Recession Sex Studies: Why They're All Bunk

Columnists debate how big of a backlash casual sex is getting

(NEWSER) - The days of glorified casual sex are over…or are they? On the one hand, we haven’t seen Paris Hilton’s undies in years, raunchy Christina Aguilera married herself off and has been replaced by virginal Taylor Swift, and even “the fictional Carrie Bradshaw is wed and living a New York domestic fantasy,” writes Jessica Grose on Slate . As further proof of the backlash against casual sex, Grose points to quite a few recent memoirists dealing with “sex regret.” More»

New book reveals reasons behind lack of sex in marriage

(NEWSER) - Why does passion so often fizzle in a marriage? Prepare to be shocked: Bettina Arndt’s The Sex Diaries reveals the reasons aren’t what you think, the Daily Mail reports. Included in the nearly 100 couples who kept diaries for a year are many men who love their wives and wonder where the sex went—without turning to cheating or porn—and women who simply don’t have high libidos. More»

Hard-times staples fall by the wayside

(NEWSER) - The current economic crisis is breaking the recessionary mold, Time reports, with American purchases running counter to expectations. A few surprises:

• Soup isn’t selling. Typically, the cheap, decent food is a recession staple, but health concerns and rising prices may be driving us away from it.
• Organic food sales are growing. Despite the costs, consumers want to do right by their bodies “perhaps to feel better about themselves,” writes Dan Kadlec.

Increased leisure time and resolutions the cause

(NEWSER) - The gifts have been opened, but a special package may be arriving 9 months from now. The days between Christmas and the start of the New Year see more sex than usual, reports McClatchy Newspapers, which cite Trojan condom's pre-New Year's sales as proof. The hanky panky results in a September peak in US births, according to the University of Michigan's Population Studies Center. More»

Courts move toward holding people liable for infecting partner — even unknowingly

(NEWSER) - California courts are deciding a civil dispute that could change first-date conversations. A woman is suing her ex-husband for allegedly giving her HIV, though he claims to not have known he was infected at the time, MSNBC writes. The case follows successful wins in Iowa and New York by plaintiffs who contracted HPV, a virus to which 75% of people are exposed. More»