Sense Project

This is pretty neat, for those of you who like to talk about sex!

Heather Corinna, who founded the awesome teen sexuality website Scarleteen, designed this casual sex survey to find out how, why, and where people hook up, with no strings attached.

Casual sex can mean lots of things to lots of people, whether it’s one-night-stands or friends with benefits.  Some people like having casual sex where there are no expectations of a relationship attached, while others prefer sex with a partner they know well. And many people experience a mix in their lifetime!

(Either way, of course, practicing safer sex with condoms and lube helps prevent the spread of STIs and unintended pregnancies.)

The survey’s pretty long, but never boring. Check it out if you desire!

Note: To participate in this online study, you should be over the age of 16, and have had some kind of sexual partnership before, even if none has been casual.

While some people might associate sex toys primarily with masturbation, rest assured that using them with partners can be just as awesome. Check out these videos for more info:

Using Toys with Partners:

Unique Sex Toys and Health Concerns:

Woman-friendly Canadian Sex Stores:

JoyToyz

Venus Envy

Come As You Are

Good For Her

As I said, Hymen usually breaks (if it hasn’t already) during the first penetration (tampon, finger, toy or penis). It is absolutely normal. Since it is a thin membrane that is breaking and it is part of the body, it is possible that it hurts the first (or first few) time. It might even bleed. All of this is normal.

You have to talk to your partner and feel comfortable, in order to be able to tell them if you want them to stop. Also, if you are relaxed, your muscles will be too, and it will facilitate the lubrification and the penetration.

Remember: Virginity isn’t all about the hymen. You might consider you had your first sexual contact, even tho your hymen is still intact.

If you have any concerns about your virginity, your hymen or your vagina, it is always good to talk to your gynecologist.

You can get HIV from hugging or rather, touching an HIV-infected person repeatedly for long periods of time. TRUE or FALSE?

FALSE: HIV is transmitted via bodily fluids; namely, semen, pre-ejaculate fluid, vaginal fluids, blood, or breast milk. This means that you are putting yourself at risk of contacting HIV:

1.If you have unprotected sex.

2.If you inject drug, steroids or hormones and/or get pierced or tattooed with unclean needles.

3.If you share “gear” - sniffing or snorting equipment.

Also, HIV-infected mothers can transmit the virus to their fetus during pregnancy, at birth or by breastfeeding their child.

IS IT HARD FOR GUYS TO FLIRT WITH GIRLS?

The male members of Marie Claire seem to think so! Here is what they had to say in the article Four Things That Make Women Unapproachable*:

It is hard for guys to flirt with girls because of four simple things:

• We look pissed -
• We are surrounded by our friends
• We don’t lock eyes
• We are too flirtatious

This article raised a lot of questions in my mind. Are we really that inapproachable?

We look unapproachable because we look pissed and/or are surrounded by our friends. Don’t we look pissed because we get a lot of inappropriate comments from too many guys?          Some of us get harassed and followed by weirdoes. And how many guys approach us with some sleazy made-up sentence like “what’s your sign, baby? Mine is Virgo!  Wanna help me?”. Some of us also don’t want to be hit on. Can’t they just leave us alone with our friends? We are trying to have fun! No wonder we look pissed sometimes.

The male members of Marie Claire also blame it on two things that seemed be linked together: we don’t lock eyes and/or we are too flirtatious.

Maybe we don’t lock eyes because we are not interested in you! Maybe we haven’t even seen you! Or maybe the society tells us we can’t! Yes, at this time, our sexuality can be more liberal than our grand-mothers. Unfortunately, we are not as free as we should be!

The problem is that what is asked of us is a mixed message. We are shown women in the media, sexy as hell, locking eyes and lips and … At the same time, guys are still expected to do all the work, when it comes to flirting.  Even if the media projects an image of a sexually freed woman, we are not allowed to be that woman! There’s also a very clear double-standard when it comes to sexuality. When a cocky, sexually aggressive guy “scores”, he’s a hunk.  When a girl is flirtatious and as sexy as the girls in a 50cents‘ video, she’s a whore…

So guys, how can you ask us to lock eyes but not be too flirtatious? Why can’t we just show you our romantic/sexual interest without being “too much” or “not enough”? Is that fair?

With all that being said, it seems to me that this article couldn’t be more wrong. I can see two reasons for us not being approachable, but they are very different:

• We want to be safe
• We are not allowed to be sexually assertive

But that’s just my own opinion!

What do you think? Are we that inapproachable? If so, is it for the reason stated by Marie Claire’s members?

*You can read the article here: http://lifestyle.ca.msn.com/love-sex-relationships/hearst-article.aspx?cp-documentid=22019385