God I love when Mon Amore spanks me.
That's all.
Showing posts with label safe sex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label safe sex. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
in praise of the world wide web
I know this is a bit 'johnny -come -lately,' but I've been thinking about just what a valuable resource the internet is in terms of sexuality.
1) sex toys
I can't imagine how many more people feel comfortable purchasing their sex accouterments this way than would have felt able to walk into a sex store to browse and purchase. I got my first vibrator this way when I was still shy of doing so in person, which is hard to imagine now. This is also how I procured my harness, which technically I found at Oh My! but which they didn't have in my size at the time.
2) communities
How on earth did people with less than common fetishes find each other, or talk about their kinks before? Personal ads? Those horrible phone dating connection things for which there are far too many television ads? Phone sex services? There are so many resources for finding out about one's kink and other people who might share it via the web.
3) general dating
Seriously. So many people seem to find or nourish their relationships with the help of the internet nowadays. Mine didn't start there exactly, but it certainly was a useful tool in keeping it strong during nearly a year of long-distance. Again I think this is particularly relevant for special-needs/special interest/minority groups. Granted, my attempt at internet personals yielded only creepy old men and emo teen-aged girls, but I've heard many tales of it being quite effective, for everything from the most casual of sex to the most serious of relationships.
4) information
Obviously. When kids aren't allowed to learn about sex in any real way in their schools, and there are so many questions about what kind of care/safer sex/birth control/sti testing methods in so many places, people are given the ability to find them. Of course, there's a lot of misinformation to be had there as well. A friend and I once commiserated about a site reassuring us that we did not, in fact, have herpes following a case of ingrown hairs for one, and pimples for the other.*
5)communication
With significant or less-significant others, sex advice/therapy, and needless to say but said anyway, blogging.
*I'm really so super-responsible about testing, communicating, and being safe(r) but we all get a little paranoid now and again. I am happy to report that said friend is the same way.
1) sex toys
I can't imagine how many more people feel comfortable purchasing their sex accouterments this way than would have felt able to walk into a sex store to browse and purchase. I got my first vibrator this way when I was still shy of doing so in person, which is hard to imagine now. This is also how I procured my harness, which technically I found at Oh My! but which they didn't have in my size at the time.
2) communities
How on earth did people with less than common fetishes find each other, or talk about their kinks before? Personal ads? Those horrible phone dating connection things for which there are far too many television ads? Phone sex services? There are so many resources for finding out about one's kink and other people who might share it via the web.
3) general dating
Seriously. So many people seem to find or nourish their relationships with the help of the internet nowadays. Mine didn't start there exactly, but it certainly was a useful tool in keeping it strong during nearly a year of long-distance. Again I think this is particularly relevant for special-needs/special interest/minority groups. Granted, my attempt at internet personals yielded only creepy old men and emo teen-aged girls, but I've heard many tales of it being quite effective, for everything from the most casual of sex to the most serious of relationships.
4) information
Obviously. When kids aren't allowed to learn about sex in any real way in their schools, and there are so many questions about what kind of care/safer sex/birth control/sti testing methods in so many places, people are given the ability to find them. Of course, there's a lot of misinformation to be had there as well. A friend and I once commiserated about a site reassuring us that we did not, in fact, have herpes following a case of ingrown hairs for one, and pimples for the other.*
5)communication
With significant or less-significant others, sex advice/therapy, and needless to say but said anyway, blogging.
*I'm really so super-responsible about testing, communicating, and being safe(r) but we all get a little paranoid now and again. I am happy to report that said friend is the same way.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Is this covered by my insurance?
Have you seen the Walgreens website?
Every time I get a receipt that says I could win $3000.00 there, I go. I never really paid much attention to the rest of it.
When working on the online prescription service, M.A. pointed out the 'sexual wellness section.'
HOLY.CRAP. We were both expecting something along the lines of what is available at our local Walgreens, the sexual wellness products of which include birth control, condoms, lube - pretty good lube really, one or two really unremarkable looking 'personal massagers' and at-home test kits for pregnancy and HIV. OH! and let us not forget KY yours + mine! Really, the usual.
The Walgreens website basically has a sex store. Click on 'sexual wellness' and one of the first things you will see is the liberator. These are most certainly not available at my local branch of the pharmacy. There are romance games at Walgreens.com. Can you imagine the impact of Walgreens locations actually carrying all of these things? Do some of them? Or do some of them carry better sex stuff than mine?! I want to know if there are really branches in which I could walk in and buy a liberator. I've been saying for years that Target needs to carry sex-toys, in their own little section of course, and it would seem that Walgreens has gotten one step closer, online.
