Could pine bark perk up your libido?

London - A libido-boosting pill has been shown to improve women’s sex lives. In a clinical trial, the pill, called Lady Prelox, was given to 86 women with an average sexual functioning level, based on a questionnaire taking into account factors such as desire, arousal and orgasm.

 

Their levels of sexual functioning increased significantly after four weeks of taking the pill daily.

 

Meanwhile in the women who took placebo there was barely any increase.

 

Prelox is already available as a supplement for men suffering erectile dysfunction and is a blend of two compounds, L-arginine and French maritime pine bark.

 

It is claimed these make people feel aroused by increasing nitric oxide production, which helps widen blood vessels and boost blood flow. - Daily Mail

 

Racy mile-high TV raises brows

 

TRAVEL with Qantas and the in-flight entertainment may prove to be racier than you had expected.

 

For the Australian airline’s television options currently include a documentary called The Female Orgasm Explained. With excerpts from old pornography films, its footage will make many flyers blush. But Luke Enright from Qantas said the French-made film was the most popular on its television channel and would continue to be screened until November.

 

The film also carried a mature adults rating and the crew were able to block it if it was available at a seat occupied by unaccompanied minors, he added.

 

But sociology experts have raised concerns, saying that the showing of the film would be “fascinating but problematic”. – Daily Mail

Why women fake orgasms

File photo: The majority of women (73 percent) faking orgasms are performing for their partners.

New survey results have debunked the myth behind women faking orgasms, while SA rates third in the faking it list.

 

It’s no secret that more than 50 percent of women fake climax – but no one suspected that more than 70 percent of women enjoy acting it out.

 

The survey, conducted by VictoriaMilan – a dating website for married and attached women looking to cheat – listened in on the oohs, aahs, ins and outs of 5 708 of its actively cheating female members to uncover when, why and with whom women are faking their orgasms.

 

The majority of women (73 percent) faking orgasms are performing for their partners, while a mere 16 percent choose to fake it for their lovers. Just 11 percent say that both their lover and long-term partner will have the privilege of witnessing their sensual performances.

 

A whopping 68 percent – that’s almost seven out of every 10 women polled – say they usually enjoy the moment they decide to fake their orgasm. One fourth say faking an orgasm isn’t an enjoyable moment, and seven percent get satisfaction out of their moment of fake pleasure every single time.

The main reason behind faking an orgasm is to provide pleasure and confidence to the partner, with more than 62 percent of women agreeing this is why they perform in the bedroom. Nine percent claim they have a mini-orgasm when pretending to actually have one, and eight percent say it’s to arouse their partner and keep the mattress marathon going for longer. Just 10 percent of women use a fake orgasm to end the sex, and only six percent say they fake it because a real orgasm is impossible for them to achieve.

 

43 percent of women fake their orgasm every single time they’re in the act, while two out of every 10 women say it’s only every so often they decide to act out their orgasm. Just one in every ten women surveyed say they’ll indulge in a fake orgasm as frequently as once a week.

 

The majority of women are confident in their acting abilities, with 39 percent saying their partner has no idea they are faking their orgasms.

Founder and CEO of Victoria Milan, Sigurd Vedal, said the results showed that women are naturally generous lovers, who take pleasure even when faking it. “Women have been faking orgasms for centuries, and now we have revealed why – and it’s not what people typically suspect: to end the sex. Certainly, women perform fake orgasms to encourage their partners, but they also get pleasure from the theatre and the attention a fake orgasm brings them,” Mr Vedal said.

 

LEAGUE OF FAKE ORGASMS:

• Poland 67%
• Norway 61%
• South Africa 58%
• Netherlands 57%
• United States 56%
• Belgium 55%
• Finland 52%
• Ireland 51%
• Denmark 48%
• United Kingdom 44%
• Sweden 39%
• Spain 29%

Women who find sleeping a real pleasure

US researchers found 37 per cent of women had experienced a 'sleep orgasm' by the age of 45. Picture: Thys Dullaart

London - For nearly four in ten women, sleep isn’t just about recharging the batteries – it seems it’s also a source of great pleasure.

US researchers found 37 percent of women had experienced a “sleep orgasm” by the age of 45.

 

By contrast only half had enjoyed an orgasm during normal sex.

According to the study, so-called nocturnal orgasms can occur in females aged between the teenage years and the 50s, and whether they were single or married.

 

Meanwhile 83 percent of men participants had experienced the phenomenon, although mostly when in their teens.

Women ‘have two pleasure pathways’

The tricky issue here is what you do if you think twice-weekly love-making sounds way too arduous.

London - It’s a mystery to many men and a source of frustration to many women.

Now study of the brain is helping scientists to unlock the secrets of the female orgasm.

