creators home
creators.com lifestyle web

Recently

Girls Just Wanna Have Funbags I'm seriously considering breast augmentation. I had nice boobs (Cs) 60 pounds ago. I really miss them. My boyfriend says not to get implants for him; he likes me as I am. I'm doing this for me. I'm tired of bras that don't fit (straps too short, …Read more. Less Is Amour I had a disturbing conversation with this older married woman at a party. She asked my boyfriend how long we've been together (two years). Before he went to get us drinks, he made a crack about how different our apartments are. The moment he was out …Read more. The Love Bloat Are we fighting human nature in trying to be monogamous? I'm dating a guy I dated five years ago. Back then, he was sexually inexperienced. Now that he's been around the block, he totally disagrees with monogamy and wants us to have a sexually open …Read more. House Swarming Six months ago, after my boyfriend and I had been together a year, we started living together. We're in our late 20s. Shortly after I moved in, he asked if another couple, his friends, could move in with us so they'd save some money. I said yes …Read more.
more articles

When Hairy Palms Met Sally

I checked my boyfriend's online history (okay, invaded his privacy) and saw he'd been looking up porn all day yesterday and the day before while home with the flu. I freaked! We'd talked about porn before. He said he watched it in his younger days, but didn't anymore, so I was surprised. I confronted him, and he said he'd been bored and curious, but doesn't watch porn regularly. I don't know whether I believe him. I've heard people get addicted to porn. Beyond that, there are the unrealistic images of women. The fact that he initially lied makes me worry he has a problem. — Smut Patrol

You thought you'd come home, ask what your poor sick bunny did all day, and learn that he was weak and feverish, but not too weak and feverish to spend eight hours straight picking out a ring and poring over all the great wedding gifts on Tiffany's website. Whoops...it seems he was actually on the other Tiffany's site — watching and rewatching "Tiffany Gives Heidi Her Sponge Bath."

Yeah, right...he only watched porn in his "younger days" — like last week, when he was approximately five days younger. And then, wouldn't you know it, he got "bored and curious," as in, "Yawn...I wonder what really enormous fake breasts look like." Bored? Sure. Curious? Right. What is he, an 8-year-old who has yet to hack through the parental controls on Mommy's laptop?

Actually, he's a man, with male sexuality, which evolved to be highly visual and variety-driven, probably because the more indiscriminate sex a guy had, the more likely he was to pass on his genes. Because women get pregnant and saddled with the kids, they evolved to be choosy and seek men who show a willingness to commit. Erotica targeted to each sex plays out along these lines, notes evolutionary psychologist Catherine Salmon. While men have nudie porn, women have commitment porn — the romance novel — with equally "unrealistic images" of male behavior. Yet, you don't see men picketing the Harlequin rack at the grocery store, complaining that women will expect a dark, imposing prince to ride up on a white horse, pledge his everlasting love (while revealing some seriously ripped abs), and carry them back to his castle.

If you want the truth about porn, ask your boyfriend whether he prefers naughty nurses to other naked professionals.

Because male and female sexual psychologies are largely at odds, men hide their porn consumption while women hide their more female-centric pastimes — like loading their photo and their boyfriend's into morphthing.com to see what the children would look like. Porn, like anything that rings bells in the brain's pleasure center, can be addictive, but suspecting the guy's addicted merely because he watches it is like suspecting he's addicted to food because he ate a double cheeseburger.

Okay, so he watched porn for two days straight while home with the flu. If he's always out with "the flu," yet his only symptoms are a really bad case of carpal tunnel and being too weak to have sex with you, that's when you start worrying. Regardless, you don't get to paw through his Internet history. Figure out whether you're getting your needs met, and if you aren't, tell him, and see whether he'll do something to change that. Remember, there are men who never look at porn. You'll find them where all the rapists are rich and handsome and where nobody ever gets knocked up by the bus driver; in other words, wherever books like Harlequin's "Billionaire Prince, Pregnant Mistress" and "Pregnant with the Billionaire's Baby" are sold.

Windbagging The Girl

I just learned my high school sweetheart is attending our 10-year reunion and is single. We never expressed our love sexually. I still think of her as a whole person, an attractive person, and wonder what she looks like in the nude. How might I tell her I'm interested in her, wanting to be physical, establish a bond, and increase intimacy with her in a sexual way? — Second Chance

It seems you've gotten your hands on the Kama Sutra, as translated by C-3PO: "I am wanting to be physical. Establish a bond. Increase intimacy with you in a sexual way." Let's get real: You never nailed her in high school, and you think she might get drunk and put out. And no, don't say that either, but at least be honest with yourself. And then, when you see her, grab her some punch and just talk about life. Get a little nuzzly, put your arm around her, and if she doesn't pull away in horror, keep going. Maybe you'll score with her, maybe you won't, but you'll do much better with women in general if you keep in mind that seduction is an activity, not the transcript to an episode of Dr. Phil.

Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)

COPYRIGHT 2009 AMY ALKON

DIST. BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.



Comments

6 Comments | Post Comment

Hi Ariana, That is my point in suggesting S-Anon. I have no idea whether her SO has a problem. S-Anon is to address HER issues related to sexuality, control, and intimacy/trust.

Comment: #1
Posted by: edie Saville
Fri Jul 3, 2009 6:51 PM

Edie,----- In general, I would agree with you, but not in this particular case. The reason the LW checked her BF's web search history may be that she suspected he was addicted to porn or it may be that she is control freak who needs to know every step her BF makes when she is not at home. I am all for trusting your gut, but when your gut tells you that you have to monitor your loved ones' every step or they will cheat on you, get addicted to porn, or clean out your bank account, you are a tad paranoid. From the way L1 is written, I get the feeling that LW is too insecure and too controlling, not that the BF has an ongoing porn problem: the LW did not indicate that he spends all his free time locked in a room surfing the web and logs out or shuts his computer down the moment she comes in.

Comment: #2
Posted by: Ariana
Thu Jul 2, 2009 12:00 PM

Re: Pat-tricia. Thank you. Even as a male, I agree with you. I think for me the irritant is how so many men equate successfully connecting with a woman....as getting her panties off within a short period of time. It's why I hate that stupid show "EX-treme Dating" so much, because the couple who make a go of it are never shown having a conversation that's stimulating or forming a deep emotional connection. Rather, the "successful" couples on that show are the ones who are gyrating in the hot tub on the first date, hours after meeting one another. Sometimes one even inviting the other into a hotel room at the end of the date! I liked how Amy compared this guy's approach to C-3P0...I was reminded of Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but the point is the same. The LW's diction may sound intellectual, but when you strip off the veneer, it's just Beavis and Butthead. "Hey Baby...want to, um, score with me? Huh huh huh." Really it's no different. A friend in college pointed out the obvious....that "if you take the Beavis and Butthead approach to getting women, you'll probably get as many women as Beavis and Butthead do." Which is to say, zero.

Comment: #3
Posted by: Matt
Thu Jul 2, 2009 3:41 AM

LW2: This guy sounds like he's looking for a sexual encounter, period. If he had a "romantic" relationship with this woman in high school, you'd think he already knows how to ask a woman out on a date. And that's what he should do when he meets up with his former girlfriend at their reunion. If she isn't dating someone else exclusively and if they parted on good terms 10 years ago, I would think she'd agree to at least have coffee with him and catch up on each other's lives. After that, who knows? But if it were me, and some guy I'd dated in high school approached and just straight out said he wanted to have a sexual relationship with me, I'd tell him to get lost. And even if he did as Amy suggested, started nuzzling up to me at the reunion, I'd also tell him to get lost. No sex or petting on a first date - even a date ten years after the last date. You talk, catch up on news, start getting to know each other all over again. Sure you may have a history but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to start off where you left off ten years ago. You simply start over. Where's Amy's brain this week?

Comment: #4
Posted by: Pat-tricia
Wed Jul 1, 2009 12:47 PM

My brother in law once asked my sister what is was about those Harlequin romances that attracted her. She took a hi-lite pen and marked all the "sexy" passages for him. He read them all. The next night he came to their bedroom and did and said as many of the things she'd underlined that he could. Even wore a cape and tights!

Comment: #5
Posted by: sarah stravinska
Wed Jul 1, 2009 5:03 AM

Regarding the woman with the significant other who lies about his pornography use. Real people can get addicted to porn; it's not a genetic right. It's more like most people can have a few drinks, once in a while, and some people are alcoholics and can't drink ever. Right now, she needs more information. Amy is suggesting that this woman believe her boyfriend over her own gut . She had some reason or feeling to check the history on the computer, she's had a discussion in the past with this guy, in which he said he doesn't do porn, and she doesn't truly to believe his explanation of the situation. I would suggest she check out the website for S-Anon (the equivalent of Al-Anon for the families of sexaholics). They have a checklist for the her to see if she needs help living with this behavior, or deciding not to live with it. If she doesn't have any of the behaviors, great. If she does, then she has a place to start

Comment: #6
Posted by: edie Saville
Wed Jul 1, 2009 8:33 AM
Already have an account? Log in.
New Account  
Your Name:
Your E-mail:
Your Password:
Confirm Your Password:
Creators.com comments policy
More
Amy Alkon
Feb. `10
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
31 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 1 2 3 4 5 6
About the author About the author
Write the author Write the author
Printer friendly format Printer friendly format
Email to friend Email to friend
View by Month