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Republicans Have More Orgasms, and More Fun Facts From Match.com's Singles Survey

Annie Scudder — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:45:03 PST

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to climax every time they have sex. Or at least that's what they reported in a new and expansive survey conducted by Match.com. In its second annual comprehensive Singles in America Study, the online dating site surveyed 5,000 singles across various demographics. Match wanted to know what men and women are looking for in sex, dating, and relationships. Here are five fun facts from the results.

30 Things We Learned From Studies in 2011

Annie Scudder — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:08:21 PST

Every day there's a steady stream of studies telling us what we already know. But sometimes those researchers looking into our love lives, sex trends, or hidden habits find something that surprises us or succinctly states something we feel instinctively. Here are 30 studies we covered in 2011 that either educated or entertained us.

Famous Never-Married Couples

Tara Sharp — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:49:00 PST

A recent report has found that the number of US adults who are married is at an all-time low of 51 percent, with more people marrying later in life, skipping I dos for economical reasons, or living together before marriage. And the married young adult decline is especially steep - 50 years ago, 60 percent of 18-29-year-olds were married, while today it's just 20 percent.

In Hollywood, we see engagements and weddings all the time, but there are some couples who have been together for upwards of 20-plus years with kids and everything and go by partner instead of husband and wife. See the never-married celeb couples now!

Study: Majority of Girls Face Sexually Charged Bullying

Lizzie Fuhr — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:40:55 PST

Kids dubbing a girl a "slut" is overheard far too often across the nation. And it's not just high school or college girls we're talking about here. Middle school tween bullies commonly label girls they don't like or are mad at as "sluts." The American Association of University Women released a study this month that found 56 percent of the middle and high school girls surveyed were sexually harassed in the past school year. And most of the time, these girls are not even sexually active.

One psychologist, Maureen McHugh of Indiana University, explains that as girls experiment with more grown-up fashion and makeup choices, their peer cans brutally police them: "There's monitoring of people wearing too much makeup or dressing too provocatively, so it's a weird fine line." And the sexual harassment doesn't end with the "slut-bashing." According to a 2010 study, students who are gay are bullied three times as much as heterosexual kids.

With all of the "slut walks" and grassroots movements taking place across the country to educate people on alternative lifestyles, and an attempt to reclaim the word "slut" itself, this research seems to suggest kids aren't getting the sex-positive message. I'm curious; did you ever experience these types of taunts?

Study Says Men Are (Just a Little) Funnier Than Women

Annie Scudder — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:55:53 PDT

Have you ever watched an episode of South Park with a guy and found yourself shaking your head while he's laughing hysterically? I admit that while the show can make me chuckle sometimes, I just don't seem to find the jokes as hilarious as the men in my life do. Well now science might explain that. Researchers at UC San Diego set out to determine which sex is the funniest. They found that men are the funnier sex - but not by very much and mostly to other men.

The researchers had men and women caption New Yorker cartoons. Then, undergrads rated them zero to five. While captions authored by men were judged funnier, the margin was very small. Men earned an average of .11 more points than the women. And men did much better with other men. Women only gave male-written captions an average of 0.06 more points, while men gave men .16 more points than female writers on average.

One author of the study, Nicholas Christenfeld, said he finds it "sad for the guys who think that by being funny they will impress the ladies, but really just impress other men who want to impress the ladies." I guess the joke's on them.

Medical Groups Disagree on HPV vs. Pap Tests For Cervical Cancer Prevention

Tara Sharp — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:05:00 PDT

Today several medical groups have released proposals on cervical cancer prevention, and while they agree on the current guidelines that recommend women 21 to 29 get Pap tests every three years instead of yearly, they disagree on HPV screenings.

The US Preventative Services Task Force says that women under 30 should not be using HPV tests alone or in combination with a Pap to screen for cervical cancer. Even though the HPV virus can lead to cervical cancer, in younger women it usually clears out on its own. And the government-run task force notes that "screening for HPV causes more false positive cancer results than the Pap smear alone."

While the task force isn't for HPV testing, the guidelines issued by the American Cancer Society, the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and the American Society for Clinical Pathology say routine HPV tests should be an option along with Pap tests.

"The main difference is that, dating back to 2002, the American Cancer Society and several other organizations recommended that HPV testing, along with the Pap test, is a good option for screening women starting at age 30," says Debbie Saslow, the American Cancer Society's director of breast and gynecologic cancer.

Luckily, the groups are taking public comment before coming together with a final set of consistent guidelines in the next couple months. Let's hope they are less confusing than these initial proposals!

