One of NPR's top stories this week is this one: Virus Passed During Oral Sex Tops Tobacco as Throat Cancer Cause Kudos to the news source for not dumbing down the story, a big temptation, which if taken will surely lead to misunderstanding, especially in a headline. (Oral sex leads to cancer!) Not. Here's theirContinue reading “The truth about HPV and cancer: Too complicated for a headline”
Category Archives: sex
Where the word “gay” came from
A poorly-named but still charming photo blog focuses on people of the same sex enjoying each other's close company in times gone by, despite the massive taboo against homosexuality back in the day. It's heart-warming, or should be, for everyone who believes in love and friendship. Included is an old pulp novel cover, which makesContinue reading “Where the word “gay” came from”
The science of romantic comedy
The part they don't tell you in school about semen (from Scientific American): Semen has a very complicated chemical profile, containing over 50 different compounds (including hormones, neurotransmitters, endorphins and immunosupressants) each with a special function and occurring in different concentrations within the seminal plasma. Perhaps the most striking of these compounds is the bundleContinue reading “The science of romantic comedy”
Is America getting weirder?
Forget the inescapable Tea Party for a second. Just consider: GOP voters nominated a woman to run for a Senate seat in a populous Eastern state whose signal achievement in life, seemingly, is not having sex. Isn't that a little, um, peculiar? Not an exaggeration. Here's Christine O'Donnell opining on the subject of procreation onContinue reading “Is America getting weirder?”
The science of attraction: which size do men prefer?
In response to complaints from fans that this site is too doomy, an effort is being made to look for insights offered into subjects less dire than climate change. (And, to be fair, climate change will not be all bad for everyone; after all, it might tend to cool L.A.) But nevermind. Here's a storyContinue reading “The science of attraction: which size do men prefer?”
Love is the engine, but love is not remembered
So writes Charles Bowden, in the award-winning Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing. This is an "environmental" book, but I don't believe Bowden ever mentions that word. Yet unlike nearly every other book about nature I can think save a couple written by John Muir or Edward Abbey, this "environmental" book does bring up "love"Continue reading “Love is the engine, but love is not remembered”
The sexiness of plants (or not)
From the rarely-so-thoughtful-but-often-fun Overheard in New York: So Yada Yada Yada, We Spent the Night in the E.R. Twin sister #1, indignantly: I tried to get him the least sexual plant I could find. I mean, a cactus, how much less sexual could you get? Twin sister #2, thoughtfully: You really can't get any lessContinue reading “The sexiness of plants (or not)”
Clitoris surprises; or, you thought you knew, but…
From Mary Roach, speaking briefly but memorably this year on Big Think: http://video.bigthink.com/player.js?embedCode=FyOWlqOspaH-SMvi51rZ2aVCtD9vg_oU Did you know even women get smegma? And I thought it was just me… As Roach says, you gotta love science.
Feminism Messes with Blanche DuBois
On Double X, Slate's relentlessly smart site for women's issues, Margaret Wheeler Johnson alleges that feminism has screwed with Blanche DuBois. Forget about the irony of the alleged perpetrator for a second, and think of the victim. Is there a greater crime possible against a character in American theater? The greatest of all American tragediesContinue reading “Feminism Messes with Blanche DuBois”
The Worst Sexual Double Standard in Politics Today
Meghan McCain speaks out against the Puritanism of the GOP today, in a post for The Daily Beast called The GOP Is Clueless About Sex: Perhaps the worst sexual double standard in politics right now is that too many subconsciously believe Republican women are void of sexual desire altogether. Good point, Meghan. One wonders: HowContinue reading “The Worst Sexual Double Standard in Politics Today”
Kit Stolz 