Sex Aware

British men and women are now the most promiscuous of any big western industrial nation, researchers have found.

In an international index measuring one-night stands, total numbers of partners and attitudes to casual sex, Britain comes out ahead of Australia, the US, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.

The researchers behind the study say high scores such as Britain's may be linked to the way society is increasingly willing to accept sexual promiscuity among women as well as men. They also believe that, among certain age groups and at certain times, men and women are equally liberal.

The researchers say that cultural developments have meant women are now as able to engage in no-strings sex as men. Historically we have repressed women's short-term mating and there are all sorts of double standards out there where men's short-term mating was sort of acceptable but women's wasn't, said David Schmitt, a professor of psychology at Bradley University, Illinois, who oversaw the research.

The study was conducted by asking more than 14,000 people in 48 countries to fill in anonymous questionnaires. Respondents were asked about numbers of partners and one-night stands, and their attitudes were assessed by asking them how many people they expected to sleep with over the next five years and how comfortable they were with the idea of casual sex.

The results were combined into an index of so-called sociosexuality , the term used by evolutionary psychologists as a measure of how sexually liberal people are in thought and behaviour. Most individuals scored between 4 and 65.

The country with the highest rating was Finland, with an average of 51. Taiwan came lowest, with 19.

Britain scored 40, placing it 11th overall, behind countries such as Latvia, Croatia and Slovenia - but it was highest among the major western industrial nations. The first tranche of research was published in 2005 but analyses have continued and Schmitt described the latest in this week's edition of New Scientist.

Britain's ranking was ascribed to factors such as the decline of religious scruples about extramarital sex, the growth of equal pay and equal rights for women and a highly sexualised popular culture.

The high scores in many Baltic and eastern European states might be linked, Schmitt said, to the fact that women outnumber men and so are under more pressure to conform to what men want in order to find a mate. In Asian countries, by contrast, men tend to outnumber women slightly, so it is men who have to conform.

Majors League (OECD countries with populations over 10m)

1. UK
2. Germany
3. Netherlands
4. Czech Republic
5. Australia
6. USA
7. France
8. Turkey
9. Mexico
10. Canada
11. Italy
12. Poland
13. Spain
14. Greece
15. Portugal

18% of all British men have visited prostitutes. This represents a 3% increase in the number of men who have visited a prostitute since 2002. Usage of prostitutes is highest among men aged 35-54 (26%), and 14% of married men have also visited a prostitute.

In addition to the 9% who have previously used prostitutes, 6% of those who have not done so would consider paying for sex in the future.

In total, 27% of British men have either visited a prostitute or would consider doing so in the future.

A majority believe that prostitution should be legalised. However, the proportion of Britons who believe that prostitution should be legalised is falling. In 2002, 61% said that prostitution should be legalised compared with 51% in the latest survey. Men are significantly more likely to favour legalisation, while a majority (57%) of women would oppose it.

The 16-24 age group are, by a considerable distance, the most likely to oppose legalisation (69%).

A sample of 1,044 UK adults aged 16+ were interviewed by ICM Research in September 2008.

Danish women are not shy when it comes to pornography, according to figures from the porn film and TV business. A recent poll by TSN Gallup showed that 66,000 women in the country aged between 21 and 50 had tuned into city TV station Kanal København's late-night porn programme within the past month.

In addition, the nation's leading seller of porn movies reports that women customers contribute to a significant portion of their sales.

It's definitely a step by step development, but movies for women and couples are very much in demand, Barny Nygaard, head of BN Agentur, told TV2 News.

A study conducted last year by psychologist Gert Martin Hald also suggests young Danish women are watching more pornography. He found that 50% of the 372 women he asked said they had watched a porn video within the past six months.

It also appears from the study that women are more likely than men to want to use a porn movie when they're with their partners, said Hald.

A nurse who bought a vibrating sex toy for a severely disabled teenager has called for national guidelines on how to help other adolescents.

Stephanie Courts, from Worcestershire Primary Care Trust, said that her team had no advice on how to act when the teenager complained that he could not satisfy his sexual urges.

After consideration, and discussion with parents at the unit where she works, she eventually bought him a vibrating toy from a sex shop, reports Nursing Standard magazine.

The nurse, who works for her Trust's community children's nursing and palliative care service, said that there were no guidelines to advise her when the patient began to express his frustrations.

