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Sex doesn’t just put a smile on a man’s face, it may help keep a song in his heart, too!
A new study in the American Journal of Cardiology finds that men who have sex at least twice a week can almost halve their risk of developing serious heart disease.
Women weren't part of the study but many experts think the results would hold true for women, too.
And sex has already shown to have other health benefits, too. Other studies have shown that sexual activity may ease depression and pain by releasing natural chemicals such as endorphins in both sexes, by possibly decreasing the risk of prostate cancer in men, and boosting the immune system in both sexes by boosting immunoglobulin, which destroys invading organisms.
The researchers in this study, which was published yesterday, said the benefits of sex could stem from its physical and emotional effects on the body. Don't forget, sex can be good exercise, which might serve to protect the heart. Estimates are you burn around 60 calories during sex. So, let's say you have sex 12 times a month: Twelve times 60 is the equivalent of running seven miles!
But doctors think there is also an emotional component: Men with a desire for more sexual activity and who are able to engage in sex are likely to be healthier and might be more likely to be in a supportive intimate relationship with a regular partner, and this might improve health through stress reduction and social support.
So, doctors should ask about their patients' sex lives and vice versa: Men should consult with their doctors if they experience any sexual difficulties, because it could be a sign of heart disease.
Reporting in the American Journal of Cardiology, the researchers concluded that men with a low frequency of sexual activity have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Men who reported sexual activity of once a month or less had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than men who reported having sex twice a week or more, writes study researcher Susan A. Hall, PhD, of the department of epidemiology at the New England Research Institutes.
Previous studies have examined the link between erectile dysfunction (ED) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the new study is the first to look at frequency of sexual activity and heart risk independently from ED, the researchers say.
Hall and colleagues analyzed men taking part in the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, looking at erectile dysfunction plus other sexual function variables, such as libido.
The study included 1,165 men (average age in the 50s) without any history of cardiovascular disease (such as heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease) at the start of the study. Of the participants, 213 had ED at the start of the study. The men were followed for 16 years, on average.
The researchers found that there was an increasing risk of cardiovascular disease with decreasing frequency of reported sexual activity. Compared to men who reported sexual activity at least 2-3 times a week, men with sexual activity of once per month or less had a 45 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease during the study period. The findings took into account factors such as age and ED status.
"Our results suggest that a low frequency of sexual activity predicts [cardiovascular disease] independently of [erectile dysfunction] and that screening for sexual activity might be clinically useful," the researchers write.
The researchers also looked at the role of sexual desire and the capacity for sexual activity as possible factors in heart risk. Hall said that "men who are sexually active likely have libido and the capacity for physical activity. So the ability to have sex might be a marker for overall health."
Hall also says that "men who are having regular [sexual] activity might be more likely to be in a supportive intimate relationship with a regular partner; this might improve health through stress reduction and social support."
The study suggests that doctors could get clues about the cardiovascular condition and risk of patients by asking questions about their sex lives, sexual interest, and activities.
"The take-home message for men is that sexual health may predict cardiovascular health and men should consult with their doctors if they experience erectile dysfunction or sexual difficulties," Hall said.
— The Curator
In an important action, 34 Islamic scholars in Mauritania, West Africa, have signed a “fatwa,” or religious opinion, banning the practice of female genital mutilation.
Cheikh Ould Zein, head of the Forum of Islamic Thought, said the scholars believe the Qur'an does not endorse cutting young girls' genitals to limit their sexual activity as women. He said yesterday that the leaders also agreed to preach against the practice at their mosques.
The process, also called female circumcision, is common in parts of Africa and involves the surgical removal of the clitoris or other female genital parts. The procedure is often performed by women with little or no medical training. It can eliminate pleasure for women during sex and cause lasting pain and complications in childbirth.
The fatwa, signed in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, states that the procedure has been proven to be harmful either at the time or subsequently to those girls and young women who have undergone the practice.
Many Mauritanian women have welcomed the move, one in Nouakchott saying it has truly smashed an ancient taboo. However, it seems vital that a significant publicity campaign will now be needed if the fatwa's message is to be spread into outlying areas where genital mutilation is most common. It is very encouraging that religious leaders have promised to present the new fatwa in their mosques.
Female genital mutilation has been recognized globally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. But that message has been slow to filter down in parts of north, east and west Africa where the practice is still widespread.
Health campaigners estimate that more than 70 percent of Mauritanian girls undergo the partial or total removal of their external genitalia for non-medical reasons.
The World Health Organization says there are no health benefits and many potentially damaging consequences, from severe pain and blood loss to recurrent infections, infertility and an increased risk of complications in childbirth – not to mention the inability of many of these females to ever again feel any clitoral pleasure or to reach an orgasm as a result of the procedure.
