Posted 8:30 am, December 23rd, 2011
Zestra wishes you and yours a Happy Holidays! (And really hopes you’re reading this by the fireplace at home.) Our Follow Friday for this week will be brief; we have last-minute presents to wrap just like the rest of you! (And not ALL of it is arousal oil.)
So we recommend taking a look at the following Twitter feeds:
Susan Mathison
Allison Braun
Nicole Daedone
Hillary Rubin
Amber McCue
Sherri Nickols
Joy Nordenstrom
And remember to follow us for the latest and greatest in sex news!
Posted 8:30 am, December 21st, 2011
Let the countdown begin! Hopefully, for those of you still slaving away at the mine, this Hump Day post will provide a quick laugh en route to the holiday weekend.
But first, a few Hanukah/Christmas/Kwanza/Festivus tips:
1. Try to look grateful when you get a used tape player from your great-uncle
2. Count to 30 before responding to your mother-in-law
3. Always choose cookies in lieu of all other food
4. Have fun!
“I think it is funny that we were freer about sexuality in the 4th century B.C. It is a little disconcerting.” –Angelina Jolie
“I like to have a Martini, two at the very most; three, I’m under the table, four I’m under my host!” –Dorothy Parker
“Sex education may be a good idea in the schools, but I don’t believe the kids should be given homework.” –Bill Cosby
Zestra Sexpert-of-the-week Josey Vogels is as prolific as she is clever. Known as “Canada’s Carrie Bradshaw,” Ms. Vogels writes two newspaper columns, contributes to five blogs and hosts a sex and relationship series on radio. Oh, and in case that wasn’t enough, she writes books too. It makes the rest of us seem downright lazy, doesn’t it?
The youngest of eight children (her mother was quite prolific too), Ms. Vogels grew up on a dairy farm in Ontario, Canada. For the past decade, the journalism major has dispensed sex know-how and relationship advice to people throughout North America (despite her column being pulled in some more conservative markets).
According to Ms. Vogels, “The mainstream media are really uncomfortable with talking about kids having sex. It’s automatically assumed that any sexual experience will be traumatic.”
Sample topics she’s written about are “Women Have Lots of Casual Sex – Get Over It,” “Christmas Gift-Giving: the True Test of Your Relationship” and “Can Drugs Make You Love Someone You Don’t?”
This gifted writer gives sound advice while bravely discussing topics others consider taboo. We at Zestra admire her courage, honesty and fortitude.
You can follow Ms. Vogels on Twitter @joseyvogels and us Follow @Zestra
Play Santa
Sure, everyone likes an iPhone or a cashmere sweater, but give your partner the real gift of intimacy this holiday. Most people, when they think of “intimacy,” think of intercourse. But sex, while enjoyable, isn’t the only way of showing your love. Back massages, erotic baths, simple touching and even playful banter can also display affection and attraction. After all, gifts mean nothing without a caring partner.
Question: If I was stuck on a desert island, I could do without ________.
Best answers:
“…The Hallmark Channel”
“…The smoke monster from Lost”
“…The Republican primary”
“…My cell phone”
1.) Check out our Facebook page to vote on this week’s poll question: “If I could have sex anywhere, I would have it…”
a. In space
b. In a church
c. On The Planet of the Apes
d. On top of Brad Pitt
Results will be published next week! Happy Holidays!
Posted 8:30 am, December 16th, 2011
Your Brain on O
…At least, they are when it comes to faking orgasms.
Over the past few weeks, Zestra has tweeted, posted, blogged and commented on a number of media stories related to the seemingly irrepressible habit women have of acting out the Big O instead of experiencing one.
Scientists have speculated on why women fake it. How much they fake it. When they fake it. With whom they fake it. What it means when they fake it.
The fake orgasm may be History’s tallest tale.
The thing is, though… WOMEN DON’T HAVE TO. We have the technology! We have Zestra.
Below is a sample of our favorite orgasm news. Just keep in mind that in today’s day and age, “faking it” is a choice, not a necessity.
Women’s Health IDs reasons women fake orgasms, and why it’s not good for them…
ABC News claims some women experience a “labor orgasm” during childbirth.
Study finds women who fake orgasms more likely to believe their mate will cheat.
MRI shows a woman’s brain lighting up during orgasm.
Be sure to come back and visit this blog for the best in orgasm and sex information. You should also follow us on Twitter using the button below!