She told a Royal College of Nursing conference for children and young people's nurses that her unit had dealt with the problem professionally.

Her team has now drawn up its own sexual health policy for severely physically disabled teenagers, to help nurses know what to do if a similar issue occurs in the future.

But she claimed that there was a gap in the national guidelines on how they should deal with such situations, which have the potential to be both embarrassing and legally problematic.

George Clooney can currently be seen starring in the Coen brothers' film Burn After Reading , in which he plays a sex addict who has is an expert on the X-rated products.

The film features two real adult toys, The Liberator Ramp and The Silky, and sex shops across America have reported a surge in sales since the film came out.

One said: Small mentions of adult products in mainstream media can have an outsized effect on sales.

From www.liberator.com

Liberator Ramp offers support with a deep slope elevation. It strategically lifts your lover's hips to an altitude of 12 inches, offering access at critical angles that accentuate sensitivity. It's time to teach your old doggie-style some new tricks. The key to perfect rear-entry penetration is supported elevation. Supported elevation prevents falling forward, slipping, sore elbows and wrists and hips buried in the mattress. With Ramp a couple can sustain the doggie-style position for longer, more satisfying sessions.

Other Ramp specialties include positions off the side of the bed and an unbeatable girl-on-top ride.

Scientists are developing a pill to be taken before sex that would stop transmission of HIV. In the latest development in the battle against the global epidemic, researchers are investigating whether drugs used to treat the disease might be harnessed to protect against it.

Antiretroviral drugs are already used to prevent transmission from mothers to their babies during birth and scientists hope the same protection can be obtained during sex. If successful, the research would raise ethical questions about the prevention of HIV, including who should take such a drug, in what circumstances and with what risk of side effects.

Three trials of antiretroviral drugs which are being given to uninfected people at high risk of HIV are under way around the world and are showing great promise , according to a report in The Lancet, published to coincide with the International Conference on Aids in Mexico City.

One British researcher said yesterday that the return of the bathhouse culture among gay and bisexual men, involving sex with multiple partners, could provide the scenario in which a preventive pill might be taken.

Sheena McCormack, a specialist in HIV prevention and reader in clinical epidemiology at Imperial College London, said: The party scene involving multiple sexual partners is definitely back in London and probably in most European cities. There is metrosexual mixing involving gay, bisexual and some heterosexual cases. We estimate new HIV infections in gay men in London are running at 3% a year.

Her clinic already offers post-exposure prophylaxis to people who have had unprotected sex with someone in a high-risk group, involving a month-long course of treatment with three drugs. But a preventive drug would provide an extra option. People could pop a pill on a Friday night and be covered for the whole weekend, she said.

On a global scale, use of a preventive pill would have to be restricted to groups at highest risk, such as commercial sex workers or injecting drug users, who would take it daily for the duration of their exposure. Concerns about side effects and the development of resistant strains of HIV would first have to be overcome.

The research is being driven by the lack of progress in the search for a vaccine against HIV, and the failure of efforts to develop vaginal microbicides to protect women which has left scientists determined to find any chink in the virus's armour.

The trials include 2,400 injecting drug users in Thailand, 1,200 heterosexual men and women in Botswana and 3,000 men who have sex with men in five countries. One trial is using tenofovir, a drug used to treat Aids in the West, and two are using Truvada, a combination of tenofovir and STC. A fourth trial involves 980 women in South Africa who are being given an experimental vaginal gel based on tenofovir.

Studies in primates have shown the drugs do prevent transmission, the Lancet report says.

What do I do when my love is away. (Does it worry you to be alone) How do I feel by the end of the day (Are you sad because you're on your own) No, I get by with a little help from my V's, Mmm I get high with a little help from my V's, Mmm I'm gonna to try with a little help from my V's

Sexually-transmitted infections have doubled in under a decade in people over 45 and are now rising faster than in the young, research suggests.

The Health Protection Agency study said internet dating and erectile dysfunction drugs were partly to blame.

Men were most likely to be affected, with increases in herpes, syphilis, gonorrhoea and genital warts.

The study was  published in Sexually Transmitted Infections.

The number of sexually transmitted infections is rising in both young and old, despite sexual health campaigns urging people to avoid unsafe sex.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) looked at people coming to clinics in the West Midlands between 1996 and 2003. The vast majority of these were younger people - accounting for more than 95% in 2003. However, the proportion of over-45s rose during the preceding eight years.

