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I’m sure everyone is aware that here in Missouri (Marquette) it is illegal for more than four unrelated persons to reside in the same dwelling, and in University City, it is illegal for four women to rent an apartment together. A law in Maryville, Missouri states that “The privilege of admiring the curvaceous, unencumbered body of a young woman should not be denied to the normal, red-blooded American male.”

Without going into the blatant sexist direction of these laws, let’s consider a few more from across the country.

The majority of places in the United States consider oral sex and anal sex acts of sodomy illegal and punishable by heavy fines and/or imprisonment.

In Utah, sex with an animal for profit is prohibited. Where I hail from, the lovely non-state of the District of Columbia, all sexual intercourse not in the missionary position is prohibited. And then, in Massachusetts, it is illegal for someone to have sex with a rodeo clown in the presence of horses. Some places like Ventura, California even have laws preventing animal sex without a permit. How, might one ask, does a dog or cat obtain a sex permit?

Okay, so tasering/arresting a naked guy at a concert is understandable-but what fifteen-year-old kid experimenting with oral sex in their mom’s basement thinks he is committing sodomy? This article may not have a point further than exemplifying some of the United States’ ridiculous and hilarious sex laws, both past and present, but one must beg the additional question-are these laws contributing to the already confusing sexual expression of United States citizens?

With the double standard between males and females, the excessive physical barriers between colleagues, students, and teachers-just take the Missiouri kids suspended for hugging within a school setting-and the invasion of pornographic material into everyday life with widespread Internet and media attention, the direction of U.S. public sexuality is overly befuddled.

Are we superman-ing hos or creating a sexual harassment lawsuit over a boy student telling a girl student to fix her bra strap? Rhetorical questions aside, this is an issue perplexing young lives all over the country. I mean, I’m 20. I’m confused.

Okay, seriously now, this is an issue that needs to be addressed more directly. Sources including the media and politics, among others, have been addressing one side or the other-censorship, sexual harassment, lewd conduct-but can’t address it all together.

A defined stance on sexuality for the country, I say this roughly, not in the complete idyllic sense, would benefit the growth and understanding of this important part of our humanity.

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While everyone is cozying up with their significant other this Valentine’s Day, it is worth remembering the Seven Deadly Sins and the dangers they pose to the debonnaire young man.

All photos by Lionel Sobehart

lust

wrath

sloth

envy

pride

gluttony

greed

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2. Intelligence without widsom: a deadly combination
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All photos by Lucy Moore

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The junior led the men’s team by winning both the 50 and 500 yard freestyle events. Ota blazed a trail in 4:57.57 in the 500, finishing almost ten seconds ahead of his closest competitor. He also quickly cut through the water to take the 50 yard with a time of 22.31.

Meredith Nordbrock, Swimming and Diving

The senior contributed 18 points to the team’s victory on Friday against Principia College, winning the 50 and 500 yard freestyle. Nordbrock took the 50 yard narrowly by nine milliseconds while leaving others swimmers in her wake during the 500 yard with a red hot time of 5:10.45. The closest opponent finished over 20 seconds after Nordbrock had won.

Morgan Leonard-Fleckman, Track and Field

The senior vaulted over her previous school record of 3.51 meters in the pole vault event at the Rose-Hulman Engineer Invitational, with a 3.65 meter jump. Her jump surpassed the NCAA provisional mark.

Nate Koslof, Track and Field

Junior Nate Koslof set a blistering pace with a 2:00.37 win in the 800 meter run. Koslof was also part of the 4X400 meter relay team which defeated multiple teams.

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While I will be talking about the sexual aspects of this group, I must quickly debunk the myth (brought on by pop culture moments like those in Entourage or Vanity Fair) that furries are simply humans that share a fetish for engaging in animalistic sexual behaviors, or wanting to only have sexual relations in an animal costume (fur suit). On the contrary, to be in the furry fandom is purely to take an interest in anthropomorphized animals: either to study them, to draw them, to go to conventions and/or parties honoring or role-playing them. As defined by alt.fan.furry, a community forum organized to discuss all things related to furries and maintained by Jordan Greywolf, a furry is “a) An animal-like character known as a ‘furry’ or b) a person who is a ‘furry fan.’” Alt.fan.furry further defines furries and furry fandom (or furrydom, for short) as “In general, the discussion of artwork or fiction (including movies, TV series, game systems, novels, illustrations, etc.) involving ‘furry’ subjects, theorizing about ‘furry creatures.’”

Furries come from everywhere in the world-represented on the Internet by millions of different forums. Some are LiveJournal communities like “Christian Furs” or “West Coast Furs,” offering a common space for furries to discuss their interests, much like those heavily interested in anime or World of Warcraft. However, within these communities, there are many members who are sexually involved in the furr-osity: those who feel so close to their furry animal that they express themselves physically and mentally in the context of their animal.