Shockingly, I found only one news article reporting this new fatwa that mentioned, or even eluded to, the loss of a woman’s innate ability to experience sexual pleasure FOR LIFE as a result of undergoing genital mutilation.
Mutilations are carried out for a mix of cultural and social reasons, and many believe the practice has Islamic religious support, even if this isn't always the case.
A law professor at Nouakchott University said the collective fatwa would greatly reduce female genital mutilation in Mauritania because it would remove what he called “the religious mask” that the practice hides behind.
In November 2006, an Egyptian conference of Muslim scholars from around the world declared female circumcision to be contrary to Islam and an attack on women, and called for those who practice it to be punished.
That conference, organized by the German human rights group TARGET, recommended that governments pass laws to prohibit the tradition and that judicial bodies prosecute those who mutilate female genitals.
"The conference appeals to all Muslims to stop practicing this habit, according to Islam's teachings which prohibit inflicting harm on any human being," the participants said in their final statement.
Egypt's two top Islamic clerics, Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar, the foremost theological institute in the Sunni Muslim world, and Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, attended the conference, which drew scholars from as far afield as Russia.
Tantawi's and Gomaa's edicts are considered binding.
Nonetheless, female circumcision continues to be practiced in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa as well as Egypt, Yemen and Oman, despite numerous campaigns against it.
Frequently, those men who support the tradition believe it lowers a girl's sexual desire and therefore helps maintain her honor. They also believe it is required by Islam.
The scholars said circumcision inflicts physical and mental harm on women. Furthermore, they said, Islam considers it to be an aggression against women. Concluding that those who perform it should be punished.
"The conference reminds all teaching and media institutions of their role to explain to the people the harmful effects of this habit in order to eliminate it," the scholars said in their 2006 recommendations.
"The conference calls on judicial institutions to issue laws that prohibit and criminalize this habit...which appeared in several societies and was adopted by some Muslims although it is not sanctioned by the Quran or the Sunna," the scholars said, referring to Islam's holy book and the sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad.
Although many countries have outlawed female circumcision, the law is poorly enforced and prosecutions are rare.
As far back as the 1950s, the Egyptian government tried to stop midwives from performing the custom, while allowing doctors to do so – fearing that otherwise families who insisted on circumcising their daughters would have the operation carried out in unsafe conditions. But in 1996, the health minister imposed a total ban on the practice.
The Female Genital Cutting Education and Networking Project is a non-profit group organized to promote the dissemination of material related to female genital mutilation. The Project seeks to form an online clearinghouse and a community for researchers, activists, attorneys, and health care practitioners to obtain information and network with others involved in similar projects.
The following information comes from the FGCENP website:
“As you are reading this article, there are between eight and ten million women and girls in the Middle East and in Africa who are at risk of undergoing one form or another of genital cutting. In the United States it is estimated that about ten thousand girls are at risk of this practice. FGC in a variety of its forms is practiced in Middle Eastern countries (the two Yemens, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Southern Algeria). In Africa it is practiced in the majority of the continent including Kenya, Nigeria, Mali, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mozambique, and Sudan.”
“Even though FGC is practiced in mostly Islamic countries, it is not an Islamic practice. FGC is a cross-cultural and cross-religious ritual. In Africa and the Middle East it is performed by Muslims, Coptic Christians, members of various indigenous groups, Protestants, and Catholics, to name a few.”
The FGCENP states there primarily three methods of female genital mutilation/circumcision that has been reported in the U.S., and around the world.
“The first and mildest type of FGC is called 'sunna circumcision' or Type I. The term 'Sunna' refers to tradition as taught by the prophet Muhammad. This involves the 'removal of the prepuce with or without the excision of part or all of the clitoris.' Type I is practiced in a broad area all across Africa parallel to the equator. Fran Hosken enumerates the following countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania in East Africa to the West African coast, from Sierra Leone to Mauritania, and in all countries in-between including Nigeria, the most populous one. There are also reports of Type I taking place in areas of the Middle East such as in Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.”
“The second type of FGC, Type II, involves the partial or entire removal of the clitoris, as well as the scraping off of the labia majora and labia minora . This takes place in countries where infibulation has been outlawed such as Sudan. Clitoridectomy was invented by Sudanese midwives as a compromise when British legislation forbade the most extreme operations in 1946.”
