National Sexlife Journal
Sex worker groups denied intervenor status
The Supreme Court announced April 30th that the advocacy groups seeking intervenor status on the case to decide the constitutionality of Canada’s prostitution laws have been denied. Three Canadian groups advocating against the laws, POWER (Prostitutes of Ottawa-Gatineau Work, Educate and Resist), Maggie’s, and Stella, as well as four international ones have been denied.
Survey on vaginal atrophy reveals it's effects on Canadian sex lives
Results from a study on vaginal atrophy’s effects on sex and relationships revealed that more than 60 percent of female Canadians avoid sex because of vaginal atrophy, a chronic condition of menopause where the vaginal walls become thin and fragile, causing intercourse to be painful. The study, presented at the first annual Canadian Menopause Conference on May 4th, also found that one fifth of those surveyed feel that the condition has made them emotionally distant.
Drug-resistant strain of gonorrhea discovered in US
Two cases of an antibiotic-resistant strain of gonorrhea, being called a “superbug”, have been reported in Hawaii. First discovered in Japan in 2011, the STI called H041 has spread to Hawaii and has been reported in California and Norway. Doctors are warning that it has the potential to be as deadly as the AIDS virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked for $50 million to find a way to treat the disease.
Man robs sex shop with a butcher's knife
Some guy made off with $850 worth of sex toys and $100 cash from a shop in Repentigny near Montreal. Dude was so desperate for vibrators and lingerie that he pulled a butcher’s knife out at the cashier after spending close to an hour picking just the right selection to burgle. Apparently it takes time to find the perfect leather manties that say “I stole this with a knife.”
Serving Him
I’ll be honest, a collection of stories involving dudebro doms and lady submissives makes me go “ugh, straight people” right off the bat, but erotica is more about the tension than the… plot? So I wanted approach this book with an open mind. Being a relatively ‘nilla queer, I write to you as the probably not-intended audience for Serving Him, an anthology of “sexy stories of submission” edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel and published by Cleis Press.
Good for the Goose: meeting your partner's needs increases desire
In how-exactly-is-this-news news, meeting your partner’s sexual needs without expectation helps increase day-to-day desire in long term relationships.
In a study of 44 couples over 21 days, post-doctoral fellow Amy Muise, of the University of Toronto, and colleagues at the University of Guelph in Canada and the University of Cambridge in England, said that those with more sexual communal strength (“communal motivation in the specific domain of sexuality”), reported high levels of daily sexual desire.
Most Canadians with genital herpes are unknowing carriers
Just in case you didn't have enough incentive to get tested: Statistics Canada recently reported that from a sampling of thousands of Canadians, 94% of the almost 14% who tested positive for genital herpes, didn’t know they were infected. These results suggest that many are unknowingly passing on the virus.
Researchers did not test for HSV-1, the herpes virus responsible for cold sores, which is being increasingly transmitted to the genitals.
Bill Gates poses better condoms challenge
No glove, no love! If only that were an easier rule to live by.
Such a utopia might not be far off, depending on who rises to the challenge issued by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for designers to create a better condom.
The purpose is to find the next generation condom – one that’s not only more effective, but more likely to be used, according to their goal: “What if we could develop a condom that would provide all the benefit of our current versions, without the drawbacks? Even better, what if we could develop one that was preferred to no condom?”
Matters of size
A study led by Brian Mautz, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Ottawa, suggests that, in at least one facet, size does matter. Researchers showed 53 computer-generated images of male bodies varying in penis length, hip to shoulder ratio, and height to 105 women, asking them to rate each. Those figures with larger penises were found to score considerably higher, with size influencing attractiveness about as much as height.
Don't go preordering the Dildomaker
Sad, sad news for anyone who was excited about the image of the Dildomaker circulating online. The conceptual device that essentially works as a pencil sharpener to turn almost any object into a dildo, is not going to be produced anytime soon. At least not by its designer, Francesco Morackini, who stressed that he uses industrial design to create “useless” art objects.
