Table of Contents
Introduction.
PART I: BACK TO BASICS.
Chapter 1: Making Babies: A Natural Outcome.
Chapter 2: Tuning the Male Organ.
Chapter 3: Demystifying the Female Parts.
Chapter 4: Teenage Sex: What It's All About.
PART II: MAKING CONNECTIONS.
Chapter 5: Courtship, Marriage, and Commitment: Getting to Yes.
Chapter 6: Know Your Partner: Asking about STDs.
Chapter 7: Think Safe with Sex: Reducing Your Risks.
PART III: DOING IT.
Chapter 8: The First Time.
Chapter 9: Foreplay: Stoking the Fire.
Chapter 10: Variations On a Theme.
Chapter 11: The Big O.
Chapter 12: Afterplay: Embracing the Moment.
Chapter 13: Spicing Up Your Sex Life.
PART IV: DIFFERENT STROKES.
Chapter 14: Sex after 60.
Chapter 15: Sex and Illness or Disability.
Chapter 16: Same Sex Relationships.
Chapter 17: Solo Play and Fantasy.
Chapter 18: Cybersex and Other Variations.
PART V: MAINTAINING HEALTHY SEXUALITY.
Chapter 19: What You Can Catch and How to Prevent It.
Chapter 20: Impotence and Other Male Sexual Problems.
Chapter 21: Low Libido and Other Female Sexual Problems.
Chapter 22: Sex and the Law.
Chapter 23: Keeping Children Safe.
PART VI: PART OF TENS.
Chapter 24: Ten Dumb Thinks People Believe about Sex.
Chapter 25: Ten Tips for Safe Sex.
Chapter 26: Ten Things Women Wish Men Knew About Sex.
Chapter 27: Ten Things Men Wish Men Knew About Sex.
Chapter 28: Ten Tips for Truly Great Lovers.
Appendix A: Step into My Office.
Appendix B: Terrific Resoirces.
Index.
Book Registration Information.
Read a Sample Chapter
Chapter 20
Cybersex and Other Variations
In This Chapter
- Sex online
- Phone sex -- reach out and touch someone
- Shock jocks and sex talk on the air
- Sex on TV
- Multiple partners
When teenagers first get their hands on a new dictionary, what are the first words they look up? And when high schoolers are handed out their biology textbooks on the first day of school, do they hunt right away for the picture of a frog? Of course not. That's why it wouldn't surprise me if some of you have turned to this chapter before reading any of the others.
Now I'm not going to scold you for doing that, because I never blame anyone for wanting to learn about any aspect of human sexuality. So, if you believe that this chapter is where your knowledge is weakest, then that's great.
I can't deny that I was the same way. When I was a little girl, I made a precarious climb to unlock a cabinet on the top shelf where my parents kept what was called in those days a marriage manual, which basically taught people about human sexuality. (My parents could have used that book before they were married because, ironically, the only reason that this little contraception-pusher is in the world is because they failed to use any.) By making an artificial mountain out of some chairs, I was not only taking the risk of getting caught, but I could easily have tumbled down and broken my neck. So I recognize that we are all curious about sexual matters, and the higher that cabinet is -- that is to say, the more forbidden it seems -- the stronger our interest and that's fine. But . . .
Even though reading about kinky acts, looking at pornographic pictures, using those thoughts as part of fantasy, and sometimes even sharing those thoughts with a partner can be helpful to good sexual functioning, actually engaging in what most of us consider deviant sexual behavior is another story. From my experience as a sex therapist, the end results just don't turn out positively. Although sex can be a wonderful part of the glue that holds a couple together, pushed to its extremes, sex can just as easily be the storm that tears them apart. Even if both partners willingly enter into the world of "extreme" sex, the odds are that they won't exit it together.
Sex creates very powerful feelings that need to be kept under control. In that respect, sex is very like the human appetites for such items as liquor, drugs, or gambling. For some people, all they need is one taste of it, and they plunge down the abyss called addiction. So, while I'm all for people having a glass or two of wine with dinner, you have to be aware that you may be one of those people who cannot have even one sip of alcohol without setting off a chain reaction that you can't control. I'm even more in favor of people enjoying sex than alcohol, but you have to understand that sex, too, can be abused.
The biggest dangers of going into the outer fringes of sexual behavior used to be that you might find your relationship left in ruins, or maybe a string of them destroyed. Nowadays, the dangers have been multiplied a hundredfold as the risks of catching an incurable, deadly disease lie just around the corner of most of these forms of sex.
My advice is to tread very carefully. Peek through that knothole in the fence if you want, but don't try to climb over it. That fence is there for a reason, and you should heed the warnings to keep out.
Cybersex: Sex and the Computer
I suppose that, since they've computerized everything else, sex isn't going to escape this revolution. And I have to admit that even I, a grandmother who doesn't know how to turn one of those computer contraptions on, have moved onto the information superhighway ("going online") with a CD-ROM version of my Encyclopedia of Sex.
When it comes to passing on information about sex, I say great. When it comes to other forms of what's been dubbed cybersex, I say maybe. You're an adult. You can decide for yourself. Just make sure that children are protected from inappropriate material (see Chapter 25).
The French minitels
Although the word Internet is on everybody's mind right now, the French were using computers to communicate many years before that revolution hit these shores. The French phone company launched a system of minitels, which are basically small computers that are used only to communicate. Quickly, young French people discovered that this was a good way of making new friends, and being French, naturally many of these new friendships turned into romances.
Chatting via computer is one step further removed from sex than speaking on the phone. With computers, not only are your looks removed, but even your voice. Some people also think that your soul is removed from the process, but that's another story.
Computer sex forums
The big advantage that computer sex forums offer is that they are organized according to subject matter. That means that you can quickly find other people who share your tastes and communicate with them, passing on ideas, places to go, and things to do. The Internet being absolutely without guidelines, when I say that you can chat about any topic, I mean any topic. Some of the names of these forums should give you a clue as to what's out there: "Pumps, Leather, S&M," "Water Sports," "Piercing," "Dressing for Pleasure," "Dominance and Submission Only," "Loop and Lash B&D," "Zoo Animal Lovers," "Ten Things Every Lesbian Should Know About Love and Sex," "Penis Names," and "Below the Ankles -- Feet." Had enough?
Although some people merely "listen" in to what others are saying in these forums, most people actively participate. Some are looking to find people who could be their friends and, if it turns into something more romantic or sexual, that's fine. Such people are no different than anyone who attends a singles dance or goes to a singles bar. Sometimes, these people end up meeting the person they've been communicating with, and sometimes it remains only a cyberfriendship.
Other people go online looking only for cybersex, which may frequently result in masturbation. When that is the main aim of the particular forum, it is called a J/O (for jerk off) session. The people who inhabit these forums regularly call themselves cybersluts -- and who am I to disagree?
Anonymity online
Before you go exploring cyberspace, I have some words concerning personal information: It's up to you how much personal information you want to share.
After meeting someone in one of these forums, you might decide to exchange phone numbers and talk, and then maybe even meet. If you're looking for a partner, it is certainly better to get to know someone in person rather than only via your computer.
The difference between a blind date with someone who comes recommended by a friend or member of your family and one in which you've only met in cyberspace is that the cyberdate could be putting on a completely false front and, while seeming quite nice, actually be psychotic. They may sound absolutely sane on the computer, but they could easily be hiding a darker side. I'm not telling you to be completely paranoid, because the vast majority of the people you'll meet will be absolutely normal, but, because some danger is lurking out there, a little paranoia is appropriate.
(This chapter has been abridged.)
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