Sex - it does the body good

Forget the milk. Well, save it for the cookies afterwards but today the focus is on sex. And why not? It's good for you. Think I'm kidding? Would I kid about news this excellent?

Researchers at the University of Texas published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, the findings from a study they conducted last year that proves making love isn't just something to make you feel good. It's good for you!

And just HOW good?

1. It improves your mood: (no duh!)
veryone probably already knows that in a great bout of sex, the body releases endorphins, those great little "happy chemicals" that improve mood.

2. It aids sleep.
During orgasm the body produces oxytocin (a hormone that's linked to a lot of positive psychological and physical affects, including its beneficial impact on sleep. So next time insomnia hits, either reach for the man or the vibrator. You'll snooze a lot better.

3. It fights stress
Aside from the obvious pleasure derived from sex which is a stress fighter, it's thought that sex has a biochemical effect and reduces the levels of cortisol which is the hormone that secreted when you're under stress. Sex and de-stress:) Works for me!

4. It boosts your immunity.
No kidding! Having sex once or twice a week has been linked with higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A, or IgA, which can protect you from colds and other sorts of infections. Hey now, I want a strong immune system. Oh honey man .....

5. It reduces the risk of cancer.
Say what? I'm serious. According to the British Journal of Urology, frequent ejaculations may reduce the risk of prostate cancer for men in later life. Researchers found that men who had at least five or more ejaculations weekly during their twenties reduced their risk of getting prostate cancer by a third.

Research also suggests that regular sexual activity could help women to avoid breast cancer. A study conducted in 1989 examined 146 French women and found a higher risk of breast cancer in those women without sexual partner or who had sex less than once a month.


6. It helps alleviate pain
Yes, sex has been linked with a pain reduction for a wide range of conditions, including lower back pain, migraines, arthritis and premenstrual syndrome symptoms. It's all down to those hormones again. It increases endorphin es, the body's natural painkillers.

In 2001 there were two studies on orgasms and migraine headaches in women and men. Researchers discovered that for both orgasm resulted in pain relief. And an earlier study of 83 women who suffered from migraines reported that orgasm resulted in pain relief for more than half of the group. Although this form of pain relief is less reliable and effective than the use of drug therapies, the effects of orgasm as an analgesic are more rapid.

Oh honey, I feel a headache coming on. Quick, to bed!!

7. It burns calories.
Okay, I'll confess, this one made me grin in glee. I'm always on the lookout for fun ways to burn calories. Of course, it needs to be fairly energetic to burn more than 100 calories in half an hour. But generally you can burn 85 calories or more in half an hour. Works for me!

8. It increases longevity
One of the most extensive studies into the relationship between sex and mortality was carried out in Caerphilly, South Wales, from 1979 to 1983, with a 10-year follow-up. In the study, 918 men were given a physical examination and asked about their frequency of orgasm. After 10 years it was found that the mortality risk was 50 per cent lower among men who had frequent orgasms – which was defined as two or more per week. The study also found that, even when adjusting for age and other risk factors, frequent intercourse was associated with lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

So there you have it. Sex DOES do the body good. And with that, I'll wish you all a great evening, night, morning or afternoon as the case may be.

Big hugs!
Ciana

Oh honey man...let me tell you what I just found out :)

Kiss me or kill me?

Yesterday, Rachel raised a very interesting point that caught my attention. Why is it okay to portray the most horrid and gruesome side of human nature in all things artistic, but the most beautiful thing in the world is apparently taboo? How come when I turn on TV I can find "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" playing on several stations, but anything with "Nudity and Adult Situations" is relegated to late night viewing? Why - to condense the question - is bloodshed okay and lovemaking out of bounds?

Taking this into the world of novels - why is Agatha Christie considered a classic by many, yet Anais Nin considered porn by even more? Exactly who is it that said "Sure, go ahead. Slice his dick off. Just don't touch it lovingly." And even more importantly, WHY did they say it?

It's something I've never quite understood. I do know that every living organism on the face of our planet has two goals - to survive and to reproduce. To survive, occasionally it must kill. And to reproduce - yep...it's gotta have some sort of sexual interaction. For humans, one is pleasant, the other fatal. So where did the notion come from that the pleasant one is "dirty" and the fatal one "acceptable"?

I have a theory about all this. It goes back a very long time, all the way back to when our species was gaining sentience. (Sorry creationists. You might want to skip this discussion.) Back then, early man watched the females growing large with child. Watched them give birth in a process which was bloody, painful and completely miraculous. And got totally scared out of their wits. That fear of women and their apparently indescribable abilities became lodged in the male psyche. After all, in the immortal words of South Park's Mr. Garrity - "how the hell can you trust something that bleeds for five days a month and doesn't die?"

Several early civilizations were pretty gender-equal. The Sumerians are a good example. Women could own land and divorce if they were so inclined. But it didn't take long for men to begin suppressing that notion. No way were they going to permit these scary creatures that kind of power. No, let's tell them how precious they are and how we're going to protect them. And then along came organized religion to lock down the process.

That was back then. Now? Sexuality has become a matter of whispers, innuendos and dirty jokes. The human body is still regarded as "naughty" and those who display it as "immoral". Sex is taught to be something done for procreation, not recreation. We hand out weapons with less concern than we hand out condoms. Yes, that fear of the entire sexual experience is still with us, even though it's metamorphosed into the twenty first century version.

