Physicians express concern about the growing popularity of penis enlargement procedures, which, despite the enthusiastic claims of some practitioners, the relevant professional societies regard as “experimental” due to the lack of sufficient safety and efficacy data. An opinion piece published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine recommends careful psychological screening of patients prior to receiving […]
Sex Toy Education in Pornography
A team of three women from the University of New Brunswick has studied the use of sex toys in 100 mainstream heterosexual pornographic videos. They found that the toys (including vibrators, dildos, and butt plugs) are most frequently used by the male partner to enhance the pleasure of the female partner, but are often also […]
World Cup and Babies
Do major sporting events, such as this year’s World Cup, influence the sexual behavior of fans and cause a significant change in local birth rates and sex ratios? A review of 4 different studies indicates that the answer is “maybe”. These studies looked at birth rates and/or sex ratios in live births 9 months after […]
Penile Plethysmography Ruled Inadmissible
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of South Carolina has ruled that penile plethysmography lacks sufficient scientific support to be used as a reliable indicator of likely future recidivism in sex offenders. Among its many flaws, the court cited a lack of standardized metrics among different labs, poor test-retest consistency, inconsistent test materials, and […]
“Cumdump” as a Sexual Identity
“Cumdump” is a slang term in the gay community for a man whose primary sexual goal is to receive ejaculates from multiple partners within a limited period, either serially or at a group sex party; the concept is most often framed by scholars through risk-based and pathologizing discourses, but the development of PrEP and effective […]
How Many Gay Subcultures Are There?
It has long been known that there is no one type of gay man and that generalizations about their appearance or behavior are hazardous. A newly published “scoping review” (i.e. a search of published scholarship) in the journal Psychology & Sexuality identifies a range of different subcultures that have been the object of scholarly interest. […]
Detransitioners’ Motivations Studied
37 Youtube videos posted by young people who gender-transitioned as teens and then later detransitioned as adults, a study just published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy has identified five pathways into the transition that they later regretted: (1) about one-third admitted to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or ADHD. For the former, gender […]
Gender Reassignment and Eating Disorders
Previous scholarship has noted an elevated incidence of eating disorders among adolescents who present with gender dysphoria, and has posited that the eating disorders are a response to the patient’s discomfort with their developing body. A study of all 2,080 adolescents seeking gender reassignment in Finland from 1996 to 2019 confirms that eating disorders are […]
The Fruit Machine
Frank Robert Wake was a former professor at Carleton University who was involved in secret Cold War-era research targeting queer people. He was chair of the Psychology Department at the time and was infamously known for his “fruit machine”, a “battery of psychological tests, including techniques to measure a person’s output of sweat and detect […]
Teen Boys and Their AI Girlfriends
Hard Copy has previously reported on the rise of AI “dating” and “relationships”. Researchers and academics are reporting that teen boys are increasingly turning to AI “girlfriends” for companionship. Experts warn that if young people start replacing real relationships with AI interactions, they may end up building fewer real-world connections. These real connections are important […]