In total, 4,445 infections were detected in older people, with genital warts accounting for almost half of these diagnoses. Herpes was the next most common, with one-in-five diagnoses.

The overall rate of infections more than doubled over the eight-year period from 16.7 per 100,000 population to 36.3 per 100,0000.

Dr Babtunde Olowokure, from the HPA's regional surveillance unit in Birmingham, said: Older people are increasingly likely to be single or undergoing relationship changes and are less likely to consistently use condoms, perhaps because the risk of pregnancy no longer exists. Increased international travel, internet dating, new drugs to counter erectile dysfunction and overlapping sexual networks may also be factors.

The government said using a condom was relevant for anyone having unsafe sex...regardless of age.

Described as an iron fist in a velvet glove, Hera the Goddess of Dusseldorf has grabbed the public of Germany by the balls and is not going to let go anytime soon. She has achieved a remarkable level of fame since the publication of her book Hera: Lawyer by Day, Domina at Night (Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf 2006) which describes her double life as a lawyer and a dominatrix.

A cover girl for Fallen Angels Productions, Hera’s reputation precedes her. Whether dressed for business in a courtroom or clad in leather and snapping a whip, Hera commands the full attention of her audience. She has quite the reputation in her native Germany and we at AEBN wanted to steal a glimpse into the life of the famous domina. We were not disappointed.

AEBN: Were you a lawyer or a domina first?

Hera: Both evolved parallel to each other. I enjoyed visiting the studio in my spare time while I was in college, and since I needed money to get through school, it just happened naturally.

AEBN: How would you explain the SM attraction to a mainstream person?

Hera: Ohh...one does not have to understand everything. But tolerance would be something I would try to create.

AEBN: Why do you think that people want to experience pain and humiliation?

Hera: Well, I think people are trying to balance their childhood. It is about controlled repetition of humiliation, hurt etc. Through this one can find control and find a way out- in combination with pleasure hopefully.

AEBN: What attracted you to this practice?

Hera: I have always admired strong women. I love the spirit of rebellion that this practice invokes.

AEBN: Would you describe yourself as power-hungry?

Hera: No. power-hunger is a weakness.

AEBN: Describe yourself in one word.

Hera: Compassionate.

AEBN: Do you have female clients?

Hera: I do. It is rather seldom and usually in the company of their male partners.

AEBN: You have mentioned in previous interviews that the majority of your clients are married men. Why do you think this is?

Hera: I have no idea. Possibly it is that they want to isolate that part out of their marriage. Usually there is an element of fear of completely opening up to the partner and scaring her away. Not everybody is able to be so impartial with their sexuality. The fact that they come to me for release is an honor.

AEBN: Are the majority of your clients wealthy and powerful?

Hera: This does seem to be rather a cliché of a power-person. But that is ONLY my experience.

Every domina attracts a certain clientele. Just like a restaurant that attracts certain guests.

AEBN: Have you ever had a colleague from your day job come to you for discipline at night?

Hera: Of course. I see myself as a servant and respect the wishes of my clients. There are no stereotypical sequences. I find that to be very important.

AEBN: How does your role as domina play out in your personal relationships?

Hera: All of my relationships are different. I don’t have any workday dominance. In a loving relationship, I would be submissive anytime.

AEBN: What is your advice for new dominas?

Hera: Find your way and try it. Never lose respect for the person across from you.

AEBN: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Hera: I will work as a domina for as long I can please my clients. I really never planned anything in my life before. My girlfriend and I have a saying when we say good bye to each other:” I am so excited…” („ich bin ja so gespannt...“) translated that means that we are alive and open for all adventures.

AEBN: What do you want to take away with you from your experience as a domina?

Hera: Freedom.

Raquel Pacheco, better known as “Bruna Surfistinha” is an ex-call girl from the state of São Paulo, Brazil who became famous for sharing stories about her life as a prostitute in the book The Scorpion's Sweet Venom: The Diary of a Brazilian Call Girl . The book quickly has become a tremendous success in Brazil, and in the US and in some European countries as well. At 23 years old, Bruna has found love and left behind her three-year prostitution and brief movie career.

AEBN : How was the beginning of your life as a call girl?