“The third and most drastic type of FGC is Type III. This most extreme form, consists of the removal of the clitoris, the adjacent labia (majora and minora), and the joining of the scraped sides of the vulva across the vagina, where they are secured with thorns or sewn with catgut or thread. A small opening is kept to allow passage of urine and menstrual blood. An infibulated woman must be cut open to allow intercourse on the wedding night and is closed again afterwards to secure fidelity to the husband. Hosken also reports that infibulation is 'practiced on all females, almost without exception, in all of Somalia and wherever ethnic Somalis live (Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti).' It is also performed throughout the Nile Valley, including Southern Egypt, and all along the Red Seas Coast.”
“FGC is mostly done in unsanitary conditions in which a midwife uses unclean sharp instruments such as razor blades, scissors, kitchen knives, and pieces of glass. These instruments are frequently used on several girls in succession and are rarely cleaned, causing the transmission of a variety of viruses such as the HIV virus, and other infections. Antiseptic techniques and anesthesia are generally not used, or for that matter, heard of. This is akin to a doctor who uses the same surgical instrument on a number of women at the same time without cleaning any of them.”
“In many cultures, FGC serves as an initiation rite, and any efforts to eradicate it must take this into consideration. Some of the most successful eradication efforts have taken place in areas where FGC was replaced with 'initiation without cutting' programs whereas a girl still goes through some initiation rites but this time, without any blood.”
“Alternative rituals are currently being implemented in countries like Ghana and Kenya, that do not include any bloodletting. A girl will still undergoes the celebrations and the rituals that usually accompany the circumcision ritual , however, the procedure itself is either replaced with a small pricking elsewhere on the body to let out a small drop of water, or bloodletting is completely done away with.”
“Other successful programs have also experimented with giving midwives monthly salaries for putting down their knives and becoming health care workers. They are now trained in various aspects of female health, and go from village to village educating women about the harmful effects of female circumcision, and the importance of proper nutrition during pregnancy, how to protect from sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, and proper usages of condoms, among other health topics.”
“It is also important to note that even though FGC is currently illegal in many countries in Africa and the Middle East, this has not reduced the number of the girls that are mutilated every year. The governments of these countries have no way of monitoring the spread and practice of FGC. The United Nations, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization has considered FGC to be a violation of Human Rights and have made recommendations to eradicate this practice. However, trying to fight FGC on legal terms is ineffective since those who practice it oftentimes do not report it. FGC is also widely practiced in villages and remote places where the government does not have an easy access.”
“In the United States level, there are many efforts that are being made in order to abolish the practice locally and internationally. The National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers (NOCIRC), a networking organization have brought together social scientists and medical practitioners from all over the world who are fighting FGC as well as male circumcision. NOCIRC has also founded the FGC Awareness and Education Project in August 1996. One of the goals of the project is to create an FGC Module which will provide information and training material to health care professionals.”
— The Curator
Once again proving why she remains an award winning writer, the incomparable Belle de Jour has just posted a very moving blog entry about real beauty that EVER female (and man, for that matter) should read.
It’s no secret that I LOVE Belle de Jour – her wit, intelligence and humor along with her personal courage and insight continue to be very inspirational to me.
Her current blog posting is a perfect example of what makes this remarkable woman so very compelling. She exposes her life in such a profound way that readers will remember what they've read long after they’ve left her blog and the Internet.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with her, Belle de Jour had been the nom de plume of a celebrated British erotic author, who was also a London call girl for two years.
Last year, Belle revealed her true identity is Dr. Brooke Magnanti, of Bristol, England, a noted scientist. She disclosed her identity in a voluntary interview with the London Sunday Times. Brooke’s specialist areas are developmental neurotoxicology and cancer epidemiology. She has a PhD in informatics, epidemiology and forensic science and is now working at the Bristol Initiative for Research of Child Health. She is currently part of a team researching the potential effects on babies of their mothers' exposure to toxic chemicals.
But, from 2003 to late 2004, Brooke worked as a prostitute via a London escort agency; she started blogging as Belle de Jour — after the Buñuel film starring Catherine Deneuve as a well-to-do housewife who has sex for money because she’s bored — shortly into her career as a call girl, after an incident she thought funny enough to write down.
She charged £300 an hour for her services, of which she got £200. The average appointment lasted two hours; she saw clients two or three times a week, “sometimes less, sometimes a great deal more,” she has said.
I do not have the skills to adequately describe her latest post, so here it is in full. Read it here, or read it on Brooke’s blog, but whatever you do, just read it:
“mercredi, janvier 13
Let me tell you about the best gift I ever received. And it's not a bit of sparkly jewellery, or a shiny car, or even a thoughtful trinket of affection.
I'm talking about my scars.
I had terrible acne as a teenager. By the age of 16 it was so bad a dermatologist said it was the worst she'd ever seen, which, ya know, is not super encouraging. At the hospital where I volunteered mothers pulled their children away from me, convinced I was plagued with something contagious. Strangers avoided making eye contact.
