The Blowfish Blog

Sunday Spotlight for 22 August 2010

Our Sunday Spotlight is an occasional feature here at the Blowfish Blog. We’ll tell you about one of our favorite things, places, people or events. Our goal is simply to spread the love by pointing out cool stuff.

We get a lot of questions here at Blowfish, and, when we can, we answer them. But, occasionally a question veers from a question about our products and becomes more about sex in general. That’s when we refer our customers to the experts: the good folks at San Francisco Sex Information.

For those not familiar with San Francisco Sex Information or SFSI, they’re a free source of accurate, up-to-date, non-judgmental information about all things sexual. We refer folks there because they’re staffed by some of the best-trained, most knowledgeable and dedicated folks out there. They answer questions by email or over the phone, but they also have an impressive collection of frequent questions (and their answers, of course!) on their searchable website. We love that they post real questions by real people (anonymously, naturally), because it not only provides answers for those too shy to call or email, but gives the very real sense that the question you’re asking is not something you’re going through alone.

They’re staffed by volunteers who have gone through their intense-but-awesome training programs. Spread out over two months, these weekend classes provide their students with 57 hours of human sexuality training. They now also offer other, slightly less intense, training options as well. And, for those who just want to spend an occasional evening being educated (and entertained) about sex, their current events page lists the occasional evening events and lectures.

You can stay up to date on what’s going on at SFSI by following them on Twitter, of course, at @sfsi, or find out more (and donate, if you’re so inclined) at The San Francisco Sex Information Website.

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Friday Fun Fact, 20 August 2010

Does red wine turn you on? Sure, a glass or three of your favorite shiraz might loosen some inhibitions, but any old alcohol will probably do that. But a [study in the Journal of Sexul Medicine] (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01393.x/ abstract) suggests that women who drink one or two glasses of red wine a day had higher libidos than women who didn’t. Sure, you’d expect that women who have a glass or two every evening would feel more like sex than a complete non-drinker, but women who drank alcohol other than red wine showed lower libido levels than their tannin-loving counterparts. The team of doctors who conducted this study suggested this may be due to “chemical compounds found in red wine … improve sexual functioning by increasing blood flow to key areas of the body.”

It doesn’t stop there. According to a study by Australian Dr. Max Lake, an MD and vintner, the scent of a glass of red wine is similar to the smell of the male human pheromone. And, if a spicy cabernet turns women on by emulating the smell of a man, apparently Champagne holds the scent of a woman that can turn a man on.

This notion, that it’s the aroma of the wine itself that is causing arousal, has many, many proponents. So, the next time you raise a glass of that expensive bottle of Pinot, be sure to take a nice big breath with your nose in the glass. It might just help make the night as special as the wine.

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Fun Fact Friday for 07/30/2010

For this Fun Fact Friday, we’re taking on The Three Great Myths about buttfucking:

Myth #1: Women don’t like it.

Horsepucky. We personally know several women who like it, a lot.

There are plenty of women who don’t, of course, and that’s fine too. But it never fails to amaze me when I encounter a hip, with-it, entirely sex-positive woman who unequivocally states that no woman in the entire world likes anal sex, and that if a woman does it, it’s only because a man wanted it / forced her into it / paid her for it.

With all due respect, that’s nonsense, although overgeneralizing from one’s own sexual proclivities to the entire world is a common form of nonsense. Anal sex can be extremely pleasurable for women, especially if it’s approached as a fun experience rather than as a duty or The Last Great Taboo.

Myth #2: If a man likes it, it means he’s gay.

What can we say? If you’re gay, you’re gay, if you’re not, you’re not, and enjoying something up the butt doesn’t change that. Prostates were not invented by gay men in the aftermath of the Stonewall riots. The fact that a man likes stimulation in the anus has no bearing on what particular set of chromosomes he finds appealing in a partner. After all, gay men like to have their cocks sucked, too, but no one seems to think that if you like receiving fellatio, you’re a closet case.

Now, if you do happen to be gay (hi, guys!), we’re here for you, too.

So, relax and enjoy yourself.

Myth #3: It always hurts.

Nope. Of course, anything done incorrectly or quickly or to prove a point definitely has the potential to hurt. So, if it hurts and you don’t like that, don’t do it that way . . . but please don’t think that anal sex is inherently painful. It’s not. If you follow a few basic guidelines (relax, use tons of lube, start small, build up slowly, don’t be goal-oriented, talk to each other, and stop if it starts to hurt), you’ll greatly increase your chances of having a good, fun, not-at-all-painful time.

For books, videos, toys and supplies to enhance your butt sex experience, be sure to check out our Butt Sex Products page over at Blowfish!

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[News] Pink and White Wins Best of Bay!

We’d like to congratulate Pink and White Productions for winning the SF Weekly’s Best of the Bay for Best Dyke Porn Studio! Of course, we’re proud to be the exclusive distributor of Pink and White’s DVDs.

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Argentine Bank Ad

Amazing and moving.

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[News] Massachusetts Attempts to Criminalize Being Sexy and 60+

The State of Massachusetts is attempting to make it illegal to take or have photographs or movies of someone over 60, nude.

No, really, that’s what they are trying to do. Literally. This is not a slippery-slope argument, not a “well, you know what an unexpected and unintended consequence of this will be” argument.

This is exactly and precisely what they are trying to do: If a man takes a nude picture of his 60 year old lover, that would be a crime punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Really. The indepensible Volokh Conspiracy has the details.

It’s almost impossible to categorize all of the ways this is wrong. Setting aside that it would criminalize the exquisite Bill and Desiree: Love is Timeless. Setting aside the “punishment in search of a crime” angle and the civil rights angle, what is the most offensive to us about this is that it implies that everyone 60 years of age or older is somehow incompetent to give consent to sexual activities.

That’s almost impossible to avoid as the real reason behind this, since the other category of person that it would criminalize nude photos of are those who have “a permanent or long-term physical or mental impairment that prevents or restricts the individual’s ability to provide for his or her own care or protection.” This law only makes any sense if you assume that anyone over 60 is automatically in that category.

If you live in Massachusetts, we strongly encourage you to contact your State Representatives to protest this inane bill.

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130,000 boobs lost at sea

We have absolutely no idea what to make of this story, but, well: 130,000 boobs lost at sea.

More than 130,000 inflatable breasts have been lost at sea en route to Australia.

Men’s magazine Ralph was planning to include the boobs as a free gift with its January issue.

We mean, what can do you do with them? Is there an after-market for inflatable boobs?

via Boing Boing

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Neil Gaiman on Freedom of Speech

Excellent essay by Neil Gaiman: Why defend freedom of icky speech?

[Y]ou seem to want lolicon banned, and people prosecuted for owning it, and I don’t. You ask, What makes it worth defending? and the only answer I can give is this: Freedom to write, freedom to read, freedom to own material that you believe is worth defending means you’re going to have to stand up for stuff you don’t believe is worth defending, even stuff you find actively distasteful, because laws are big blunt instruments that do not differentiate between what you like and what you don’t, because prosecutors are humans and bear grudges and fight for re-election, because one person’s obscenity is another person’s art.

Because if you don’t stand up for the stuff you don’t like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you’ve already lost.

via ErosBlog

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