MIA

Sorry for the absence - I was out of town and didn't anticipate being so busy when I got back! It's not because I stopped loving y'all. Promise to get back to regular posting ASAP. To make it up to you, here's some Betty White. Because who doesn't love Betty White?

A Week of Sex: February 4-10

This week's post is waaaaaay late - I've been chipping away at it for ages and just want to get it posted!

• How Bad Body Image Can Ruin Your Sex Life

No surprises here - if you hate how you look you don't feel good naked. And if you don't feel good naked, it's hard to let go and enjoy someone else looking at you and touching you. No one is perfect, and there's a huge range of bodies out there. Some are more "attractive" than others, sure, but at the end of the day, yours is the only one you're going to get. So as hard as it sounds, suck it up, make peace with the flaws you can't (or won't) fix, and get down with your bad selves.

• Let's talk about sex: Threesomes, orgasms, porn, sexting and more - all your sex questions answered

Three online sex gurus answer a whole range of questions, from how ask for what you want in bed to whether faking it is every okay. 

• 2013 Sex Survey: Sexual Health

Every year the Georgia Straight publishes a survey on the sex lives of Vancouverites. This year is the 8th, and it'll tell you way more than you ever wanted to know about what goes on behind the closed doors of this west coast city!

• University Of Illinois Brings In Porn Star For Sex Seminars

The infamous Annie Sprinkle (former prostitute and porn star turned sex expert with a Ph.D in human sexuality) paid the University of Illinois to provide a week of events - everything from techniques demonstrated on anatomical models to a screening of her film, Annie Sprinkle's Amazing World of Orgasm. Sounds like a proper education to me!

That's it for this week - it's a short one! See you next week!

STILL Not Asking for It.

Back in my college days I was part of a Women's Collective. I went to feminist events. I took Women's Studies courses. I met some amazing ladies, and I learned a lot: both about myself and about the world and my place in it. I learned wonderful things and terrifying things. Things that made me grateful and things that made me ill.

But the most valuable thing I took away from it all? That despite all the "fuck yeah girl power," men are NOT the enemy. In fact, they can be (and many - if not most - are) strong, empathetic allies. I think there's a place in feminist issues for men, and I think there should be a place for them. Men don't exist in a vacuum. They have mothers, sisters, wives, girlfriends, daughters, colleagues and friends who are women. And many of them would fight harder for us than some of us fight for ourselves. They may not be women, but that doesn't mean they haven't experienced victimization and injustice. They get it.

This is one of the reasons I rarely refer to myself as a feminist; I prefer to think of myself as an egalitarian. I think everyone should have the same rights: to be loved, to be safe, to be happy, to control our lives and bodies. Every single one of us. No ifs, ands or buts.

When this photo came through my Facebook news feed, it made me smile. Here's the caption that accompanied the photo:

'This photo was posted on STFU, Conservatives Tumblr page last night. The reason why I'm sharing it is not because of the photo itself (which is epic in its own right), but for the comments it generated. One person wrote, "but then again, it's kind like putting a meat suit on and telling a shark not to eat you."
STFU responded (with bolded text):
"We (men) are not fucking sharks!
We are not rabid animals living off of pure instinct
We are capable of rational thinking and understanding.
Just because someone is cooking food doesn't mean you’re entitled to eat it.
Just because a banker is counting money doesn't mean you’re being given free money.
Just because a person is naked doesn't mean you’re entitled to fuck them.
You are not entitled to someone else’s body just because it’s exposed.
What is so fucking difficult about this concept?"
Well Done! Speak up when you hear sexist comments! Be an ally!'

Word. Couldn't have said it better myself.

A Week of Sex: January 28-February 3

You guys, there is so much going on on the internet to do with sex every week, it's seriously impossible to pick a reasonable number of links to share! I'm trying, I really am. On the plus side, for those of you who are as insatiable as I am, this'll give you a few hours of entertainment. Enjoy, on me. (Get your minds out of the gutter. Not literally. You know, like a drink. NO NOT A BODY SHOT. I give up on you people.)

• 7 Ways Sex Can Kill A Marriage

Or rather, 7 ways lack of sex can kill a marriage. Mostly pretty common sense, but there might be one or two things in here you haven't figured out yet. Okay, probably not, because by just being here you're clearly very smart. 

• The Hook-Up: Porn and Talking to the 'Rents

A little too much 'hip' lingo, but still. Good, sound info, balanced perspectives and clearly intelligent authors. So I can forgive 'em for trying a little hard. I'm sure it plays excellently to the over-dramatic teen crowd, which is their target demo.

• Married Couples Who Have Sex Less Than Once A Month Are In Trouble

The title is a bit misleading... the point is, in a successful relationship, both partners should feel happy with their sex life. Whenever & however it works for them.

• Things You Should Consider Having Sex for Instead of Coachella Tickets

Totally just for fun. Asian dude posts on Craigslist offering Coachella tickets ("It might even be a VIP pass if you're lucky") if you are basically the perfect blonde or brunette girl who promises to put out. Are you f**king kidding me? 

• Twitter Vine porn: searches for explicit content banned on app

Twitter's new Vine app, which allows people to share short videos, is now embroiled in a porn scandal. Of course.

• Porn Stars Acting Out Internet Memes: The Most Confusing-Sexy Thing You’ll See Today

They're right. It is confusing.

• Here’s the Adorable Porn Site Super Bowl Ad That CBS Rejected

Sick of Budweiser and car commercials at the Superbowl? Me too. If only they'd approved this one for Pornhub. 

• Berkeley sex surrogate: ‘My work is like cooking school’

An interview with Carol Cohen Greene, sex surrogate and the woman behind Helen Hunt's character in The Sessions.

• Virginity And Sexual Satisfaction: Our First Time May Impact Our Future Sex Lives, Says Study

A new study shows that apparently how your 'first time' went could impact how much you enjoy your sexual encounters later in life. Not to put any more pressure on a rite of passage that is often fumbling, painful, awkward and over way too fast or anything.

That's it for another week of sex - if I missed anything fun, funny or just plain awesome, share in the comments!

TGIF