Health and Wellness – Page 4 – Sex Across America

Sex Smart Films: Sex Ed’s Essential Resource

(5/5/14) Sex education in America these days is full of challenges. While it’s improved a bit over the past few years for both students and adults, it still a hot potato that’s often held hostage to conflicting attitudes and political posturing, ultimately resulting in an ongoing vacuum for those who could benefit most. Indeed, technology advances have somewhat helped to bridge that gap in recent times, but even that has its own issues, particularly when it comes to overwhelming information overload and content accuracy.

Recognizing that cacophony, Dr. Mark Schoen founded Sex Smart Films as a platform for archiving, producing and distributing sex-health films, but it has evolved into a one-stop locale for a myriad of useful and pertinent educational materials that’s suitable for all ages and audiences. With a PhD in human sexuality and AASECT certification as a sexuality educator, Dr. Schoen’s credentials as an educator are impressive enough (having served as the Sinclair Institute’s Director of Sex Education as well as on the National Advisory Council on Sexual Health, as examples) but it’s his talents as a film maker that positioned him to solve a serious issue in a unique way.

His knack for producing engaging films to promote sexual health took root during his graduate school years in the mid-1970s, a time where the tide hadn’t yet turned in favor of more open and candid approaches to sex education. Sticking with that maverick approach, however, he went on to produce over 50 films that have not only been used in a variety of educational and clinical environments, but also received wide acclaim from the general public while garnering numerous awards from some of the country’s top sexuality organizations. With the coming of the internet, it was just a natural next step to expand his efforts into the virtual world in order to offer greater access globally, but in a focused and user-friendly manner. Sex Smart Films accomplishes that brilliantly.

On the site, which has free, subscription-based and pay-per-view content, users will find almost 400 thought provoking and educational films including historical pieces, documentary profiles (such as Dr. Schoen’s masterful look at the life of Betty Dodson, recently profiled on Sex Across America), public health videos from over 35 countries and the latest in sex therapy and education. With 24 hour-a-day accessibility, the resources are not only conveniently available for individual visitors, but also to classrooms and therapists as needed.

In short, Dr. Schoen has crafted a true masterpiece. Sex Smart Films is a unique resource that’s elegant in both its usefulness and the quality of its content. It’s perfect for educators, therapists and individuals looking for insight into a wide range of sexuality concerns, accomplishing its goals efficiently and discretely in an engaging manner. We strongly recommend that you make it a point to visit and judge for yourself.

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S.A.A. Salutes: Betty Dodson

(4/21/14) One of the wonderful bennies of Sex Across America as an ongoing project is having the opportunity to meet some truly great people who have dedicated themselves to positively impacting sex lives–and are succeeding brilliantly through straight talk and rational approaches. In a climate of perpetual hypocrisy and cultural mystification, that’s often a tall order, but some manage to break through anyway. Recently, we had the chance to meet one such pioneer who has been a bastion of irreverent style, delightful inspiration and unequivocal commitment for almost half a century: Dr. Betty Dodson. If you haven’t followed her work before, you’re really missing out on a genuine treasure.

Dr. Dodson first gained attention in the 1960s by holding the very first one-woman erotic art show at New York’s Wickersham Gallery. Later, dismayed by some of the more mainstream feminist strategies emerging at the time, she leveraged her artistic skills into educational pursuits that ultimately pioneered an era of sexual liberation for women. A dynamic speaker and best-selling author, her first book, Sex for One, sold over a million copies and set the stage for practical workshops for over 40 years.

Now closing in on her mid-80s, Dr. Betty still approaches the science of sexology with the soul of an artist and the energy of a super-athlete. She leads the field as a sex-positive feminist by applying her no-nonsense feistiness in a philosophy that emphasizes what works instead of what’s popular. It’s as simple as that in principle, but applying it on today’s uber-politicized landscape is rarely so straightforward. Even in that environment, she leaves no room for excuses and instead, with an iron will, makes it work. Such is the nature of unconventional stars.

She remains highly engaged today in sex education and activism through her private practice and various internet resources that are administered along with her partner, Carlin Ross. In addition to their exceptionally comprehensive website, Dodsonandross.com, they maintain a lively, informative and entertaining presence through their YouTube channel, which we highly recommend. Just make sure you leave yourself plenty of uninterrupted time to enjoy and we strongly suggest keeping any drinks a safe distance away from your keyboard.

Though creeping up on the eventual closing chapter of her brilliant career, Dr. Betty shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. If anything, she seems to be facing it with confident defiance and unbridled optimism, stating in a recent interview, “We need to face and embrace death like it’s the final orgasm! I’m going to design my death like I designed my life. Besides, I’m leaving all of my information and art images behind in the cloud. And I’m not going to exit for quite a while, either. I’m going for a hundred or more because I’m having so much fun!”

Indeed, Dr. Betty–here’s to much more fun for many years to come!

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What Men Across America Want

(4/14/14) It’s the classic conundrum: What do men really want when it comes to sex? Scientists, marketing gurus, comedians and just plain average folks alike have been trying to nail that down for years with some success, but mostly mixed results. Let’s face it: It’s a subject that’s easy to stereotype or misinterpret. Even when there’s some measure of empirical data, its validity is usually suspect due to ego-friendly skewing (i.e., the potential that respondents may answer with what they wish was the case vice what’s actually happening out there). Indeed, people are funny animals that way, but it’s still fun to try to crack the nut.