Bruna : It was difficult because I was not used to have sex with strangers. I have always been able to feel pleasure though, and it helped me to relax.

AEBN : Would you have done things differently if you could go back in time?

Bruna : I really don't have any regrets. I believe that everyone has the power to choose his or her own actions in life. The only thing that I would have done differently is the way I left my parents home. I simply ran away and left a goodbye letter to my mother. If I could go back, I would try harder to get along with them.

AEBN : What do you say to couples interested in improving their sexual performance?

Bruna : Sex is an important part of people's lives. I think that men should always respect their partners, and women should try to compromise a little more when it comes to sex. Women need to try to overcome the fear of sex and try new stimulants- like sex toys, masturbation and anal sex, for their own pleasure – and not to please their men. Women really need to get past the taboo of anal sex- especially if they are Brazilian- because Brazilian men are crazy for this practice! Believe me- if it wasn't good, there would be no homosexuals!

AEBN : What made you want to go public with your life blog and your book?

Bruna: In 2004, the personal blogs became extremely popular among young people in Brazil. I decided to create my own blog as a form of therapy to work on my feelings when I felt lonely. I was a good writer, and I got a lot of e-mails from people who could not believe that a call girl could write so well, since most people think prostitutes don't have any intellectual capacity. This made me realize how strong the prejudice against prostitution was. I decided that I would show people the other side. After beginning my blog, it didn't take very long before I was invited to write a book about my story by two Brazilian publishers.

AEBN : What was the most difficult situation you went through as a prostitute?

Bruna : I was in a motel room with this crazy guy who started insulting me and tried to force me to do several humiliating acts while we were having sex. He decided that he was not going to pay me and that he wouldn't let me leave the room. After a lot of talking, he threw the money on the floor and let me out. It was scary.

AEBN : Where do you want to be in five years?

Bruna : I want to be an anonymous person again, and I want to have a degree in Psychology. I want to have kids and reconcile with my parents. I also want to enjoy the fruits of my labor from my book, and of the movie based on it.

[According to the news portal “G1” from Brazilian Rede Globo, Marcus Baldini (the director of Madam Satã) will direct the movie The Scorpion's Sweet Venom produced by TV Zero. It is due for release in 2008].

AEBN : You mention the word “freedom” many times in your book. What does freedom mean to you?

Bruna : Freedom is something everybody wants, but most never reach. I was looking for freedom when I left my parents house, but ended up becoming a prisoner of the prostitution world. The fact that I've become a celebrity is just another example of my freedom being taken away from me. I can't simply do whatever I want- I have to give away autographs and pay attention to my fans. To me, freedom is an unattainable utopia.

A search that has preoccupied many women for year, not to mention their partners, may finally be over. An Italian scientist believes he may have found the female G-spot.

Emmanuele Jannini, of the University of L'Aquila, claims to have found the first anatomical evidence for the existence of the elusive and controversial pleasure point, which some women say triggers powerful vaginal orgasms. His research could also explain why so many women have searched for their G-spot in vain: it suggests that not all of them have one.

The G-spot is named after Ernst Gräfenberg, a German gynaecologist who in 1950 proposed that a sensitive point on the vaginal wall could provoke particularly intense orgasms in some women, which differ from normal orgasms caused by clitoral stimulation. Finding it has since become a staple of good-sex handbooks.

Its existence, however, has been widely questioned. Many women have always found it impossible to locate, leading them to doubt their own sexual skills or that of their partners, or to wonder whether the whole idea of a vaginal pleasure point is a myth.

Dr Jannini has found anatomical differences between women who can have vaginal orgasms and those who cannot and told New Scientist magazine that it may be possible to develop an ultrasound test that can tell women whether they have one.

He used ultrasound to examine nine women who said that they could have vaginal orgasms and eleven who said that they could not. He found that the tissue between the vagina and urethra was thicker in the first group, which could be linked to their ability to have an orgasm.

Check Mate Semen Detection Kit Click

Put an end to suspicions of infidelity and doubt with this Check mate Semen Detection Kit. It's the hottest thing on the market today for cheating spouses. The test will detect semen on undergarments or clothing for up to 2 years if thy haven't been washed. Get results in less then 5 minutes

• Detects invisible semen stains
• Accurate results in 5 minutes or less
• Easy-to-use