What do you think about the every-three-year Pap for cervical cancer? (Not to be confused with a yearly breast and pelvic checkup.) Doctors have and continue to push the yearly Pap, sometimes making it mandatory before getting a yearly birth control prescription. But whether it's gyno-suggested or not, are you still getting a yearly Pap test, or do you spread it out over every few years like the new recommendations say?

The 9 Deadly Sins of Reality TV Women

Tara Sharp — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:40:19 PDT

As grown women we find entertainment and redeeming qualities in our favorite guilty-pleasure reality TV shows, but many of them aren't meant for a prepubescent audience - and for good reason. New research from the Girl Scouts says that reality TV is making girls meaner and vainer, with a higher percentage of the girls who watch reality TV saying that gossip is normal between girls and that a girl's value is based on her looks. More of the reality-TV-watching girls, ages 11-17, also said they have to compete for a guy's attention and that they are happier when dating someone. On the positive side, they ranked higher for believing in themselves as leaders. So they are mean girls with confidence? We decided to look into some of the not-so-great qualities that the women of reality TV shows promote, whether they recognize it or not, and then ask you which has the most negative effect on young girls. Tune in now!

More Teens Are Using Condoms Than Ever Before

Annie Scudder — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:50:53 PDT

American teens get an A+ in sex ed. According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, use of condoms is on the rise, up nine percent from 2002. Among teen boys 15 to 19, eight out of 10 said they wrapped it up when they lost their virginity. Meanwhile, the popularity of riskier methods, like withdrawal, fell.

The rate of sexual activity among America's youth remains the same; 43 percent of teen girls and 42 percent of teen boys say they are sexually active. But in addition to a rise in condom use, more teens rely on two forms of contraception when they have sex by using condoms in addition to the pill or other hormonal birth control like the patch or injectables. Despite what you see on 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, the CDC says the increase in condom usage is consistent with a decline in teen pregnancy across the US.

Should You Go Off the Pill to Make Sure He's the One?

Tara Sharp — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:50:36 PDT

There's a new study out that gets more specific on how the pill impacts who you're attracted to - and it's bad news for your sex drive. According to the study, women on the pill choose uglier men who are worse at sex but better at long-term relationships.

The birth control pill evens out hormones and causes women to choose men who are more similar to them, a safer choice, and more "father" material. But while the relationships last longer, the women involved in the study were willing to put up with worse sex. Those who aren't on the pill may choose men who are more different than them, leading to a guy who may be great in bed but not good for them in the long run.

The researchers even go as far as to recommend you switch to condoms before marrying to insure he's still "the one," once the hormones wear off. "Choosing a non-hormonal barrier method of contraception for a few months before getting married might be one way for a woman to check or reassure herself that she's still attracted to her partner," says Craig Roberts of Stirling University, Scotland.

Since we've heard a lot about how the pill affects a woman's sex drive, it seems to me that it may be more about a woman perceiving the sex as bad than the mate actually being bad at sex. But it's really interesting (and a little scary) to see how your choice of birth control could dictate your relationship choices. Would you experiment with going off the pill to test your relationship chemistry?

Research Says Birth Control Beads Are More Effective Than Condoms

YourTango — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:00:53 PDT

We're happy to present this excerpt from one of our favorite sites, YourTango.

Despite what you may have learned in high school sex ed class, the rhythm method may actually be quite an effective form of birth control.

New research says a birth control method that tracks a woman's 12-day "fertile window" is more effective than a condom at preventing pregnancy.

Traditionally, the rhythm method consists of a woman keeping track of her menstrual cycle. That 12-day window takes into account the 24-hour lifespan of an egg and the five-day survival rate of sperm.

A previous study showed that the method was more than 95 percent effective at preventing pregnancy, which is a higher success rate than contraceptive devices like condoms or diaphragms. The new research, published in the October issue of the Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care, found that more than 1,600 women indicated they would likely continue to use the method.

Those seeking an easy way to track their "window" can opt to use CycleBeads. Developed by the Institute for Reproductive Health, each of the 32 color-coded beads on this string represents a day of the menstrual cycle.

Here's how it works: The woman moves a small rubber ring over the bead that represents her current "day." The first day of her period is signified by a red bead. The following brown beads mean pregnancy is very unlikely. Beads 8 through 19 are glow-in-the-dark white, but act as a "red flag" to represent fertile days.

To read more about the study, visit YourTango: Research Says Birth Control Beads Are More Effective Than Condoms

Written by Kait Smith for YourTango.