It was so bad I could not wash my face without bleeding. Many mornings I woke up stuck to the pillowcase. And oh yeah, it was only on my face. Not one blemish anywhere else on my body. To this day, I still never have seen a photo of anything like it - apart from some daguerrotypes of smallpox patients.
It was a very long, and very expensive, journey to improving my skin - remember, this all went down in America, where having a disfiguring condition you have no control over is not covered by health insurance, and duh, there's no NHS.
Long story short, a lot of Roaccutane and Dianette did for the acne. And more importantly, here's what I learned:
1. Beauty is fleeting. Thank fuck for that.
I had a narrow escape from being just another boring blonde - not to mention an early release from the cycle of self-hatred and frantic desperation that plagues many women as they age. Corollary 1a: The larger part of how people perceive you is how you present yourself.
2. People can be hurtful to strangers. That's their problem.
My best childhood mate had spina bifida. She walked on sticks and refused to use a wheelchair for reasons I only started to appreciate years later. Looking like a medical oddity gave me, for a very brief time, a very small taste of what she encounters every day of her life. It made me pity people who equate someone's appearance with their value as a person. This generalises magnificently to strangers judging you for, in fact, anything at all. Corollary 2a: The most vocal critics are often the most insecure.
3. Other people have things you don't. Big deal.
There is no such thing as the Most Beautiful Woman in the World (sorry Buttercup). Who cares? What is considered desirable is not especially worth getting hung up on. You may not be a six-foot Amazon so will never have legs up to your neck - but for all you know, that same supermodel would give her left arm to have your hair. This concept generalises to wealth, success, talent, and intelligence as well. Corollary 3a: Envy of other women's looks is a zero-sum game, and uses far too much time and energy to be bothered with.
4. Quality of love is not a function of attractiveness.
Elizabeth Taylor, for instance, has been married eight times. Beautiful people have dry spells and get their hearts broken like everyone else. The most worthwhile and loving relationships in my life all happened after my skin problems. And for what it's worth, I've been fortunate to date some pretty nice, smart (and attractive) men in my time. See Corollary 1a above.
5. Confidence doesn't come overnight.
It also doesn't happen in a vacuum; it requires nurturing. As with anything else worth having it's work. But let me tell you, it is so worth the work. A mate recently told me about a magazine 'happiness quiz' in which one of the questions was, "are you comfortable with your body, and do you exercise regularly?" If you can see why this should not have been a single question, you're on the way. Corollary 5a: Confidence happens when you let it happen. No one gives it to you, which is great, because it also means they can't take it from you.
6. When someone says I am beautiful, they really, really mean it.
There is something about knowing someone sees you, quirks and all, and likes what they see... something rare and kind of overwhelming (in a good way). 'Beautiful' is one of those words (a bit like 'awesome') that has lost meaning in being overused as a generic affirmative. We call all sorts of people beautiful in one sentence and tear them down in the next. I'm happy to be different enough that anyone who uses it to describe me sees more than just hair and makeup.
POSTED BY BELLE AT 7:29 PM”
Wow. I am still blown away by this post. How many women do you know who would disclose this type of experience, especially in an era when a woman's physical looks too often trumps talent and character?
Brooke deserves more than kudos and our respect, she deserves to have her fans take a "look" at themselves in the honesty of her mirror, and consider making some deep changes.
As Belle de Jour, Brooke has written four books in addition to her always fabulous blog about her work in the sex industry. Her fifth book, Belle's Best Bits: A London Call Girl Reveals Her Favourite Adventures, will be widely available across the pond soon and at Amazon’s UK division.
Here is the description of the book, as provided by Orion Books:
“From the summer of 2003 Belle charted her day-to-day adventures on and off the field in a frank, funny and award-winning diaries. She was the first to reveal (among other things) how she became a working girl, what it feels like to do it for money, and where to buy the best knickers for the job. She also discusses her efforts to change from 'working girl' to working girl, whilst sneaking off to visit clients in her lunch hour. From debating the literary merits of Martin Amis with naked clients to smuggling whips into luxury hotels, this is a no-holds barred account of the high-class sex-trade, and an insight into the secret life of an extraordinary woman.”
Her other books are Belle de Jour’s Guide to Men, 2009; The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl, September 2005; The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl, May 2007; and Playing the Game, June 2009. There is not a ringer in the bunch – trust me!
Her writing has been so popular that it became the basis for the international hit TV series, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper. It can be seen on Showtime in the U.S., and the first two seasons are also available on DVD.
