Ask Men survey gives us hope, defies beer ad stereotypes…mostly (via Em & Lo)

According to a new online survey conducted by AskMen.com, Cosmopolitan's sister magazine, 68,000 out of 100,000 men would take a male birth control pill if one became available. That's 68%, which is surprisingly high. And that's encouraging, precisely because the audience of the unscientific online survey are the male counterparts of Cosmopolitan stereotypes: vacuously-minded and viagra-enthralled masculinity.

Em & Lo, who noted the survey results, said they "are pleased to report that our worst fears were not realized." Figleaf, who picked up the story, said, "for this answer on this survey, I think [the Ask Men audience is] actually a bonus rather than a liability. […] Ordinarily that’s precisely the demographic skeptics point to while claiming that R&D on male contraceptives is a waste of time." And y'know, we gotta agree with 'em both.

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Has Social Networking Replaced Sex? | momlogic.com

Sounds like Bruce Sallan needs some sexual reassurance. The syndicated parenting columnist asked, "Have we sunk to androgynous roles as men and women? Are we (you?) having less sex? Are we men falling down on our jobs when it comes to making 'it' happen?" By "it," he means sex. He says, "my speculation is, there's much truth in the fact that our lives are so equal [as men and women], so focused on work and family, that sex often gets put on the back burner." Worried, he says, "my wife is often correctly critical of all the time I spend on the computer," presumably on social networking sites instead of setting the mood.

I'm not going to presume much about Sallan's situation, but to segregate one's sex life from one's online social networking activities seems, to me, like he's "doing it wrong." And by "it," I mean both sex and social networks. After all, some social networks are made for sex. Maybe he and his wife could both join FetLife. ;)

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The last person out of the closet? The bisexual male – CNN.com

"Coming out bisexual in the 1980s was an agonizing experience for [Robert] Winn, who was raised Methodist in a military family," Stephanie Chen reports. "When Winn was a teenager in the 1980s, public support toward gays and bisexuals plummeted as the HIV panic stigmatized the gay community. Bisexuals were blamed for spreading the virus to the straight population."

Robert Winn, a physician monogamously married to a woman for 18 years, is not an exception among bisexual men. "Joshua Verbeke, a 29-year-old business student at Indiana University…played along with being gay [while working with advocacy organizations] to avoid criticism and questions about being bisexual," and "John, 41, a bisexual from California, said his sexual orientation makes him open-minded."

This balanced article is a rarity, and Stephanie Chen touches on many issues: "being openly bisexual can be complicated." Stereotyped promiscuity, gay camouflage, and disease make being a bisexual man harder than it sounds.

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A birth control pill for men | health

An Israeli biochemist developed a pill that could sterilize men for up to 3 months, and with no side effects to boot. "Prof. Haim Breitbart of Israel's Bar-Ilan University," Karin Kloosterman reports, "developed a number of novel compounds that have no affect on male sex drive, but succeed in impairing the reproductive ability of the sperm. If all goes according to his plan, a new male birth control pill could be on the market within the next five years." Dubbed the Bright Pill, it's now being tested on mice with promising results. Human trials are expected next year. "And, unlike the female pill, the male pill wouldn't have to be taken every day."

In the Telegraph, Brietbart is quoted saying, "Men don't cope well with side effects and having side effects would probably put many off wanting to take a pill." Uh, do male scientists think side effects don't bother women?

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Vibrator Use Among Gay and Bi Identified Men

About.com Guide to Sexuality Cory Silverberg highlights findings by scientist Michael Reece, who recently published data about vibrating sex toy use among gay and bisexual men. "Along with Debby Herbenick and colleagues at Indiana University's Center for Sexual Health Promotion, Reece has managed to find the funding and time to conduct basic research on sex toy use that has long been needed," Cory writes.

Although the study leaves many questions unanswered, it provides interesting data, like "while 49.8% of men said they have used a vibrator, only 27% said they had purchased one." Most respondents use vibrators for anal pleasure. 59 percent said they hold or rub a vibrator against their penis. "The majority of people agreed that vibrators increased arousal, pleasure, and orgasm," but none said this emphatically. "I note this because, particularly online…you often read stories of blissful satisfaction, where the toy seems to be satisfying every need, solving big problems," Cory says.

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Ban on gay blood donors upheld by panel – AIDS- msnbc.com

It ain't much, but it's a start: citing flaws in the research, on June 11th the Health and Human Services Committee called for new research on policy alternatives to the life-time blood-donation ban on gay men, but did not recommend lifting the ban. There was much testimony on both sides of the issue. One possible alternative would be to switch to a 1 year deferral period after homosexual relations, which would bring in an additional 89,000 pints of blood a year. Despite this increase, most of the conversation focused around blood safety rather than blood supply. Some other countries seem to have a good idea of how to keep supplies safe: Spain and Italy screen donors for risky behaviors, rather than simply for orientation. Huh; Good thought!

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Op-Ed Columnist – Gay? Whatever, Dude – NYTimes.com

"Stunning" figures from a newly released Gallup poll show, "For the first time, the percentage of Americans who perceive 'gay and lesbian relations' as morally acceptable has crossed the 50 percent mark," Charles M. Blow writes at the NY Times. The numbers are punctuated "by a dramatic change in attitudes among younger men, but older men’s perceptions also have eclipsed older women’s." While 48% more men aged 18 to 49 and 26% more men over age 50 perceive "gay and lesbian relations" to be morally acceptable, there was no significant change in womens' views.

Three theories are offered to explain the numbers. First, as more gay men come out of the closet, and as these men prove to be more varied than stereotypes allow, it becomes harder to discriminate against them. Second, men at large are becoming less afraid of such diversity, thanks to the civil and women's rights causes. Third, virulent homophobes are being outed, too, so being too fiercely anti-gay is not as cool as it once was.

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