Consensual Text

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It can, but not in everyone.

Cyclists started talking about numbness in the genitals around 1890. Following that, ads for saddles that reduce genital numbness and tingling started appearing. People realized cycling was affecting male performance and increasing the risk of erectile dysfunction.  Luckily, saddle design has enjoyed some improvements in recent years.

Cycling can create too much pressure on the perineum, located between the external genitals and the anus. The perineum has the Alcock canal, which contains an artery and a nerve that supply the penis with blood and sensation. When a cyclist sits hard on a narrow bike seat, the blood flow decreases, diminishing the flow pressure for the penis to be able to achieve a full erection.  

 Today’s manufacturers of bike seats have developed saddles addressing some of the pressure issues, however,  people are physiologically diverse and have different bone structure and protective tissue. Cyclists have to do a little homework and find the seats best for them.  

 Three Tips:

• Wear padded bike shorts.
• Use upright handle bars so your posture changes, transferring the pressure of the perineum to the buttocks.
• If you feel numbing and tingling during a ride – stop riding for one to two weeks.  

Some alternative help tips:

• Horny Goat Weed: Increases levels of testosterone and thyroid hormones
• Yohimbe: Helps to dilate small blood vessels – especially in the penis. This herb has received FDA approval as a treatment for impotence. Discovered in South Africa, it has been used for years as an aphrodisiac.
• Ginseng: Increases stamina, helps relax blood vessels in penis, and helps produce an erection. It has been used for years as a male sexual tonic.  

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s Education Department carefully selects all weekly questions. All questions are actual inquiries made to PPNNE by college-aged students.

Do you have a question you would like to see included?  Please email goddess@ppnne.org

A new study reveals people’s other activities during sex, which seem to include texting.

We are wondering if you are able to edit down to 140 characters, spell properly, and manage the fine motor skill of getting your fingers on those little buttons (wait….why are your hands on a PHONE???), perhaps you aren’t paying attention to the other activities going on? For details, click this button.

Just wondering out loud.

Consensual Text is featured on Twitter and on Facebook .  Fan and follow us for info on a range of topics pertaining to sex and sexual health!

(This week’s question came from a 19 year old male reader.)

Ever had a root canal?  (No worries…using a dental dam is not painful and doesn’t require a professional.) Your dentist probably used a dental dam to isolate your tooth that she/he was working on: it is a way to keep things free of bacteria in your mouth (dentist talk) or in your partner’s vulva or anus (sex talk).

“The little square of latex” functions as a barrier when performing oral-vaginal sex (cunnilingus) and oral-anal sex (rimming) and helps prevent the spread of STIs.

Let’s get technical first: dental dams are available for purchase over the counter in most drug stores, online, in sex shops, and at many health centers or doctor’s offices. They are made of thin latex, measuring approximately 6×8”, and come in a variety of flavors and/or scents.  There are non-latex dental dams available for people with latex allergies. As with condoms, always check the expiration date, as latex breaks down over time and loses efficacy. When this happens, small, microscopic holes allow bacteria and infection to spread, defeating the point of using one in the first place. (If the dam comes with a powder-like substance on it, wash it off and air or towel dry prior to using it.) For even more info, click here.

Now, about using it:

Spread the dam over the entire vulva, covering the vaginal opening and clitoris.  During oral-anal contact, use the dam to cover your partner’s anus.  Never use the same dental dam for both oral-vaginal and oral-anal sex.

Some people like to use some water based lubricant on the vagina or anus beforehand to increase stimulation, thus heightening the enjoyment of oral and anal sex when using a dental dam.

Alternatives to dental dams include a non-lubricated male condom with the tip cut off and cut down the length of the condom or plastic wrap (NOT the microwavable kind).

tickle and tease with the dam, especially after both of you are really ready for sex, to intensify the anticipation.

Don’t think they are too much trouble and pleasure kills – you are being safe by using one and you will both will enjoy the experience – smell, taste, stretch of the dam – if you play with it and have a little fun.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s Education Department carefully selects all weekly questions. All questions are actual inquiries made to PPNNE by college-aged students.

Do you have a question you would like to see included?  Please email goddess@ppnne.org

Exercise. It’s one of those things you “should” do a regular basis in order to live a long, healthy life. But what if we told you exercise could also improve your sex life? We bet you’d be a little more willing to hit the gym.

This video from Web MD highlights the perks of working out and explains how exercise can ultimately result in better sex. Talk about motivation.  

Consensual Text is featured on Twitter and Facebook.  Fan and follow us for info on a range of topics pertaining to sex and sexual health!

Size really doesn’t have much to do with performance.  A lover focused on their partner’s desires is more important.

Good sex consists of lot more than penetration. In fact, many women do not have orgasms from penetration – more are aroused by clitoral stimulation and oral sex.  Many women feel men who have smaller penises generally perform more oral sex and are more satisfying.