(Note: Since she disclosed her true identity, Brooke took part in a photo shoot for a promotional spot that will appear in the U.K. when the new season of the show premieres. I have included the photo she posted on her blog from that shoot at top here.)
— The Curator
This time, they hope what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas: ROXXXY the sex robot had her cumming-out party in Sin City, so to speak, and all that was missing was an after-smoke.
In what is billed as a world first, a life-size robotic girlfriend complete with artificial intelligence and flesh-like synthetic skin was introduced by a New Jersey company to adoring fans at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas. It seems that Roxxxy is poised to revolutionize the sex toy industry.
Can anyone say Stepford Wives?
"She can't vacuum, she can't cook but she can do almost anything else if you know what I mean," TrueCompanion's Douglas Hines said, clearly devoid of any subtlety whatsoever. "She's a companion. She has a personality. She hears you. She listens to you. She speaks. She feels your touch. She goes to sleep. We are trying to replicate a personality of a person."
A male sex robot named Rocky is in development by TrueCompanion.
Can anyone say Stepford Husbands?
At the Expo demonstration, the sexrobot said, "I love holding hands with you" when it sensed that its creator touched its hand. Another action, this one unprintable, elicited quite a different vocal response from Roxxxy.
The level of sophistication demonstrated was not beyond that of a child's talking toy, but Roxxxy has a lot more brains than that – there's a laptop computer (which is included with every purchase) connected to cables coming out of its back. It has touch sensors at strategic locations and can sense when it's being moved. But it can't move on its own, not even to turn its head or move its lips. The sound comes out of an internal loudspeaker.
Hines, founder of the Lincoln Park, N.J.-based TrueCompanion LLC, said Roxxxy can carry on simple conversations. The real aim, he said, is to make the doll someone the owner can talk to and relate to.
"Sex only goes so far – then you want to be able to talk to the person," Hines said.
The phrases that were demonstrated were prerecorded, but the robot will also be able to synthesize phrases out of prerecorded words and sounds, Hines said. The laptop will receive updates over the Internet to expand the robot's capabilities and vocabulary. Since Hines is a soccer fan, it can already discuss Manchester United, he said. It snores, too.
A Japanese company, Honey Dolls, makes life-size silicon sex dolls that can play recorded sounds, but Roxxxy's sensors and speech capabilities appear to be more sophisticated. Hines' goals are certainly more far-reaching.
An electrical engineer and computer scientist who formerly worked on artificial intelligence at AT&T Bell Laboratories, Hines said he was inspired to create the robot after a friend died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. That got him thinking about preserving his friend's personality, to give his children a chance to interact with him as they're growing up. Looking around for commercial applications for artificial personalities, he initially thought he might create a home health care aide for the elderly.
"But there was tremendous regulatory and bureaucratic paperwork to get through. We were stuck," Hines said. "So I looked at other markets."
In 1993, Hines designed "Trudy," his first sexbot that the inventor admits was not as "user friendly" as the current model. It was during his work at Bell that Hines learned the latest artificial intelligence systems, which assisted him in the development of the robot.
He unveiled Roxxxy with a lot of fanfare, which cost between $1 and $5 million to develop and took about two and a half years to produce. Hines said he combined his background with the expertise of 18 artists and engineers from three countries to create a robot designed to "deliver the best in robot sex."
"It's really a labor of love," he said.
But, the broader goal of the company is still to take artificial personalities into the mainstream, beyond sex toys, Hines said.
"The sex robot thing is marketing – it's really about making a companion," he said.
In a 2007 book, "Love and Sex with Robots," British chess player and artificial intelligence expert David Levy argues that robots will become significant sexual partners for humans, answering needs that other people are unable or unwilling to satisfy.
But even though Roxxxy is "always on," her attraction isn't supposed to be about only sex.
According to TrueCompanion's Web site, she "can carry on a discussion and express her love to you and be your loving friend. She can talk to you, listen to you and feel your touch."
The dark-haired, lingerie-clad Roxxxy prototype robot is modeled after a Caucasian fine arts student and is 5 feet 7 inches (170cm) tall and weighs 120 (54.43kg) pounds, and "has a full C cup and is ready for action," according to Hines. Owners can customize Roxxxy's features and change her race, hair and eye color, and breast size.
The anatomically-correct robot has an articulated skeleton that can move like a REAL woman but, as previously mentioned, can't walk or independently move its limbs. The Robotic movement is built into "the three inputs" and a mechanical heart that powers a liquid cooling system.
“She knows exactly what you like. If you like Porsches, she likes Porsches. If you like soccer, she likes soccer," Hines said.