I'm mostly surprised because I generally expect such large corporations to be boring and generally opposed to interesting and/or safe sex. This was a truly delightful surprise. Kudos, Walgreens. Now if only you could ever fill my prescriptions on time.
Every time I get a receipt that says I could win $3000.00 there, I go. I never really paid much attention to the rest of it.
When working on the online prescription service, M.A. pointed out the 'sexual wellness section.'
HOLY.CRAP. We were both expecting something along the lines of what is available at our local Walgreens, the sexual wellness products of which include birth control, condoms, lube - pretty good lube really, one or two really unremarkable looking 'personal massagers' and at-home test kits for pregnancy and HIV. OH! and let us not forget KY yours + mine! Really, the usual.
The Walgreens website basically has a sex store. Click on 'sexual wellness' and one of the first things you will see is the liberator. These are most certainly not available at my local branch of the pharmacy. There are romance games at Walgreens.com. Can you imagine the impact of Walgreens locations actually carrying all of these things? Do some of them? Or do some of them carry better sex stuff than mine?! I want to know if there are really branches in which I could walk in and buy a liberator. I've been saying for years that Target needs to carry sex-toys, in their own little section of course, and it would seem that Walgreens has gotten one step closer, online.
I'm mostly surprised because I generally expect such large corporations to be boring and generally opposed to interesting and/or safe sex. This was a truly delightful surprise. Kudos, Walgreens. Now if only you could ever fill my prescriptions on time.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Keep Life Sexy
I know you've seen the commercials. They're hilarious. You've probably looked for them on YouTube already.
KY Yours and Mine
Is this what it takes to get mainstream (straight) American to use lube? I suppose its all about the 'exciting sensations.' People need to be convinced that it will somehow infinitely improve their sex lives, which must mean that it needs to feel remarkable in some way. I confess, I have not product tested these products. Maybe they do something incredible that feels tingly and special in some way I don't understand. Honestly, I'm convinced that its really.just.lube. Hello world - discover lubricant! Sex works better when things are slippery. This is a design of nature that can do with a little help, like so many can. How is that the mainstream culture can embrace plastic surgery, but not a little grease for the ol' wheel?
Need I mention that the 'him' and 'her' concept is remarkably heterosexist and obnoxious?
"He puts the purple one on her. She puts the purple one on him."
Though honestly, if it convinces more people that lube is a normal and good thing to involve in sex and that it doesn't mean that anyone's naughty bits aren't working right, I can get behind it.
Mon Amore works in community health at a major university, which includes providing information and accouterments of safer and healthy sex.
One day, several gentleman belonging to organizations with greek letters on their residences came in looking for condoms. YAY! Way to be responsible gentlemen! One of M.A.'s coworker's suggested that they take some (free) lube with them as well, in handy single - use packs. They insisted they didn't need it. Obviously. Coworker tried gently to explain to them that it was rather um, helpful for their intended partners in coitus. They maintained their position that it was unnecessary. Coworker asked if they had considered discussing the issue with the owners of the orifices they enjoy, and they laughed it off and said there was no need, girls they slept with clearly didn't need it or they would know.
Coworker "Well you've obviously never been penetrated have you?"
Following their departure, "I hope they get penetrated without lube."
KY Yours and Mine
Is this what it takes to get mainstream (straight) American to use lube? I suppose its all about the 'exciting sensations.' People need to be convinced that it will somehow infinitely improve their sex lives, which must mean that it needs to feel remarkable in some way. I confess, I have not product tested these products. Maybe they do something incredible that feels tingly and special in some way I don't understand. Honestly, I'm convinced that its really.just.lube. Hello world - discover lubricant! Sex works better when things are slippery. This is a design of nature that can do with a little help, like so many can. How is that the mainstream culture can embrace plastic surgery, but not a little grease for the ol' wheel?
Need I mention that the 'him' and 'her' concept is remarkably heterosexist and obnoxious?
"He puts the purple one on her. She puts the purple one on him."
Though honestly, if it convinces more people that lube is a normal and good thing to involve in sex and that it doesn't mean that anyone's naughty bits aren't working right, I can get behind it.
Mon Amore works in community health at a major university, which includes providing information and accouterments of safer and healthy sex.
One day, several gentleman belonging to organizations with greek letters on their residences came in looking for condoms. YAY! Way to be responsible gentlemen! One of M.A.'s coworker's suggested that they take some (free) lube with them as well, in handy single - use packs. They insisted they didn't need it. Obviously. Coworker tried gently to explain to them that it was rather um, helpful for their intended partners in coitus. They maintained their position that it was unnecessary. Coworker asked if they had considered discussing the issue with the owners of the orifices they enjoy, and they laughed it off and said there was no need, girls they slept with clearly didn't need it or they would know.
