexuality.  Cities with strong gay communities, like San Francisco, may skew the ratio of available men to women.  This caveat applies for the chart and graphic above.

The Warm and Fuzzies

Looking to make a connection with your date?  Make sure (s)he enjoys a warm beverage with your meal.  Science published the latest in interpersonal relationship influences this week.

In the first study, Williams and John A. Bargh, a psychology professor at Yale University, found that holding a hot cup of coffee leads people to judge a stranger to be a warmer person, in terms of such traits as generosity and kindness, compared with a group of people who held a cup of iced coffee.

Also of note, a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that a woman wearing red inclines men to spend more on a date.

Men said they would spend more money on a woman pictured in red, compared with the same woman wearing a blue shirt. . . On average, wearing red meant a more expensive night out, and in general, a higher rating of attractiveness.

Women appear to be immune to the same color skews.  I’m going to leave the matador/bull analogies to the readers.  As for me, I’m happy to report I wear red well.

Mood-Altering Benefits of Semen

Should a woman make it to the monogamous relationship stage, relying on birth control other than condoms, regular vaginal exposure to semen may have an anti-depressant effect.  The research soon to be published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior concludes:

Semen makes you happy. That’s the remarkable conclusion of a study comparing women whose partners wear condoms with those whose partners don’t.

The study, which is bound to provoke controversy, showed that the women who were directly exposed to semen were less depressed. The researchers think this is because mood-altering hormones in semen are absorbed through the vagina. They say they have ruled out other explanations.

On that note, my round up of (potential) relationship influencers ends.  Will geography matter more with that next job offer?  Will you reconsider what you wear on your next date?  Does “just coffee” now seem more appealing?

Til next time.

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Fidelity, a thing of the past?

Published on May 18, 2008 in Society. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

A 30,000 respondent survey completed by Cookie Magazine and AOL body found that one in three married American moms report past or current affairs and more than 3 in 4 women want more sex.

Cheating seems to be a direct result of not getting what you need, be it sex, attention, openness, what have you.

Renowned relationship therapist Michelle Weiner-Davis recently noted in Psychology Today that not being “in the mood” is no longer a problem limited to women.

But “low desire in men is America’s best-kept secret,” she says, and estimates that it affects “at least 20 to 25%” of adult males. For women, the figure is thought to be much higher, somewhere between 40 and 50%.

Weiner-Davis points to workplace stresses combined with home responsibilities and criticism as reasons for stifled libidos across the board. Huffington Post bloggers Colleen Dealy and Taylor Baldwin cite the complexities of modern marriage as the core reason.

Let’s face it, marriage is complicated, and it only becomes more so after having kids. If mom or dad feels rejected by the other, he or she may cheat. And if you’re married and you’ve got kids, you know that sex, or lack there of, can be loaded with a lot of other emotions and agendas that don’t have anything to do with lust, or even love.

In an era of multi-tasking, adults find themselves increasingly overextended by work and personal commitments. At the office, work hours are up, and job security is down. At home finances are tenuous and children are often scheduled for as many activities as adults — play dates, sports, coaching, music lessons. Parents ferry kids to and from commitments while juggling their own.

As with the isolation of technology, an overscheduled life leaves little room for developing and strengthening interpersonal relationships. Given our throw away culture due to our conditioning to expect instant gratification, it’s no wonder couples are looking for sexual satisfaction outside the framework of a monogamous relationship. It’s much easier to play with a new model, than try to figure out what’s gone wrong with the current one.

In the long run, not taking the time to work on the depth of connection in more intimate relationships will only serve to weaken platonic connections as well.

Have any of my readers engaged in an affair? Were you out just to scratch an itch, or were you looking for more than sex?

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Passing up sex to surf the web

Published on September 20, 2007 in Entertainment. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

A recent JWT survey brings to light some of the social implications of Internet use. Key findings include:

  • 28 percent admitted spending less time socializing face-to-face with peers because of the amount of time they spend online.
  • 20 percent said they spend less time having sex because they are online.

Reading about these findings reminded me of a book I just finished reading by Michael Bugeja called Interpersonal Divide: The Search for Community in a Technological Age. Bugeja looks at the detrimental socialization implications of so much time being spent working with technological devices. Hint: the survey’s findings are no big surprise. He looks at the irony of using the Internet for self-help purposes; in order to improve relationships we should not be looking to the blind, unfiltered advice of strangers on the Internet but to other flesh and blood people in our real time lives.