We've got issues.
People having sex isn’t “news.” Sex is how our species survives, after all. Sex scandals make the headlines when the sex is had in awkward places, with ill-chosen or inappropriate people, including, as it turns out, one’s own self. That’s when sex makes the pages of not just tabloid news but the rarified newsprint (and websites, for endless sharing) of The Oregonian and The Register-Guard. Continue reading
It’s a common experience. You’re walking down the street, pleasantly enjoying the scenery, when you look down and almost step on the horror of all horrors: a used condom lying on the sidewalk. We all know that condoms are readily available and people use them all the time (even if we don’t want to see the rubbery aftermath at our feet). The problem is that they’re not using them enough or with any kind of consistency. Continue reading
Local author and real estate investor Bill Syrios has written a new book about relationships that might make his four grown sons blush. “This book may contain more about good old Dad than you wanted to know!” he writes in the dedication to Intimate Conversations for Couples: Turning Your Relationship into a Lifelong Love Affair, published by Crossover Press in Eugene and available in print this Valentine’s Day. Continue reading
Emily Aguilera, 26, single What is the best part about being single? Not having to answer to anybody but yourself. What is the worst part about being single? Nobody to split dinner with, half and half. Share portions, get that variety when you go out to eat; you’re stuck to that one dish. Have you ever been cheated on? Not to my knowledge. Have you ever cheated on someone? Continue reading
Valentine’s Day. One of the many holidays that started as a mix of a pagan festival (Lupercalia, a fertility festival) blended with a day in honor of some dude (St. Valentine) who died in an unpleasant way for the Catholic Church. No one runs through the streets anymore gently slapping women with the blood-dripping hide of a sacrificed goatskin to ensure fertility, but some of us would probably rather get hit with a dead goat than be subjected to the Hallmark cards and pink candy hearts of our modern Valentine’s Day celebrations. Continue reading
Having “hot animal sex” isn’t always a good thing. Take cats, for example. Male cats have spikes on their penises that bury into the vaginal wall during sex. Cats in heat aren’t yowling because they’re having a great time — it’s because they’re being stabbed by a barbed penis. And in the insect world, after praying mantises have sex, the female skips right past the pillow talk and bites the male’s head off if she’s hungry or stressed. Continue reading
Valentine’s Day is frustrating. We either spend all of our energy on our beloved partner because society tells us that this is the day to do so, or we wallow in the fact that we don’t have a special someone in our lives. So, don’t stress out and keep it simple, stupid. Continue reading
“I show up and transform their living room into a sex toy store. Lots of samples, lots of testers,” Kim Marks says. Marks is the proprietor of Oregon’s As You Like It – The Pleasure Shop and she devotes many of her evenings to putting on PleasureWare Home Parties, showcasing the store’s many ecofriendly and ethical sex toys and products, from glass dildos to phthalate-free vibrators. Continue reading
San Francisco has the Castro, Seattle has Capital Hill, Portland has the Burnside Triangle. In a smaller city with no gay district, center or bar, Eugene is a difficult place for men to date. And for a university town, where the UO was voted number one in Campus Pride’s Climate Index of gay-friendly colleges, it is puzzling that there are no designated queer spaces off campus. Many people will tell you, “Go to G.L.A.M. Continue reading
If you’ve found yourself single in the past few years, chances are you’ve considered signing up for one of the many online dating websites. And there are plenty to choose from, be it Match.com, eHarmony, OkCupid or one of the million or so others. If you haven’t taken the plunge or are still skirting the “free glances” fringes, allow this e-dating vet to share a little learned wisdom and perhaps ease the nerves. Continue reading