8.30.2010

Stuff I've Learned (Egg / Sperm Fairytale and Erectile Dysfunction)

I'm going to make a list of 5 random things I learned while doing research for Science Sex and the Ladies. However, I don't have time to write all 5 now, so it's just 2 for now. The next three will be in my next blog.

1. egg and sperm
The story we all first hear about the nitty gritty of reproduction has been in some instances blatantly - well I guess the phrase would be "fairy taled." It is a lovely story: the valiant, purposeful sperm fighting their way up the cervix; the egg in waiting; the first and only fearless sperm to pierce through; the eternal union.

It's actually not uncommon to have human story-telling spins on rather dry scientific descriptions, so I wasn't unfamiliar with this sort of tampering. However, the article I read investigating the "fairy-tale-ing" of the egg and sperm drama was pretty funny and gave me some food for thought. In particular I liked reading about a researcher named Wassarman who set out to find the specific molecules in the egg coat used in sperm-egg interaction. Turns out they are ligands that bind to a protein on the sperm. Normally the scientific convention would be to call the protein part of this binding pair (the parts on the sperm) the "receptor." However Wassarman instead calls the ligand on the egg the receptor, and makes up the name "egg binding protein to describe what's on the sperm. Receptive eggs fit the fairy tale, but receptive sperm would just be silly!

8.21.2010

Scott Pilgrim - The SSL Review

It is clear from the bags of mail I'm getting about this that all 2 of my blog readers are dying to know what I think about Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Well if you must know, then here goes the SSL review. By the way, I am now calling my particular brand of reviewing (you know, mostly focusing on depictions of female sexual pleasure) the SSL Review.

For starters, I didn't have a lot of interest in seeing this movie mainly because Michael Cera's basic character that he plays all the time has been getting a little old. However - glad I went. I really enjoyed the pace of this movie and the brazen style of the effects. I even found that the quick editing kept Cera's acting in check and gave his old schtick some peppiness. P.S. The following tells details about the movie. Nothing that will really spoil any ending for you, but if you don't want to know about the movie at all don't read further...

As always though, I have a critique of the depiction of female sexual pleasure.

8.12.2010

More Phrases for Lip Jigglin'

It occurred to me many a year ago that we often hear phrases pertaining to male masturbation in pop culture, yet we don't often hear phrases pertaining to women doing the same. There are more possible phrases for men doing this than you can shake a stick at (pardon the pun). It's a little harder to come up with common phrases for women.
I think we ladies (and our private habits) need equal time in movies, TV, books, comedy, etc., but to get to that point, we're gonna have to start creating and using fun masturbation terms just for the ladies.
So, below I have a list of these terms I liked from a few websites I found and a list me and the rest of the AnC crew came up with. Please send us more if you can think of any.

First - I listed common terms for both sexes that I could come up with off the top of my head.

MALE
Spankin' the monkey, jerkin off, beating off, beat your meat, choking the chicken/snake, crankin' it, jerkin' the gherkin, pounding the tube steak, whacking your willy, rubbing one out, cleaning the tubes, toss off etc...

FEMALE
Jillin' off, rub off...(I think some male terms like jerking off can be used for women too, but I want some uniquely female terms)

Next I pulled phrases (only the ones I liked) from these sites....

8.04.2010

More Dan Savage - Bein' A Bit Too Gracious To Us Ladies

As I pointed out in my last post, Dan Savage is preaching the good word when it comes to the clit. However, he falls prey to some of the same unfounded notions about female sexuality that many well-meaning, well-educated folks do. They're just too darn gracious towards us ladies. It's as if we were sexual super beings.

Dan Savage answered the following question in another 3 minute video (which you can see HERE "If the clit has twice as many nerves as the penis, then why don't girls get off at the speed of light like guys do?" Well, we created a full length movie largely dealing with a version of this question, and I assure you it is not a simple answer, so I'm not going to judge Savage's answer too harshly. What I will say is that he is off on a couple points -