Birth Control Decreases Sexual Pleasure (DUH)

October 13, 2011 by  
Filed under Analysis

A new article in Time talks about how women who take Birth Control Pills have less sexual satisfaction, but more committed relationships…

Good news and bad for women who take the pill: new research finds that those who meet their partners while taking oral contraceptives report less sexual satisfaction in their relationships — but they’re also less likely to split up.

A study of 2,519 mothers, mainly from the U.S. and Czech Republic, found that those who met their first child’s father while on the pill were less sexually satisfied with their men, less attracted to them and experienced greater sexual dissatisfaction over time, compared with women who weren’t taking birth control pills.

But they also reported greater satisfaction with other aspects of their relationships, including the financial support provided by their mates, and were about 10% more likely to stay together. (If they did break up, the split was around 10% more likely to be initiated by the woman than the man.)

So, how could the pill possibly affect mate choice? It comes down to chemistry.

The researchers had previously discovered that women’s menstrual cycles affect the types of men to which they are most attracted. Part of having “chemistry” with someone is liking his smell, which is determined in part by an immune system molecule called MHC.

People tend to be attracted to partners with MHC types that are dissimilar from their own, probably because this would give their offspring a greater chance of survival by creating a diversified immune system. The pill, however, puts the body into a hormonal state similar to pregnancy — and pregnant women tend to prefer MHC scents that are similar to their own, probably because this would make them feel safe and comfortable around supportive relatives.

That means that if you’re taking the pill, you may be more likely to find attractive men whose MHC is similar to your own — but during your regular cycle, these men might seem less your “type.”

Indeed, during their most fertile phase, women tend to be drawn to more dominant, masculine men who are more likely to be unfaithful. In contrast, during the second part of their cycle, when they could already be pregnant, they are more attracted to calmer, more nurturing types.

So, basically, meeting while on the pill might make you choose a “dad” who may not be the most exciting guy, but who will stick around and support the kids. Conversely, meeting while not taking hormonal contraceptives might make the bad-boy “cad” seem irresistible.

Of course, there are many, many variables involved in choosing a partner and the influence of taking the pill is not huge. It’s possible that other underlying factors actually account for the differences between pill users and nonusers, perhaps related to their decisions about contraception and attitudes toward sex. The researchers tried to control for these factors, however, and still found that the effect persisted in two different countries.

Lead author Craig Roberts of the University of Stirling in the U.K. told the BBC: “Choosing a non-hormonal barrier method of contraception for a few months before getting married might be one way for a woman to check or reassure herself that she’s still attracted to her partner.”

My guess, however, is that if you are that concerned about your relationship, you might have other issues to iron out before booking the caterer.

You know what leads to less sexual satisfaction for everyone involved?  Having kids!  Seems like a fair trade to me.

Make Love Not War: Women End War By Withholding Sex

September 19, 2011 by  
Filed under Interesting Stories, Video

This is a pretty interesting story about how women in the Philippines were able to end a war by withholding sex from men until they agreed to stop fighting.

Here in America, we call this tactic of withholding sex “marriage.”

The Top 10 Most Embarassing Marriage Proposals Ever!

September 10, 2011 by  
Filed under Quotes & Humor

Making the decision to propose is hard enough, what happens if you propose and get shot down?  And not only shot down, but shot down publicly in the most embarrassing fashion possible?  Well, the people over at Social Hype tracked down the most embarrassing proposals to be found on the interwebs and put them up for the whole world to see.  If you think you got it bad with chicks, check these guys out.

Out of all of them, though, this one I thought was the most brutal…

Man Fined For Not Having Sex With His Wife…

September 7, 2011 by  
Filed under Rants & Reviews

Ah, those kookie French.  First its their inexplicable love of Jerry Lewis, and now its massive fines for not sexing up your wife

The 51-year-old man was fined under article 215 of France’s civil code, which states married couples must agree to a “shared communal life”.

A judge has now ruled that this law implies that “sexual relations must form part of a marriage”.

The rare legal decision came after the wife filed for divorce two years ago, blaming the break-up on her husband’s lack of activity in the bedroom.

A judge in Nice, southern France, then granted the divorce and ruled the husband named only as Jean-Louis B. was solely responsible for the split.

But the 47-year-old ex-wife then took him back to court demanding 10,000 euros in compensation for “lack of sex over 21 years of marriage”.
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The ex-husband claimed “tiredness and health problems” had prevented him from being more attentive between the sheets.

But a judge in the south of France’s highest court in Aix-en-Provence ruled: “A sexual relationship between husband and wife is the expression of affection they have for each other, and in this case it was absent.

“By getting married, couples agree to sharing their life and this clearly implies they will have sex with each other.”

Can you imagine the shitstorm that would occur if MEN could start suing their wives and ex-wives over lack of sex?  I mean, c’mon.  Women with-hold sex CONSTANTLY, especially after marriage.  Why is it some poor French guy gets the hammer dropped on him for not putting out?  Can he sue his ex-wife for damages over all the money of his she spent during their marriage?

I’d like to see someone try suing a girl for not putting out after paying for a nice date.  Isn’t there an implicit non-verbal contract there somewhere?

Remind me never to get married in France.