By using scanners to observe which parts of a woman’s brain become active when they are aroused, researchers have discovered there are at least two “pathways to pleasure”.

 

One of them activates when a woman is alone and fantasising with the help of imagination.

The other kicks into action when she is being physically stimulated by a lover.

The findings, revealed in the New Scientist, have come from two separate research studies. A US study of solo female volunteers, led by Dr Barry Komisaruk at Rutgers University in New Jersey, analysed MRI scans of women reaching climax to investigate the role of imagination and “top-down control” in triggering a physiological response.

It found heightened activity in more than 30 parts of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex, an area which controls functions such as decision-making, controlling urges and imagination.

 

In contrast, when Janniko Georgiadis and colleagues at the University of Groningen in Holland performed similar experiments observing women being stimulated by a partner, they found that the same brain region “switched off” during orgasm.

This suggests that an orgasm is achieved with a partner when the woman “lets go” and reaches an “altered state of consciousness”.

 

An inability to do this may prevent women from reaching climax.

 

Mr Georgiadis said: “I don’t think orgasm turns off consciousness but it changes it. When you ask people how they perceive their orgasm, they describe a feeling of a loss of control.”

The studies together indicate women’s brains have alternative pathways for experiencing sexual pleasure according to whether they are alone or with a lover.

 

Mr Georgiadis added: “It is possible there is a difference between someone trying to mentalise sexual stimulation as opposed to receiving it from a partner.”

 

Scientists believe that further study of the orgasm - and the role of the prefrontal cortex - could help women who have difficulty reaching climax.

 

And Dr Komisaruk hopes more research will offer a valuable insight into how we might use thought to control other physical sensations, such as pain.

 

Attempts have been made to carry out similar studies on men, but have been hampered by technical problems. Male orgasms are much shorter and few women will be surprised to discover that men use their brain less during sex. - Daily Mail

‘Casual lovers make better sperm'

The research revealed that a significant 39% have had their opinion of someone ruined because of a bad-tasting smooch.

London - Men who have sex with new partners are more likely to reach orgasm faster and will produce better quality sperm, scientists believe.

 

The study by US researchers found that when men have encounters with unfamiliar women, their sperm shows improved quantity, movement and structure.

 

In the study, 21 heterosexual men aged between 18 and 23 were shown seven sexually explicit film clips involving a man and a woman.

The first six clips featured the same couple, but in the seventh, the woman differed distinctly. The men each provided seven samples over the course of 15 days.

After analysis, the results showed that the men produced higher quality sperm when the new woman was introduced, as well as ejaculating more quickly.

Experts hope that the findings will pave the way for better treatments for male infertility.

Writing in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science, the authors said: “In our study, men produced higher quality ejaculates when exposed to novel, rather than familiar women. Additionally, men ejaculated more quickly when viewing a new woman after being exposed to the same woman repeatedly.

“Our findings are the first to demonstrate that men’s ejaculate behaviour and composition change in response to novel female stimulus.”

The research team, from the College of Wooster in Ohio, said that the sperm change may show that men “preferentially invest more” into new sexual situations with unfamiliar partners – so it is more likely that they conceive through the encounter. The experts also suggested that men orgasm more quickly with a new woman in order to avoid being detected with a partner that is not their own.

This is because of male competition, as well as the evolutionary desire to secure an heir.

They wrote: “A decrease in the time to ejaculation may decrease the likelihood of an extra-pair copulation being detected.”

The results could have an impact on fertility treatments, as male infertility could be being under-diagnosed, they warned.

This is because sperm samples are often collected using images depicting women other than the man’s partner.

Daily Mail

An orgasm a day keeps the wrinkles away

Sex is a cost-free beauty enhancer. Picture: Pexels

Rosy cheeks and glowing skin is the fresh make-up-free look all of us desire. 

We spend a small fortune on skincare products, make-up and hours on facial routines to achieve that youthful look. 

Did you know that you can get this look without spending a cent and enjoy it in the process? 

 

The cost-free secret to glowing skin is sex. Lots and lots of sex.

According to Business Insider, dermatologists Melissa Piliang, MD and Ted Lain, MD would agree. 

UK MPs query 'biggest fake orgasm'

London - Members of parliament called on Wednesday for a full inquiry into the financing and operation of London's Millennium Dome, originally intended as a symbol of modern Britain at the start of the 21st century and now regarded as an embarrassing flop.

 

At least 58 MPs, including senior figures from the ruling Labour Party, have signed a House of Commons motion calling for a public judicial inquiry into the Dome affair, which has swallowed £538-million (about R5,6-billion) from the national lottery.

 

More are likely to add their voices to the call following a decision this week to advance the Dome a further £29-million (about R303-million) on condition that the company running the project sack its chairman.

