Susie Bright links to Brit psychologist Petra Boynton's list of sex predictions for 2006. It's an interesting list.
While it focuses on the UK, I can see how some of these categories could apply to the US. We in the US have abstinence-only education to deal with that makes sex look like something bad, unless it's done in the context of a heterosexual marriage. School sex education classes continue to teach the bare basics about the plumbing, yet they do not teach that sex should be enjoyable. Kids are not made aware of how their bodies are changing. They aren't given proper information about contraception. The conservative ideologues who control this country have a very limited and negative view of sexuality. Plus, the outright hostility they display towards single and divorced moms as well as gays and lesbians cannot be heathy for this country.
I know that Nip/Tuck, Desperate Housewives, and Sex and the City use sex as major driving points of their plots. I believe Will and Grace also does, but I have never seen that show. If anyone tries to learn about sex from watching Nip/Tuck, they're going to be sorry. My husband and I love Nip/Tuck because those characters have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It's a skewed way to look at sex, but it's still a fun show. I get to turn my schadenfreude meter on when I watch it. I've seen a couple of episodes of Sex and the City, but that show never did anything for me. I think the female characters whine too much about not getting laid, not having boyfriends, being successful yet scaring men away, yadda yadda yadda. I haven't seen Desperate Housewives in a while, but we did watch the first season on DVD. I like that show a lot. Still, I think we in the US need more television shows with positive portrayals of sex and relationships. The one television relationship which I think it positive and healthy is between Alison and Joe DuBois on Medium. You know they have sex. They're talking about having another baby, although Alison doesn't sound too thrilled about it. She already has three kids to take care of, and it looks like one is just out of diapers.
I found Dr. Petra Boynton's list very interesting. I wish we had a Dr. Petra Boynton in the US. I'd prefer anyone other than that self-righteous Dr. Phil. I saw him by accident a couple of times, and I can't abide him for more than a few minutes. What in God's name did Oprah ever see in him? If there is an equivalent of Dr. Petra Boynton in the US, please let me know in comments.
Article comments
1 - Lisa McKay
I am always amazed that humans seem to need so much instruction for something that's supposed to be so natural as to be instinctive. Sexuality is so culturally freighted that we seem to make it much more difficult for ourselves than it need be.
2 - The Countess (Trish Wilson)
I think we are given a lot of misinformation about sexuality from the time we are very young, and it makes our lives a mess as we get older. Abstinence-only education is the latest bit of misinformation young people are getting. I'm not sure whether or not the sex act itself is instinctual, but there are lots of learned factors that make a big mess of it. I highly recommend going to the sex blogs I linked to. You can learn lots of interesting and fun things about sex you had never known or even considered before.
I especially liked the blonde joke at one of the sites (I think it was Eros). Check it out and see if you get it. Once you do, you'll laugh your head off if you haven't seen that joke before.
3 - Mark Bellinghaus
Great article ~ but : why is it that Marilyn Monroe is most often linked to SEX only ?! She was more than just a Sex Goddess ! And speaking about the Playboy ~ since it's publisher Hugh Heffner is so damn proud that he bought the resting place next to MM - on time and with enough cash ~ why does he not have something, Marilyn was looking for her entire life : RESPECT ! In the infamous December 2005 issue with MM on the cover - he has the guts to print the most vulgar and aweful picture of MM - ever ! And then he let's out the lies of a June DiMaggio who comes up with all this BS and rubbish just to pitch her ( and Robert Otto's & Mary Jane Popp's book ) Oprah wait - you are not alone - that book and so called " tell it all " will be the next target on shameful publishing lies for the sake of the soothing $ ! We are trying to warn the American people and the world from a 98,9% FAKE MM exhibit - we even contacted Oprah etc - no interest at all so far ! It almost seems to me that people want to be scammed on purpose - and I have to ask the author of this article: Is that something new - something sexual ?! Did I miss something here ?! For more info on the huge and shocking Marilyn Monroe scandal / fraud / scam ~ please email me : we are currently looking for interested media to get this story out and warn the WORLD ! BEWARE OF JUNE DIMAGGIO & ROBERT OTTO !!!
4 - Mark Bellinghaus
markb26 at comcast.net for more info on the Marilyn Monroe scandal and the planned 12 year tour of fake MM memorabilia around the world.
5 - Ernest Cunningham
Bellinghaus is right on! How much longer is the exploitation of Marilyn going to last?! The answer: while there's a dollar to be made. But you have to ask people like Mr. Hefner: how many more dollars do you need?
6 - Reynaldo V.G.
Sex will always be one of the top money makers ! I went with a friend to that Marilyn Monroe exhibit and was really shocked how tacky all the dolls and books and wines looked ! I want my money back and if I had known that this is not real stuff of my favorite Star and most beautiful woman in history, my friends and I would have not gone there. Bravo Mr. Bellinghaus - someone should really speak out loud - and not endlessly about this very disappointing " Brokeback mountain " movie ! For me the title " Much ado about nothing " would have fit better ! Heath Ledger failed to explain ( with his limited acting ) and mumbling stumble Australian English ( I could not understand one complete sentence ) - made sound like whatever it was...but : I do not share the hype on that one - at all !No Oscars in my opinion.