Follow @Zestra
Posted 8:30 am, December 14th, 2011
It’s Wednesday, which means you’re half-way to the weekend! (And, the holidays are creeping closer every day, so we hope you’ve at least started on the holiday shopping…)
Below are a few items to make the next couple of days a little bit better – Katherine Heigl explains why she’s such a big fan of neutering pets, Woody Allen notes the benefit of masturbation and someone has a crush on Dame Judi Dench… Check out this week’s Hump Day post below.
“Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place.” –Billy Crystal
“Don’t knock masturbation – it’s sex with someone I love.” –Woody Allen
“It isn’t premarital sex if you have no intention of getting married.” –Drew Carey
The Institute for Sex Research (later known as The Kinsey Institute) was founded in 1947 by Dr. Albert Kinsey, a zoologist at Indiana University.
Kinsey and his institute quickly became famous for The Kinsey Reports on sexuality, released as Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female in 1948 and 1953, respectively.
Discussing such then-taboos as homo- and bi-sexuality, sadomasochism and marital sexual behavior, Kinsey’s studies incurred a great deal of skepticism and negative press. The Kinsey Report is most famous for its “Kinsey Scale,” a 0 to 6 numbered continuum that suggests sexuality isn’t an unambiguous yes / no proposition, but comprised of complex, fluid impulses and behaviors.
Though Kinsey died in 1956, his work lives on in the Institute, which remains one of the foremost authorities on human sexuality. Using its website and social media to deliver information and answer questions, the Kinsey Institute (and peripheral site Kinsey Confidential) seeks to provide people with a forum to discuss all manner of sexual topics.
You can follow the institute on Twitter @kinseyinstitute and us Follow @Zestra
Visit an erotic store together
Maybe it’s the neon XXX, but many people feel awkward visiting an adult store. Yet, a trip to the local sex shop can considerably spice up things in the bedroom. Not only will it give you and your partner some interesting bonding time, the surroundings may jumpstart a conversation that allows each of you to confess any romantic concerns or fantasies.
Question: My ugly crush is_________________
Best answers:
Larry David
Steve Buscemi
Dame Judi Dench
(Who, to be fair, is just old.)
Kathleen Turner
See all the responses here.
Check out our Facebook page to vote on this week’s poll question: “I can do without…” (And we know it’s not arousal oil!)
Best results will be published next week!
Posted 8:30 am, December 9th, 2011
The work week is almost over and Zestra is here to send you smiling into the weekend. First up we have some entertaining sex legends, followed by our Follow Friday Twitter recommendations!
Catherine the Great and her horse
It was rumored that the great Russian empress met her death while having intercourse with a horse (interhorse?). Though a great story, this is false. She died of natural causes in her bed. Alone.
Wilt Chamberlain and his 20K
Chamberlain claims to have slept with 20,000 women over the course of his life. The math renders this claim dubious. Estimating sexual activity between the ages of 16 and 63 (when he died), he would have needed to couple with more than one unique partner every day. Seems unlikely.
Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok
Gossip about a sexual relationship between the former First Lady and Hickok – friends since they met in 1933 – has persisted through the years. Over 2,000 letters exist between the two of them. No one was in the bedroom with Roosevelt and Hickok, so there is no “proof” – but phrases like “I wish I could lie down beside you tonight and take you in my arms” definitely imply a certain intimacy.
Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings
Rumors of a relationship have hung around since Jefferson’s presidency. He never denied or confirmed them. In 1998, however, descendants of Jefferson and Hemings were DNA tested and results indicated the participants were related, so experts agree it is probable this legend is true.
Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland and “Don’t Look Now”
Rumors persist to this day that the 70s superstars had actual intercourse during the filming of their sex scene in the 1973 film “Don’t Look Now.” It IS a rather graphic scene, but is it real? Answer: Who knows? Sutherland and Producer Peter Katz say no. However, Peter Bart, a Paramount executive at the time (and subsequent editor of Variety), claims he clearly witnessed bonafide sex taking place. (And talk was Christie’s then-boyfriend Warren Beatty demanded to edit the footage himself.)