Prospective owners can pick from the five different "personalities" depending on their individual preference. There is Wild Wendy, who is outgoing and adventurous; Frigid Farah, who is reserved and shy; Mature Martha, who provides the matriarchal kind of caring; a young unnamed doll with a naïve personality; and S&M Susan, who is...uh...available for more adventurous types.
Customers ordering the robot online detail their tastes and interests much like online dating sites but here, the information is used to get the mechanical girlfriend in synch with her mate.
"She knows exactly what you like," Hines said of Roxxxy, noting that Rocky will also come with personalities.
Roxxxy will chat with her flesh-and-blood mate, and touching her elicits comments varying according to personalities. She is wirelessly linked to the internet for software updates, technical support and to send her man email messages.
Roxxxy is also Wi-Fi capable, and her little quirks, like the way she holds your hand, can be shared with other sexbot owners through the True Companion Web site. Wi-Fi also makes Roxxxy easily upgrade-able, in case a new OS debuts, or – shudder to think – she catches a computer virus!
After customizing their TrueCompanion personalities, owners can then share the programs with others online on the company's website, according to Hines.
"Just think about wife or girlfriend swapping without actually giving the person to someone else," Hines said. "You can share the personality online."
Hines sees his creation as not only a recreational innovation but as an outlet for the shy, people with sexual dysfunction, and those who want to experiment without risk.
Roxxxy versions are priced from $7,000 ($A7,634) to $9,000 ($A9,815), depending on features. The sex robot is available in the U.S. and Europe and will eventually be available globally, according to Hines.
The AVN Adult Entertainment Exposition takes place annually in Sin City, side-by-side with the Consumer Electronics Show. As technology fans convene on Vegas for the gadgetfest, they're also given the opportunity to visit AVN for a dose of the content that drives is often assumed to drive technology adoption.
—The Curator
Portugal's parliament passed a bill yesterday allowing gay marriage in the mostly Roman Catholic country.
The Socialist government's bill won the support of all left-of-centre parties. Right-of-centre parties opposed the change and argued that it should be put to a national referendum.
The proposed law will go to the Portuguese president, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who will decide whether to ratify or veto it, but a veto can be overturned by parliament. Its approval would make Portugal the sixth European country to allow same-sex marriages.
The prime minister, Jóse Sócrates, said the measure was part of his effort to modernise Portugal. Two years ago his government lifted a ban on abortion.
Meanwhile in the U.S. yesterday, a similar measure was voted down in New Jersey. The state Senate rejected a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage, dealing a formidable if unsurprising setback to gay-rights advocates nationwide.
After an hour and 40 minutes of heartfelt speeches, just 14 senators voted in favor of the bill, with 20 opposed. Twenty-one votes were needed for passage.
The U.S. national debate over same-sex marriage will take center stage in a California courtroom next week at a closely watched federal trial that could ultimately become the landmark case that determines whether gay Americans have a right to marry.
The case will decide a challenge to California's gay marriage ban that was approved by voters in 2008, and the ruling will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. How the high court rules in the case could set the precedent for whether gay marriage becomes legal nationwide.
"This could be our Brown vs. Board of Education," said former Clinton White House adviser Richard Socarides, referring to the 1954 Supreme Court decision that outlawed racial segregation in schools and other public facilities. "Certainly the plaintiffs will tell you they are hoping for a broad ruling that says that any law that treats someone differently because of sexual orientation violates the U.S. Constitution."
The case marks the first federal trial to examine if the U.S. Constitution permits bans on gay marriages.
In Portugal yesterday, the Socialist government's bill won the support of all left-of-centre parties. Right-of-center parties opposed the change and sought a national referendum on the issue, but their proposal was rejected.
Voting figures were not immediately available but the President of Parliament Jaime Gama announced that the government's bill had passed, as was widely expected.
The proposed law goes to Portugal's conservative President Silva who can ratify or veto. The veto can be overturned by the parliament.
If there is no presidential veto, the first gay marriage ceremonies could take place in April - a month before Pope Benedict XVI is due on an official visit to Portugal.
Its approval would make Portugal the sixth European country to allow same-sex marriages. Gay marriage is currently permitted in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Norway.
"This law rights a wrong," Prime Minister Jose Socrates said in a speech to lawmakers, adding that it "simply ends pointless suffering."
The bill removes a reference in the current law to marriage being between two people of different sexes.
"It's a slight change to the law, it's true. But it is a very important and symbolic step towards fully ensuring respect for values that are essential in any democratic, open and tolerant society: the values of freedom, equality and non-discrimination," Socrates said.
He said a referendum was not necessary because the gay marriage proposal was included in the Socialist Party's manifesto in last September's general election, when it was returned to power.