7 - MM Fan
It's one thing if any of these Marilyn stories (or even the memorabilia) could be verified or fact checked. They could be, but I think they aren't because, like in the case of the book that has embroiled Oprah Winfrey in controversy, the publisher and those who profit from these exploitations are more interested in the money. It seems to me that these people wait until many of the people involved have passed away so that they will not be confronted and no one is left to dispute their claims. This might be the case of this June DiMaggio, who conveniently appeared AFTER the death of Joe DiMaggio! Let's shine the light on these stories and claims and this new grainy sex video of Marilyn that's being reported and make these people (like this James Frey who was on Oprah) prove their claims are TRUE! The truth does matter. More than ever!
8 - Mark Bellinghaus
For any Fan of MM ( and there are quite many out there ) there is hope that MM will be defended ~ against all these aweful users - who still continue to see her ONLY as the goose which lays golden eggs. Be prepared : The TRUTH will come out, soon....very soon !
9 - Just a teacher
Boy, I really wish that they were teaching abstinence-only to my teenage son while he was in middle school! Now, he will jump anything that moves. After seeing the handout that they gave him in middle school, perhaps I would jump anything that moved as well " the handout was beyond up-close-and-personal and completely not appropriate. I don’t know what schools you are referring to that only teach the “bare basics about plumbing” as those schools aren’t around here. Also, as a high school teacher, I can say that teenagers are so far from abstaining from sex so much so that they don’t even know what the word means and, contrary to your article, they are enjoying sex and appreciate their bodies " sit in the cafeteria, read a teenager’s emails, go to the mall, etc. Yes, they’ve found the magic button and know how to press it " they are not strangers to the big “O”. Too bad though that they have found themselves sexually at the price of losing themselves academically " very few kids go to school these days to learn. If so many teenagers weren’t busy pleasing themselves and one another, they would be able to define abstinence, but, sadly, that is not the case. Yes, schools need to teach more on contraception though, I agree with that one, but we don’t need sex education classes that go overboard to the degree of being a peep show. Perhaps, as a society, we are obsessed with sex " I’m tired of getting it shoved down my throat from when I turn on the TV to when I open a magazine.
10 - Michele
Where was MM mentoned? Gees
My comments are regarding Sex Products ~
I don't have any problem with Sex Products, BUT you have to do your homework because most of it is pure junk.
I've been married to the same man for 20 plus years. I say 'plus' because we lived together for several years prior to making it legal (so to speak) I think most would agree that over time things can get a little stale unless you work at it ~really hard~.
I agree there are a lot of things one can do to spice things up in the bedroom, without toys. However as I said above, most of the stuff out there is absolute junk made in China with a sexy picture, seductive description and sealed packaging not to mention the ~atleast~ 400% markup. BUT there are a few good ones. The rabbit vibrator for one.
With all the hipe about this potential new unisex inhaler that turns on both men and women, it's what they are NOT saying would concern me. Side effects.
Interestingly, there is a new product out that actually turns both sexes on and it is not invasive (pill, cream/gel, patch, inhaler, etc). Yes, it does have a side effect from what it was designed for. It sexually stimulates women and the visual sexually stimulates the man. Kinda like lingerie, only it's patented as a "jewely system".
The patent reads in part "....such fingers sensually arouse every desire of the wearer.... The overall sensation is simply euphoric. This is as close to any aphrodisiac presently known to man."
Nipple Huggers(R) was designed as alternative to nipple piercing. Because they are absolutely 100% adjustable in both size and tension, one of the side effects is sexual stimulation. Another side effect is nipple stimulation for mothers with lactating problems. A 3rd side effect is nipple stimulation for mothers to be. (it is said to make delivery easier if nipple stimulation is practiced daily prior to giving birth) A 4th side effect is said to be "Stress Relief". Women in high stress positions wear them to relieve the daily presures, and they will not be caught with out them! Plus they make nipples nice and perky... Not bad side effects eh?
Anyway you can see them at http://nipple-huggers.com/Lacy-n-More.html and be sure to read the testimonials at http://nipple-huggers.com/experiences.html AND http://nipple-huggers.com/Customer-Comments.html
Nipple Huggers(R) are one product "I" will not be caught without.
11 - grammercy5
"I'm not interested in money, I just want to be wonderful"...."The one thing I hate is being used"....(on the nude photo) "It was this famous nude photo of me Hugh Hefner bought for just $500.00 plus another of me fully dressed, to launch his 1st issue of playboy.The magizine , I was told, thanks to my photos was an instant sellout all across the country, an instant sucess.I never even recieved a thank you note from all those who made millions off a nude Marilyn photograph"...direct quotes from the Icon herself Marilyn Monroe. At the time of her mysterious death she had only $5000.00 in her bank account & was known for giving money to those in need.
Enter again Hugh Hefner & add to the mix the estate of Marilyn Monroe& Joe Dimaggio(handled by the same attorney I might add)Robert Otto & the arrivial of June "Dimaggio"- whom no one has ever even seen or heard of before now.EVEN her "family".
They all stand to make a cool mint, especially Otto, ($22.+ per person + 12 YEARS=$$$$) of a travelling exhibit- of which mostof the items are VERY questionable in their origions.
No " thank yous" for poor marilyn, who is STILL being exploited.Yet no one will clear her name about her "suicide" either.
If marilyn isn't rolling in discust in her crypt, I'll bet Joe DiMaggio IS!
Good job Mark!