The MPs say the new funding deprives a government fund of cash "that would otherwise go to education, health and the environment" and call on the government to pledge that no further money would be given to the Dome, adding that it is not the government's business to run a tourist attraction.

 

On Tuesday David Quarmby took over from former British Airways head Bob Ayling as chairman of the New Millennium Experience Company.

The company had asked for almost £39-million (about R411-million) to make up for disappointing attendance levels. NMEC has revised its business plan and now expects to attract only seven million visitors this year, down from the original 12 million visitors.

The Dome, which cost some £800-million (about R8,3-billion) to build, has been criticised for the quality of its exhibits with many claiming it has not aimed high enough and attempted to be too populist.

Prince Charles described it as a "monstrous blancmange" and a "crass waste of money", in frank statements that infuriated the government.

"It reminds me of a giant greenhouse - except that would be an insult to fertiliser," he is reported to have said.

The Independent newspaper drew a parallel with the Labour government that backed the project: "The famous zones bear the hallmark of the familiar gap between New Labour's exalted rhetoric and its diminished delivery," it said.

The normally staid Daily Telegraph described the Dome as "the biggest fake orgasm in history". - Sapa-DPA

12 Celebrities Who Have Gay Parents

Same-sex parenting continues to be a hot-button issue around the world, despite the growing numbers of gay and lesbian couples who are raising amazing and healthy families every year.  You may surprised to know that some of your favorite celebrities were raised by gay parents.  Here we dish on 12 celebrities raised by parents, who happened to be gay or lesbian.

Robert De Niro's father and famed artist Robert De Niro, Sr. divorced the actor's mother in 1946 and reportedly struggled with depression from being a closeted gay man for the remainder of his life.

Actress Jena Malone was raised by her mother, Deborah Malone, and her mother's girlfriend.

Football legend O.J. Simpson's father was a renowned drag performer in San Francisco throughout the '70s and '80s.

Screen icon Judy Garland's father, Francis Gumm, was infamous for seducing young men. She later married Vincente Minelli, who many believed to be gay as well.

After actress Rene Russo's father Nino left her family when she was two, she was raised by her mother and a host of her mother's lesbian friends.

Late actress Natasha Richardson's father, Tony Richardson, was openly bisexual. He died to AIDS-related complications in the early '90s.

Actress Anne Heche's father, Donald Joseph Heche, was gay, but refused to openly discuss his sexual proclivities.

Pioneering screen icon Dorothy Dandridge was raised by her mother and her mother's long-time girlfriend.

Scissor Sisters front-woman Ana Lynch, better known as Ana Matronic, was raised by a gay father, who died when she was 15.

After Amy Adams' parents divorced when she was 11, her mother began living with a woman who later became her girlfriend.

Rapper and entrepreneur 50 Cent was raised by a lesbian mother who died when he was just eight years old.

Powerhouse actress Jodie Foster was raised by her lesbian mother and her mother's girlfriend, who Jodie referred to as "aunt."

Retro Sleepwear Inspiration

When you’re unwinding from a long day of working in the mines, you don’t often feel like returning home just to get dressed again. You might throw your shoes across the room while attempting to pull them off with the laces still tied. Your lipstick would have worn away somewhere around that second greasy wrap at lunch. If anyone goes as far as to mention pants you have five objects at the ready to throw in their direction. It sounds like you need a little bit of retro glamour in your life, darling. The 50s taught us that you don’t have to wear a full face of makeup to feel refreshed, when you have a set of matching negligee, robe and shoes on hand.

Historical Flashback

The luxuriousness of 50s nightwear is due mainly to the war. During World War II fabrics for sleepwear were nowhere near available. Instead they would sleep in whatever they could find. Many women slept fully clothed, prepared to run for shelter in the middle of the night. After the horror of the war there was a boom in luxurious women’s fashion, particularly nightwear, led by designers like Christian Dior.

 

HOW TO STYLE RETRO NIGHTWEAR

Style? You might be asking why would you need to style your sleepwear? Retro glamour is all about looking your best for yourself. Imagine how great it will feel waking up to find yourself amassed in clouds of chiffon and soft from your night cream. All you’ll need is to throw on your matching chiffon robe and the world will be yours.

When rocking retro sleepwear or lingerie it’s important to start by looking at the fabric. The vintage nightwear we adore today was made to be luxurious and glamorous. So, look for fabrics like silk and soft chiffons that give off that same Hollywood feel.

Let’s get straight to the point. Retro sleepwear is sexy! It doesn’t matter if you’re gearing up for a night in with the boyfriend or staying home gorging on homemade cookies, whenever you catch yourself in a mirror you’ll gain a new bout of confidence. So, don’t be afraid to be sexy and especially don’t be ashamed of feeling sexy all by yourself.

Are you a fan of retro nightwear?