"Dexter" is a serial killer with a series on network television - edited, but there nonetheless. "Criminal Minds" doesn't hold back on the bloodletting. VERY occasionally, one or two bedroom scenes sneak in. But where does one go for the no-holds-barred sex? Cable networks...FX... "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me". After ten o'clock of course.

And when it comes to erotic romance novels - well hell. We're sluts, "prostituting our integrity" according to one writer. (Who doesn't apparently sell well in her genre.) No matter the hours of research we put in, the background we've acquired in our chosen field or the popularity of our titles. We're tramps, whores, loose women with looser morals in our professional AND private lives, corrupting the innocent minds of our readers. And teaching them - what??? That sex is wonderful? That two naked people can share something beyond fabulous? That love encompasses more than hand-holding at sunset?

I refuse to even make the effort to defend what I write any more. I will staunchly defend my ability TO write, but not WHAT. I will not bow down before that moralistically unreal notion which says sex is dirty, but I will change the channel when something or someone gets dismembered. I will try to remember that the "Moral Majority" is NEITHER moral nor a majority. And I will ignore those petty enough to jab sharp sticks of jealousy into my chosen literary genre. Writing good sex is as complex and challenging as writing a good murder. I've done both and hope to do so again. If that gets your knickers in a twist, then tough nookies. Go watch the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre".

I'm gonna find myself something that says LOVE is what it's all about.

You're telling me I can't buy ....

... a Sex Toy? Yes, In Alabama that's exactly what lawmakers have said (for nine years). This past week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to have nothing to do with a case that's been working it's way through the court system since 1998, namely Williams v. Alabama.

Specifically, this case involves a law that was intended to shut down adult establishments like strip joints, but sex shops got thrown into the mix so that children wouldn't be exposed to adult retail shops. Yep, you can imagine the collective scream when law makers told women they couldn't buy vibrators.

Okay, time for a Hussy rant. What's the message here? That parents can't be responsible enough to keep children out of adult stores? That business owners can't be trusted to follow the rules about covering windows or not displaying sex toys in windows? Or that women shouldn't be allowed to shop in stores that sell items for physical gratification? Jeeze!!

Now had this law banned things like erection drugs and condoms, you can bet your bippy that men would have had it overturned in record time. But erectile drugs and condoms were not on the banned list. Neither was anything relating to semen extraction businesses, such as in livestock and horse breeding. Hmmm, guess the lawmakers haven't figured it out. It's a known fact that a pissed-off stallion can take a grizzly bear. But just think what a pissed off woman can do!! Oh my, that could be downright frightening. But this law had to specify human genitals so they didn't infringe on breeders and such.

Only humans.

Now they did not prohibit internet shopping, because hey, that's had to do unless you ban internet access. They just prohibit the sale of sex toys in retail stores. But still, what if you want to get a first hand look before you buy, for texture, size, vibratory features?

I find it ridiculous in the extreme. It's legal to buy laptops with the capabilities of running virtual environments where, let's face it, people act out virtual sex acts and lives and lifesize posters of Johnny Depp, which no, aren't specifically designed to stimulate the human sex organs, but nonetheless have the potential to do so by way of that organ we call the brain.

Come on, Alabama. Put the burden of decision on the consumer. If they want to visit such a shop, fine. If they don't, then don't walk in. And put the burden on parents to manage their kids. That's our job after all, as parents. Shop owners are bound to tell any child that enters that they're not allowed. But at least give people the freedom to choose. That is, after all, the American way.

Realistically, how much long can laws like this stand? Isn't this a sign that although the "war in sex" isn't over, it's developing a case of erectile dysfunction with the American population?

Personally, I don't think it can possibly withstand the magnitude of the wave of female sexual empowerment that's happening online. We women are communicating and bonding in online forums and groups. We're demanding that our sexual natures no longer be viewed as something taboo or immoral. And we're instrumental in helping to normalize the concept of bringing technology into sex play.

Yep, we women are indeed changing the world. Look at what we've done for romance in the last decade. It's no longer our grandmother's vanilla tales where a gal is lucky to get a kiss at the front door. Now we have fiction that allows us to see inside house, but takes us into the bedroom and gives us an up close and personal look at the action happening between the sheets. And for those who like to scoff and see if as a "passing fad" or something without power ... well, wake up. We're here and our numbers (and sales) are growing daily.

So, the good news is, that while there's still a way to go, we're making progress. In another ten to twenty years laws such as this one in Alabama will have passed into oblivion, like the law prohibiting putting an ice cream cone in your back pocket on Sunday.

For me, I say, YAHOOOOOO, bring it on. Let's change the world, empower our sisters and let the world know that female sexuality is HEALTHY. Let's put lawmakers and prudes on notice. The women of today are no longer cowering little wimps willing to sit back and let others decide for them. No, indeed. This Age of Aquarius is going to be a time of great change, and exploring our sexuality is part of it. Which goes to show that not only are we in the Age of Aquarius, darlin, we're in the Age of the Hussy! Taking charge of our lives and exploring all the facets of our diverse natures.

Ain't it cool?

This is Ciana, for the Hussies, saying have a hussicilious day, and celebrate your sexuality :)