Anyway, the friendly folks at Insidehook, who are admittedly laser focused on all things testosterone-packed, surveyed about 10,000 men around the country this past January and just published their “State of Sexual Satisfaction” results for 2014. Taking the results at face value, there are definitely some interesting trends according to the report. Let’s venture a peek.

In looking at their overall sex lives on a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being “not satisfied” and 10 being “satisfied”), only 10% of men in a relationship offered up top ratings while 21% of single men claim to be supremely satisfied. There’s a bit of irony in those figures, however, when comparing them to reported frequency stats as men in a relationship are more likely to have sex several times a week (47%) than single men (29%). Is this a quality over quantity thing in action? Or are singles just genuinely more satisfied with less? It would definitely be interesting to pull at that thread a little.

Another intriguing tidbit has to do with the ubiquitous porn bin. While a solid majority (82%) of men admit to watching it with varying degrees of habit, about half (49%) claim that it has no effect whatsoever on their lives while more than a quarter (28%) believe that watching porn helps them to be better at pleasing their lover. This contrasts with 15% who believe it creates unrealistic expectations and 8% who employ porn outright as a “dating substitute.” (Anyone else itching to tug at that thread some more?)

Regarding what men claim they’re most self-conscious about when naked, frankly the results do appear to be a bit suspect, but the majority (43%) apparently have issues with their stomachs while 39% state that they’re “too busy looking at her” to be self-conscious. (Uh huh. Okay. Umm, good answer, guys!) At the other end of the spectrum, it’s interesting to find that less than 10% voiced a concern about their penis, but it’s probably best not to tug more on that one.

As for what men are generally looking for as a “perfect mate,” the survey results lean to “attractive” and “smart” as top qualities (“successful” and “cooks” were in last place) while “rudeness” and “unattractiveness” were rated as absolute dealbreakers. Additionally, only 1% of men responding claimed they’d have no interest in a partner who didn’t like their sports team. Surely there’s some sort of nugget in that little detail.

The report goes on to cover most of the standard things one might expect to find in this sort of project, but what’s most interesting is that the source is openly by men, about men, for men. As such, it’s reasonable to presume that the majority of their viewers would be men inclined to see how they stack up against other men. We’ll go ahead and pass up the obvious euphemism there and, instead, just politely point out the positive: It’s an opportunity for everyone to get an updated glimpse into what men want–or, at least, what they say they want–when it comes to sex. Even if you take it with a warranted grain of salt, we’d love to hear what you think.

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S.A.A. Salutes: Dave the Raw Food Trucker

(3/24/14) An active, healthy sex life is the result of many things coming together in a balanced way. Some things might be beyond our control at any given point (for example, the mood of your partner) but there are plenty of aspects we can manage if given a little thought and planning. The thing is, that takes effort, discipline and know-how, the latter of which could be problematic if you don’t know what you don’t know.

So, here’s a simple question: How would you like to be pushing 60 and have a better sex life than when you were in your 20s? If that sounds good–and more to the point, if that sounds too good to be possible–then get ready for the feel-good story of the year.

Dave Conrardy is probably a name that most are unfamiliar with, but his inspirational story is one that deserves more widespread attention. In 2006, the over-the-road trucker was in his early 50s and closing in on the end of the road–literally. He weighed over 400 pounds, had diabetes and arthritis and was suffering from the early phases of kidney failure along with stage 2 colon cancer. Needless to say, his sex life was almost non-existent.

At a point like that, it probably would have been very easy to just blame the multitude of circumstances and ride it out downhill. Instead, Dave went a different way and took direct charge of his fate in a small, simple way that produced huge, remarkable results: He started eating raw, organic foods.

Now, maybe that doesn’t sound overly sexy or even productive given the situation, but let’s cut to the chase and see what happened: Within three months, he lost 100 pounds. Within six months, he was down 170 pounds and his cancer had vanished. Within that same year, his kidneys stopped leaking proteins into his blood and within 18 months, he had lost over 230 pounds. And his sex drive? Dave very candidly notes that it’s better now than when he was in his 20s and all without the use of any performance enhancing drugs. Take THAT, A-Rod!

The truly remarkable part of Dave’s story isn’t just about how he literally turned his own life around for the better, but how he’s using that experience and knowledge to help others. In addition to being a sought-after inspirational speaker around the world these days, “Dave, the Raw Food Trucker” as he’s known in front of audiences just published a concise book designed as a beginner’s guide to improving sexual health and well being though raw organics. It candidly provides more details about his personal journey along with simple tips and advice for people who want to gain a better understanding of the potential benefits involved. His down-to-Earth style not only provides an inspiring read, but also serves to make the information and philosophies both accessible and interesting. In short, it’s a wonderful way of going beyond his personal success and reaching out to anyone who might also benefit.

To celebrate Dave’s achievements and in his spirit of doing for others, Sex Across America will make a PDF version of the booklet available for free to anyone who would like one. Simply email us at admin@sexacrossamerica.com and please note “Request for Dave’s Book” in the subject line.

To learn more about and to connect with Dave, the Raw Food Trucker, here’s a link to his Facebook page.

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