85% of women with male partners reported being satisfied with their partner’s penis size, while only 55% of men reported satisfaction with their own size. Try different positions if you are worried about size. Enjoy the sensations while exploring these positions.  Try the rabbit ears position, the V formation, or the snake, for ultimate sensation.

Mostly, if your partner has a smaller penis, let him know you are enjoying it and give him some reassurance that size really doesn’t matter – good lovers can do all kinds of things to make you love every moment of having sex.

If you are getting into a new relationship, remember many are self conscious when they are having sex for the first or second time.  Most people worry about some part of their body they think is imperfect. It is very sexy when a lover is confident ut their body shape and size.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s Education Department carefully selects all weekly questions. All questions are actual inquiries made to PPNNE by college-aged students.

Should you have a question you would like to see included, please send an email to goddess@ppnne.org

Consensual Text is featured on Twitter and Facebook.  Fan and follow us for info on a range of topics pertaining to sex and sexual health!

There is a myth that a woman’s vagina gets bigger and wider when she has a lot of sex, or a lot of partners, or lots of sex with someone who has a large penis. There is no truth to these “facts”.

Women’s vaginas vary in size, but are not so drastically different that one woman would be identifiable by a large, wide vagina, and another for a small, little vagina.  Genetics do make a difference, but it is not something we can easily tell. The average size of a vagina is 3 ½ to 4 inches in a relaxed state, and 5 to 6 inches in an aroused state.  A woman’s vagina does widen when she is sexually aroused, but as soon as arousal diminishes, her vagina goes back to its normal size.

The vagina is a muscle which stretches and contracts, depending on whether there is something in it or not.  If a woman is having sex and she is aroused, her vagina expands to hold a penis, a dildo, a vibrator, and/or other sex toys. When the penis or the toys are removed the vagina returns to its regular size.

For most people intercourse doesn’t feel the same every time you have sex – nor does it feel the same with every partner you have.  Sometimes a woman’s vagina feels tighter, sometimes loser, which is dependent on her state of arousal, not the width of her vagina.

Sometimes, after childbirth, a woman’s vagina might feel wider.  With kegel exercises, that fabulous muscle can get back in shape. A woman’s vagina might also change as she ages and goes through menopause.  As with other muscles, the tone of her vagina can change with age.  Here’s the good news … there are exercises that can help keep that muscle in shape even as you age.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s Education Department carefully selects all weekly questions. All questions are actual inquiries made to PPNNE by college-aged students.

Should you have a question you would like to see included, please send an email to goddess@ppnne.org

We had featured crocodile dung as birth control in the past, thinking it couldn’t be topped. Then along comes Momversation, and gives us beaver testicle tea and a comprehensive list of the 9 Most Bizarre Birth Control Methods. Blocks of wood, soda douches….this list really takes the cake for unusual (and mostly ineffective) means of preventing pregnancy.  

For contraception that is reliable (and that you don’t have to catch in the wild or commission from a carpener), we suggest you make an appointment.  Happy Monday!

Consensual Text is featured on Twitter and on Facebook .  Fan and follow us for info on a range of topics pertaining to sex and sexual health!

Female ejaculation, casually known as “squirting”, is a natural and normal function of the female body. Although many women do not experience ejaculation, most women have the capability to ejaculate.

There is a difference between female and male ejaculation. Male ejaculation is about reproduction – the delivery of sperm from a man’s testes for the purpose of reproducing. Women ejaculate for the sole purpose of pleasure.

Female ejaculation is a function of a woman’s Para urethral glands, also known as “the female prostate. The fluid – or ejaculate – comes through a woman’s urethra and is sometimes mistaken for urine. It is not urine, although occasionally there can be a little urine in the ejaculate. Women who do ejaculate don’t do so every time they have sex or have an orgasm.

There’s lots of debate about female ejaculation – some doctors say it’s physiologically impossible for women to ejaculate. On the other hand, many women, health practitioners, doctors, and sex activists dispute this.

One of the best ways for a woman to ejaculate is to stimulate both the clitoris and G-spot when highly aroused. If comfortable with ejaculation, and at that highly aroused moment bearing down as one does when urinating – ejaculation can happen!

Next week read how the “g” spot is the close friend of female ejaculation.

Planned Parenthood of northern New England’s Education Department carefully selects all weekly questions. All questions are actual inquiries made to PPNNE by college-aged students.

Should you have a question you would like to see included, please send an email to goddess@ppnne.org

Eat your veggies, floss, look before crossing the road and have an orgasm.

I wonder how this would go over in American schools.

Sexy, hot and steamy limpet, firefly, bee, dragonfly, barnacle, fly, earthworm, snail and spider sex.

This is Sundance Documentary porn from Isabella Rossellini’s acclaimed Green Porno series. She walks through a sculpture garden made of 8 foot tall paper penises, talks about how special her eggs are, winks seductively and occasionally grabs her crouch, in the classy way only Rossellini can get away with.

Less arousing, more relaxing and humorously sophisticated, but thoroughly enjoyable!  About as far as you can get from Blue Velvet!