Socrates said the measure is part of his effort to modernize Portugal. Two years ago his government lifted Portugal's ban on abortion.
Like neighboring Spain, which introduced same-sex marriages four years ago, Portugal is an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country and previous efforts to introduce gay marriage ran into strong resistance from religious groups and conservative lawmakers.
Homosexuality was a crime in Portugal until 1982. In 2001, a law allowed "civil unions" between same-sex couples which granted them certain legal, tax and property rights. However, it did not allow couples to take their partner's name, inherit their possessions nor their state pension, which is permitted in marriages.
A proposal from the Left Bloc and Green Party allowing gay couples to adopt children was voted down Friday. Gay campaigners said they would continue to fight for gay couples' parental rights.
— The Curator
In the first-ever human-cyber union, a Japanese man married a female character in a popular video game, afterward taking her – and his beloved’s handheld game console – on an overseas honeymoon trip to Guam.
The man prefers to be called by his online moniker SAL9000 – apparently based on the only-too human computer by the same name in the SciFi classic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey – rather than revealing his real name or age for fear he’ll be misunderstood or ridiculed.
"I only want Nene (the character) right now, she's better than a human girl," he said, but admitted that he understands Love Plus is just a game, so his virtual wedding is not a legal marriage.
Sal (I thought I’d give him a nickname) “met” the character Nene Anegasaki while playing the Nintendo video dating simulation (DS) game "Love Plus." The gamer is a huge fan of Love Plus, in which players try to woo their digital girlfriends with flowers, lavish dates, etc. The behavior of these in-game girlfriends changes dependent on the way they are treated.
He said he fell in love with Nene after a string of failed romances with girlfriends from other animated games.
Sal started playing "Love Plus" in September. The more you play, the more she demands your attention. So Sal nurtured his relationship, playing every single day, taking Nene with him everywhere out on the town, even on vacation.
Sal said he’s an "otaku," a breed of Japanese youth obsessed with video games, computers and fantasy worlds.
His “wedding” took place at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and was presided over by an actual priest!! The groom, dressed in a white suit and tie, read his vows out loud before Nene flashed her responding vows up on the touch screen of Sal’s red Nintendo.
The event was broadcast live on the Nico Nico Douga website, with the groom's best man (a human) giving a speech and Nene's maid of honor – a game simulation – posting an on-screen message expressing her happiness at the first union of a man and computer character.
The reception included a disco and the entire event attracted thousands of online comments before Sal and his new “wife” jetted off to the Pacific island of Guam for their honeymoon.
In an online message, Sal wrote, "I had heard before that the groom is very busy during a Japanese wedding, but it was much more than I expected. Both the actual wedding space and the live web site were full on the day and I'm so happy that so many people were able to witness this.”
"Now that the ceremony is over, I feel as if I have been able to achieve a major milestone in my life," he wrote. "Some people have expressed doubts about my actions, but at the end of the day this is really just about us as husband and wife.
"As long as the two of us can go on to create a happy household, I'm sure any misgivings about us will be resolved."
The message included photos of Sal shopping in Tokyo with his “bride” in his hand, as well as photos from their honeymoon – including one of Sal playing on the beach watched by his new wife, a tropical flower resting gently on her screen.
"In the Japanese otaku or nerd culture, there's a tradition of calling characters my wife, and I sort of thought of Nene as my wife. Since I was calling her that, I thought we'd just have to get married then," he had told reporters.
"If more people were to find ways of expressing themselves like this, I think it would make society a bit more interesting."
Sal says he doesn't want a real girlfriend, adding Nene's better than a real woman. He says his marriage to Nene is just the next step in video gaming, a new way to integrate, if you will. But sociologists say that blurring between the real and virtual world means less human contact.
Japan's internet world has moved beyond Facebook, Twitter or online game relationships and marriages to avatars. They are now part of the norm in the virtual world.
When asked if Nene is his dream woman, he responded, “Yes, she is. Her character changes to my liking as we talk and travel to different places. I love this character, not a machine.”
Sal says it’s even possible to have a “real” conversation with Nene because her system has voice recognition software. They also play the famous game “rock, paper, scissors.” He concluded that he will love her always.
Many of today's Japanese youth can't express their true feelings in reality, only in the virtual world. It's a trend that shows no sign of slowing down as the entire globe socializes more online and less in-person.
Sociologist, Hiroshi Ashizaki, confirms that most of the gaming world socializes more online through video games that in face-to-face contact so Sal's marriage to a DS is not shocking.
The newlyweds, after returning from their honeymoon, now go on dates around Tokyo, with Sal taking digital pictures of Nene, permanently installed in his Nintendo DS, in front of famous landmarks and then posting them on social networking sites.
