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 […]
Evaluating the “Dutch Protocol” for Youth Gender Transition
In a special issue of the European Journal of Developmental Psychology, two articles have appeared evaluating the influential “Dutch protocol” developed over 20 years ago at the Center for Expertise on Gender Dysphoria of the Amsterdam University Medical Center. This program calls for puberty blockers at the outset of pubescence, hormonal therapy at around age […]
“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 […]
Neuroanatomy of the Clitoris
The clitoris is the least studied organ of the human body and didn’t appear in standard anatomy textbooks until 1995 when it was described as a “small version of the penis”. A new study is using a non-invasive imaging method with micrometer-scale resolution capability to create 3D trajectory of the nerves in the clitoris. This […]
Sexual Health of Bi-Sexual Men Needs Attention
New studies out of Australia and Kenya focus on the special health challenges of bi-sexual men, who are often neglected due to their relative invisibility. Bi men often conceal their identity from partners, fearing rejection, and are stigmatized as the vectors of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections to women, who are especially vulnerable. Using […]
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 […]
University Rejects Textbook in Human Sexuality Course for Images of Sex
The University of Nebraska at Kearney (a branch campus in a very conservative part of the state) has pulled a textbook from its Human Sexuality course after a student complained that the book exposed her to “pornography.” Discovering Human Sexuality, published by Oxford University Press and lead-authored by noted neuroscientist Simon LeVay, is in its […]