Coworker "Well you've obviously never been penetrated have you?"
Following their departure, "I hope they get penetrated without lube."
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
getting down and dirty with mother earth
In honor of Earth Day, I want to talk about sustainable/eco friendly sex toys and accouterments. After all, sex falls into the list of the top five most natural things for a human body to do.
If you stop to think about it, safer sex devices and toys have the potential to create an awful lot of needless waste: latex and non-latex condoms, gloves, and dams going in the trash.* For the toys, there are batteries and gross over packaging- remember when you unpacked your latest butt plug/vibrator/dildo? Wasn't it ridiculous how much plastic you had to dig through to get to your toy? If we were to get really big-picture about it, which we really should, there's a horrific amount of packing materials used if our toys/porn/lingerie come to us through the mail. That isn't even factoring in the fuel usage of shipping them.
Once upon a time, the only eco-friendly material out of which toys were made was glass. They make for absolutely beautiful toys. They are also expensive as hell and honestly, not all of us want glass shoved up our naughty bits, no matter how many times we've been assured that they're shatter proof.
Now, there are a range of sex toys made out of sustainable wood, also available from our friends at Babeland: "Meticulously created from sustainable organic hardwood and coated with gentle, surgical grade Lubrosity™ for easy care, the Flip combines art, pleasure, and conscience in one incredibly beautiful package. Each Flip is a unique piece of artwork, so the size of toy and color/grain of the wood will vary" Sustainable wood floggers and paddles are also available.
There are a lot of options now for vibrators that plug in or recharge like the gigi,if one doesn't always happen to be getting down conveniently close Again, the major draw backs being the high cost.
And of course, a sexy Earth Day celebration wouldn't be complete without a complete eco-sex kit.
I haven't yet managed to come upon a condom, dam, or glove that is made in an environmentally friendly way, but as Hank Green points out on ecogeek.org thanks to various forms of birth control, we've been able to cut down on human population, thereby preventing a greater strain on non-renewable resources. I shudder to think about the possible campaigns by pro-lifers about fetus dumping as medical waste. Let's compost!
treehugger has some great guides to buying green lube and sex toys.
Alas, as Dan Savage recently addressed, there are not currently good options for recycling sex toys, and honestly, there are limits to buying vintage.
*I've yet to hear of a reusable barrier...ew
If you stop to think about it, safer sex devices and toys have the potential to create an awful lot of needless waste: latex and non-latex condoms, gloves, and dams going in the trash.* For the toys, there are batteries and gross over packaging- remember when you unpacked your latest butt plug/vibrator/dildo? Wasn't it ridiculous how much plastic you had to dig through to get to your toy? If we were to get really big-picture about it, which we really should, there's a horrific amount of packing materials used if our toys/porn/lingerie come to us through the mail. That isn't even factoring in the fuel usage of shipping them.
Once upon a time, the only eco-friendly material out of which toys were made was glass. They make for absolutely beautiful toys. They are also expensive as hell and honestly, not all of us want glass shoved up our naughty bits, no matter how many times we've been assured that they're shatter proof.
Now, there are a range of sex toys made out of sustainable wood, also available from our friends at Babeland: "Meticulously created from sustainable organic hardwood and coated with gentle, surgical grade Lubrosity™ for easy care, the Flip combines art, pleasure, and conscience in one incredibly beautiful package. Each Flip is a unique piece of artwork, so the size of toy and color/grain of the wood will vary" Sustainable wood floggers and paddles are also available.
There are a lot of options now for vibrators that plug in or recharge like the gigi,if one doesn't always happen to be getting down conveniently close Again, the major draw backs being the high cost.
And of course, a sexy Earth Day celebration wouldn't be complete without a complete eco-sex kit.
I haven't yet managed to come upon a condom, dam, or glove that is made in an environmentally friendly way, but as Hank Green points out on ecogeek.org thanks to various forms of birth control, we've been able to cut down on human population, thereby preventing a greater strain on non-renewable resources. I shudder to think about the possible campaigns by pro-lifers about fetus dumping as medical waste. Let's compost!
treehugger has some great guides to buying green lube and sex toys.
Alas, as Dan Savage recently addressed, there are not currently good options for recycling sex toys, and honestly, there are limits to buying vintage.
*I've yet to hear of a reusable barrier...ew
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