Sal also has vowed to have and to hold, for better and for worse, even if another, updated version of the game is released.
"I think I'll probably continue playing Love Plus. I won't cheat," Sal said, adding that there is no end to the relationship because you can continue the game forever.
There may be trouble ahead for the newlyweds, however, as Sal has not informed his parents that he has got married. The couple plans to visit his family over the New Year holidays to announce their betrothal.
And just imagine it folks, the perfectly constructed world of sterile, controlled, utter self-absorbtion, since it's all about HIM!
Nene NEVER: Argues back; eats; feels the sun on her face; has sex; gives birth; weeds a garden; hugs a puppy; gets sick; chooses a career; swings a baseball bat; drives a car; copes with life's ups and downs; matures; feels a kind touch; prays; grows old; dies; or can EVER divorce him and get half the fucker's assets!
I think I feel sorry for Nene.
— The Curator
It turns out that sex may not sell after all — at least at the movies.
A recent study concluded that nudity and explicit sex scenes don't translate to success for major motion pictures.
"Sex Doesn't Sell — nor Impress! Content, Box Office, Critics, and Awards in Mainstream Cinema" examined more than 900 films released between 2001 and 2005.
The study found that, contrary to popular belief, sex and nudity failed to positively affect a film's popularity among viewers or critics and did not guarantee big box office receipts.
One of the study's co-authors, Dean Keith Simonton, said theirs was the largest sample of its kind used for film research. The results surprised him, he said.
"Sex did not sell, whether in the domestic or international box office," Simonton, who is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis said in news accounts. "Even among R movies, less graphic sex is better."
The top-grossing films in the study included movies like "Shrek 2;" "Spider-Man;" "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," all of which contained just minor to mild sex and/or nudity.
Simonton said the research went beyond others in that it also examined other forms of "objectionable" material that might earn a film an R rating including violence.
The study was inspired by something experienced a few years back by its co-author, Anemone Cerridwen. She had been taking acting classes and increasingly became uncomfortable with some of the sexualized content she was encountering. That led her to consider the work experiences of film actresses and the pursuit of data about the lucrativeness of sex in movies.
"I assumed sex sold, and wanted to know by how much," Cerridwen said. "I braced myself for the worst, and got quite the surprise."
Craig Detweiler, director of the Center for Entertainment, Media and Culture at Pepperdine University, said the study's findings reflect the culture's post-sexual revolution sensibilities.
"Nothing is as shocking anymore," he told the news media. "You can see it in Britney Spears' kiss with Madonna and Janet Jackson's Super Bowl performance. Things that were a big controversy among some, the next generation kind of yawned at."
Rather, Detweiler said, he has seen among his students that the new form of rebellion against the older generation includes, "not doing drugs, not sleeping around and not getting divorced." That might explain the popularity of some of the Jane Austen films and movies like the "Twilight" series, he said.
"Those stories are really about sexual separation," he said. "They are all about wooing, not winning."
Tom Jacobs, staff writer for the academic research periodical Miller-McCune, wrote about the study and said there has long been the belief that the many young males who make up movie audiences are enthralled by female nudity.
"These researchers really put that belief to the test and crunched the numbers," Jacob said. "What I took from the study is that a hint of sex is perhaps more enticing than out-and-out nudity."
The study's authors hope their findings have some direct impact on moviemaking.
Simonton said he has had one inquiry from a researcher at a major studio that he declined to name, though he has no idea if the studio plans on acting on the data.
Cerridwen said she thinks movies continue to be influential on the public and believes their study could also have an influence, especially if other academics pick up the torch and continue the research. Until then, she hopes Hollywood takes notice.
"I do believe that there are a fair number of people in the film industry who want to make better films, and this study may give them some ammunition," she said. "I know that Hollywood has been trying to make more family-friendly films for a while (since the '90s) and it seems to be helping ticket sales, so my guess is that this research would complement that."
I find this study truly fascinating. I was especially intrigued by Detweiler’s assertion that his students see rebellion against us oldsters as, "not doing drugs, not sleeping around and not getting divorced." Whoa, baby!
With the entire marketing industry blatantly using sex to sell everything from toothpaste to prescription drugs for asthma control, could it be that consumers have finally become de-synthesized to flesh peddling in advertising, too? What a concept! I hope that additional studies are conducted to answer that question. It would, however, be a lot harder to measure the effectiveness of sexually oriented advertizing, because there would be nothing non-sexual to compare it to! Oh well, a person can dream.
After all, what would our popular culture become without constantly bumping and grinding our way through almost every TV commercial, magazine and newspaper adverts and the movies? Concept boggles the mind, no?
— The Curator