BC sex workers want a say in Supreme Court battle against prostitution laws
Sex workers in BC are asking to be heard in the Supreme Court case to decide whether prostitution laws are unconstitutional. Kat Kinch, a lawyer representing the sex workers and advocacy groups wishing to intervene, says that the current case does not focus enough on those women who are forced to enter the sex trade for survival, and thinks their evidence will strengthen the case.
Kinch expects to hear if they will be granted intervener status in May.
New Brunswick seeking partners of HIV positive man using Manhunt
New Brunswick officials are attempting to track down the approximately two dozen previous sex partners of a man who recently tested positive for HIV. Chief medical officer Dr. Eilish Cleary told a news conference that the man was having unprotected sex with contacts met through the anonymous dating site manhunt.net, and advised those using the site to use precautions to lower the risks. She also said that the Health Department has no reason to believe he was deliberately putting anyone at risk.
Children of the Street Society releases anti-sexting ad
BC-based charity, Children of the Street Society has a new ad (paying a creepy homage to Amanda Todd’s video) aimed at teens to discourage them from sexting. The video depicts a young woman holding signs that tell a story of sending a nude photo to someone she trusted, only to have it shared.
Tokyo's first women-only sex bar
Instead of liquor bottles, display cases full of vibrators line the wall behind the counter at a new bar in Tokyo’s Shibuya district dedicated to female masturbation. Love Joule is a safe space for women to talk about mastubation, away from cultural shame and taboos, with a no-boys-allowed policy that prohibits men from entering unless they are with a woman.
Alberta vocal coach uses vibrators to help singing students
A drama professor at the University of Alberta is receiving attention for his unusual vocal coaching technique: sex toys!
Davis Ley uses handheld vibrators against the throats of his students to help them reach higher octaves, instead of massaging the larynx with his fingers – the method used by speech pathologists to relieve tension. Ley has employed this technique on 150 people with no reported side effects, aside from an increase in phlegm (mmm, sexy).
Undercover "tourists" spice up the Paris Catacombs
In “that’s kind of morbid but I like it” news, the famous Paris Catacombs have apparently become the place for erotic photo and film shoots. Musée Carnavalet, which manages the site, says they reject models, photographers, and filmmakers who request to shoot inside the caves every day. It has reached the point where bosses have had to enlist a “catacombs police team” to stop them from posing as tourists in order to slip in and strip down in more discreet areas.
The kink is in the keywords
PornMD, a popular search engine for adult content, has compiled a list of the top ten search terms by country over 6 months. Canada’s results are… mostly unsurprising. Our top three search terms are “Asian”, “teen”, and “MILF”. Other highlights include “massage” and “hentai” – I’m not judging.
View the infographic here.
Planned Parenthood Toronto promotes porn literacy
Coming from a generation who spend most of their teen years playing terrible porn flash games online (at least until PornHub came around), I’m familiar with the phrase “… but I thought girls liked that.”
So props to Planned Parenthood Toronto, who recently hosted a talk for parents and educators with Dr. Marty Klein, a California-based sex therapist and marriage counselor, on “porn literacy”. The aim, according to executive director Sarah Hobbs-Blyth, is to be proactive in giving youth the information to decode porn and understand that it’s “not a documentary” about sex.
Study says sex might make you smarter
A new study from the University of Pavia, Italy, finds that sex, especially with a new partner, could boost memory and alertness. Researchers examined blood tests from new couples, long-term couples, and singles and found that nerve growth in the brain was “significantly higher in subjects in love than in either the subjects with long-lasting relationships or the subjects with no relationships.” They also found evidence that sexually active seniors were less likely to have dementia.
B.C. mom upset over safe sex flipbook
A mom in Nanaimo is outraged by a flipbook brought home by her Grade 8 son after a sexual health class. The book, “Put on Something Sexy” depicts a woman putting a condom on her partner and then having sex when the pages are flipped quickly.
