As I was sitting at my desk at work today, waiting for something interesting to happen, I decided to flip through a few of the many magazines one might find in an upscale hair salon. Two interesting articles caught my eye. The first was in the July issue of Self, entitled Steal His Mojo (I just mistyped that as Moho. Freudian slip…?) in which the author, Jenna McCarthy, discusses the differences between men and women in bed. First, McCarthy lists the areas in which men succeed in bed but women do not. Then, she addresses how women can actively change. Some of my favorites….
- Men are “unapologetic” about their flabby stomachs. Apparently, this lack of self-consciousness stems from an evolutionary need to reproduce as quickly as possible. Apparently cavemen didn’t have time to check how they looked in the mirror before sex. McCarthy suggests that women “close (their) eyes and concentrate on the sensations”, as “holding in your belly impedes blood flow from the heart…which makes it more difficult to become aroused and have an orgasm”.
- Men will literally drop everything for a roll in the hay. Women, on the other hand, are more apt to put sex at the bottom of their list of priorities. Come on ladies, you know this sounds familiar. Sure, we can get busy, but first I have to go grocery shopping and empty the dishwasher and pick up the kids and meet my deadline for work….(and the list goes on). McCarthy suggests a 14-day “act-like-a-guy challenge” (while I’m not sure this title sits well with me, I’m going to attempt to actually stay on topic, so forgive that I’m not going on a rant about the gender binary), in which one should “drop everything to be intimate”. She also suggests enlisting your partner to help you complete that long list of tasks. Now that sits well with me.
- Men are extremely direct about what they want in bed. Apparently they’ll even make literal requests, as McCarthy says, such as “do this to that body part”. Women, however, are much more reserved, expecting their partners to know what they like. This is just silly. Unless you’re boning a psychic, you have got to learn to SPEAK UP, people. Some sex therapists recommend that each partner keep their own personal journal of fantasies and desires, and routinely “pass them back and forth”, as it’s a simple way of “expressing your wishes if you tend to get embarrassed by pillow talk”.
The second article was a short tidbit from the July issue of Glamour Magazine, entitled Umm…Would You Get A Personal Trainer For Your Vagina? Talk about a catchy title. Author Alix Strauss went all out to discover what fitness really means. Dr. Lauri Romanzi, an NYC gyno that specializes in pelvic “fitness”, spends her days teaching patients how to…well…strengthen their vaginas. According to the article, a shocking 66% of women will have painful sex in their lives, and almost 25% of women between the ages of 25-39 have bladder-control issues, both of which can be remedied by pelvic strengthening. Apparently, Dr. Romanzi teaches Kegels…but not just any Kegels, the right kind of Kegels. Strauss was even instructed to use small vaginal weights (called StepFree) to help strengthen her lady parts.
These articles definitely provided some entertainment at the desk! I hope to do a post on Kegels soon….the myths will finally be debunked!
Oh yes. Ohhhhh yes. Both can be found at the website linked above.
