"I Heart My Sexuality", sex numbers, Indian sexuality in dress, and more

Dr. Debby Herbenick has recently added a bunch of co-bloggers to her site MySexProfessor.com, and I'm super impressed by the results. Dr. Herbenick was already really smart, but now that she has a bunch of smart co-bloggers, her site is totally amazing. Here are three recent posts I really liked, and then after that I won't link to her for a while (probably).

Firstly, they linked to these LGBTQ "I Heart My Sexuality" videos:

I Heart My Sexuality is a video project sponsored by IMPACT. The project aims to highlight the strengths of LGBTQ youth, instill pride in the community, and tell stories of healthy relationships. ... Tell us why you heart your sexuality by uploading a video response to YouTube!

I just wish this campaign were aimed at everyone, not just LGBTQ folks! Maybe that'll be one of my new projects ....

Next we have this post from Dr. Herbenick herself, Sex: Should You Reveal Your Number?

One of the more common sex questions Im asked aside from the usual questions about orgasm, desire and erections is one that seeks my personal opinion, rather than scientific information. Many women and men want to know if they should tell their number you know, the number of people theyve had sex with to a new partner. People have to do what they feel comfortable with so I tend to shy away from offering a direct yes or no to this question. However, Im personally not a fan of the practice (except when people are really good at being aware of, sharing and communicating their feelings with each other and with kindness and compassion). Why?

When you ask someone a question, you better be prepared for the answer. And in American culture, few people seem to be prepared to process the number of people their partner has had sex with. If their partner hasnt ever been with anybody else (number = 0), then some people feel overly eager to de-flower the person while others may feel intimidated by the possibility of being The One Who Takes Their Virginity. If their number is low, some people then lie about their own number in response, so as to be on par. If the number seems high, all too often people get judgmental or they wonder about the risk of infection or cheating or what kind of person the person they are dating is.

As if a single number could ever tell someone what kind of person you are dating.

And then there's this cool post from Jeana, Sexuality, Dress & Women's Life Cycles in India.

Womens dress in India is a wonderful example of how clothing can convey multiple messages about the wearers identity, especially situating her in the sexual life cycle. Although India is a vastly diverse country, with multiple religious and regional cultures, some generalizations can be made.

... [For example], Hindu women wear bangles on their wrists as a sign of marriage, but the type of bangle varies by region. Women from Bengal wear sets of white shell and red plastic bangles on each wrist, women from Utar Pradesh wear glass bangles, and Punjabi women wear gold bangles.

The bindi, a felt or plastic dot worn in the middle of the forehead between the eyebrows, is another important signifier of marriage. Typical bindis are red felt circles, but they can be shaped like tear-drop, squiggles, and even more ornate forms, sometimes with little jewels attached as well. Additionally, married women wear sindur, a red powder applied to the part of the hair as another auspicious symbol of marriage.

Serious kudos to the whole MySexProfessor team. Keep it up!