Info you should know from people you should be following on Twitter:
Susan Vernicek
Follow @IdentityMag
“Identity is an online magazine that empowers women to Accept. Appreciate. Achieve.™ We are all individual in our thoughts, interests, beliefs and experiences. Each of us harbors our own fears, doubts, questions and insecurities. That’s why we bring you a positive and safe place to turn for information, inspiration, support, sharing, and “permission” to just be who you are.” –Susan Vernicek
SexIs Magazine
Follow @SexIsMagazine
An online magazine affiliated with female fun store Eden’s Fantasy, SexIs tweets a lot of terrific information, especially from columnists The Bloggess, Nina Hartley and Rachel White.
Liz Weinmann
Follow @theDAREforce
Liz Weinmann founded the DARE force to help women achieve success and self-actualization in their lives. Ms. Weinmann returned to college for an MBA after age 40, fulfilling a life-long dream, and now devotes her time to helping other women achieve their goals.
Posted 8:30 am, November 30th, 2011
OK, folks, you’ve had your day of stuffing the stuffing – now it’s nose-to-the-grindstone time until the primo (read: “GIFTS!”) holidays. But fear not! Zestra is here to help you through the pre-Hanukkah-Christmas-Kwanza-Winter Solstice-Festivus doldrums! Without further ado—this week’s Hump Day, chockfull of bizarre dating videos, a pair of loving sexperts and the results of last week’s poll!
For those of you making a dating profile video, do NOT copy Trudy Wiegel of Reno 911!
| RENO 911! | ||||
| Date a Cop – Trudy Wiegel | ||||
|
||||
Or her pal Frank Rizzo…
| RENO 911! | ||||
| Date a Cop – Frank Rizzo | ||||
|
||||
Raineesha may have a point on the good credit:
| RENO 911! | ||||
| Date a Cop – Raineesha Williams | ||||
|
||||
“I’m at the age where food has taken the place of sex in my life. In fact, I’ve just had a mirror put over my kitchen table.” –Rodney Dangerfield
“I wouldn’t recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they’ve always worked for me.” –Hunter S. Thompson
“Anyone who knows anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible without feminine upheaval. Social progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex, the ugly ones included.” –Karl Marx
Judith Claire and Frank Wiegers are married relationship and sexuality experts based out of Santa Monica, CA. Judith, a writer and life coach, met Frank, a thrice-divorced Vietnam War vet, in 2004. After their initial attraction blossomed into a marriage, Judith and Frank wanted to share their experiences with others and founded Top Gun Love, an online resource “dedicated to honestly answering love, sex and relationship questions.”
“Some say that sex is 10% of a relationship—if it’s working; but it becomes 90% if the sex is not working,” says Frank.
Their website offers webinars on such topics as “Reawaken Romance with an Adventure in the Bedroom!” and “Be Rewarded for Giving Her What She Wants!” Personal coaching is also available.
According to Frank, “To have a consistent sustainable sexual relationship requires skills and abilities for which many of us received very little (if any) training. Contrary to popular opinion, great sex does not come instinctively or just happen because we are in love. It takes training and practice in both sex and relationship to bring us the ecstatic life we want.”
“Living with and loving Frank is truly a blessing and one that can be shared. Together, we’ve got 138 years of life experience and counting, and the commitment and training to help make your love, sex and relationship dreams come true,” says Judith.
Follow the couple on Twitter @topgunlove and us Follow @Zestra
.
Question: Sexting is…
A. A waste of good hanky-panky thoughts. 50%
B. Dangerous for celebrities and politicians. 25%
C. The wrong way to do it. 8%
D. Idiotic. 8%
E. What I’m doing right now. 8%
Check out our Facebook page to vote on this week’s poll: “The movie my love life most resembles is…”
Results will be published next week!
And remember to enter the Zestra Glide into the Holidays Contest where you can enter to win a $500 Visa Gift Card.
Got something on your mind? Zestra's medical experts, including OB/GYNs and sex therapists, are listening. Sign in to submit a question and read what they have to say.
Latest Question
from Barbara in New York:
Q: I have cancer and as if I don't have enough side effects, my sex drive is gone now too. Is that normal?
A: Sign in to read the answer from Dr. Michael L Krychman MD.
To access Ask a Doctor and Z-Spot Newsletters, you must be a registered Zestra® Essential Rewards™ member.
Members of the Zestra® Essential Rewards™ Program enjoy exclusive access to Ask a Doctor, the Z-Spot Newsletter, and other benefits. Learn more