One Wash U. senior, who preferred to remain anonymous (and will be referred to here as “Liz”), dated a man who turned out to be a furry. He connected himself with a hedgehog similar to Sonic of Sega Genesis fame. While many websites discussing furries make it clear that not all furries are sexually inclined, Liz says that “Sonic” surrounded himself with friends who were all part of the furry community, and they all engaged in furry sexual activity. While first looking at furry porn, predominantly fantasized illustrations of different anthropomorphic animals engaged in sex acts, he then went on to ask her to “call him super Sonic in bed” and explained his angry behavior by saying “his spikes were out.” One woman friend of his, known for her sexual furry side, called herself “Dragonwolf” and, as Liz confides, “treated me like a leper when I wouldn’t believe I was a housecat [her associated animal according to Sonic].”

Sonic, Dragonwolf and their other furry friends believe that to find your personal animal (hedgehog, dragon-wolf hybrid, squirrel, etc.), a sort of soul-searching is involved, including online personality quizzes and a personal (fursonal) inclination towards a particular animal. Once one finds his or her animal, this becomes a second identity, often blended together with the human identity. Some furries find their interest in becoming a baby animal, and these are called diaper furries. These furries wear diapers in addition to a fur suit and many engage in sexual parties where they act like baby animals, including the uncontrolled excretions that go with that identity.

While some of this may seem surprising, or even too out of the ordinary to understand, it is important to remember that an association or love for something more plush or animal-like (plushophilia) is similar to being attracted to a movie character, or even adoring the personality of a cartoon. For example, if you really loved Freddie Prinze Jr.’s character in She’s All That, and you secretly wanted to be with him and put pictures of him in your locker, then maybe you can understand furry love and furry fandom. While some furries take it to the next level and make it a reality, it can be also be a casual interest like any other.

For more information on the vast and well-covered topic of furries, furry fandom, and plushophilia, please visit:

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/furry/faq/
http://www.furaffinity.net

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Sex toys are not necessary to have pleasurable sex. But if you’re interested in enhancing pleasure, toys and other sex aids can be useful. There are several categories to choose from. At a basic level, you have your male pleasure, female pleasure, and co-ed pleasure toys. There are toys for any level along the BDSM spectrum (Bondage, Discipline, Domination, Submission, Sadism and Masochism). There are also toys that enhance lubrication, heighten arousal points such as nipples and provide tickling sensations.

For men, toys can take the form of everything from masturbation sleeves and blowjob stimulators to prosthetic penis attachments. More common sex aids include lubrication (often flavored or warming), desensitization creams (used to prolong sex) and vibrating rings for males to extend clitoral pleasure on the vagina during intercourse. For male-on-male enhanced contact, typical toys include prostate stimulators, usually made of silicone, and anal dildos or beads. You can also buy condoms that have vibrating rings built in or that incorporate flavors like vanilla or cherry to boost the oral experience of one’s partner.

For women, toys range from a variety of vibrators (g-spot vibrators, external vibrators/clitoral teasers, strap-ons) to nipple toys and edible body accessories. The most popular toys usually include external vibrators, which the partner uses to stimulate the clitoris during intercourse, or double-penetrating dildos used between female partners to extend intimacy. Vibrators and dildos can be made out of many substances, including silicone, elastomer, jelly, skin-like substances, rubber, thermoplastic rubber, plastic, acrylic, glass or even metal and leather. Each material has its own advantages, and determining the proper substance depends on the needs of the buyer. For example, silicone is gentle, soft, and easy to clean while acrylic is shatterproof and distributes heat uniformly, making for a sweltering encounter.

While some toys can cost hundreds of dollars, most are within the $20 to $30 range and easily affordable. Though some toys are for serious adventurers (think vaginal muscle exercisers or anal plugs with wide diameters), simple vibrators, lingerie and lubricants can be fun for any couple.

Interested in exploring sex toys? My recommendations are to try a small ribbed silicone vibrator for clitoral stimulation during sex, sensual massage oil (like Victoria’s Secret’s Mood in Succulent) for lubrication, warming and other foreplay, and/or the traditional set of handcuffs for role-playing or light domination (just don’t lose the key!).

Helpful Web sites:
Wikipedia entry for sex toys
edenfantasies.com

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This is the stereotype: while a man can get off quickly (so to speak) with straightforward rubbing of the shaft and head of the penis, a woman takes time, effort, and concentration. The idea of the “g-spot” is almost thought of as a mythical, magical area that can never be found. Some even think women cannot orgasm except from clitoral stimulation, addressing a part of the vagina that is not directly pleasured during conventional vaginal intercourse.

One thing that actress Rachel Miner (playing Dani) remarked on the show is that the female orgasm is, in some senses, a mental process. She goes on to say, “Who has time for that?” Well, all women do, once they get the hang of their body.

A survey conducted by Glenn Wilson, writer of The Great Sex Divide, in 1998 says that 40% of women have difficulty achieving orgasm. However, the truth about these difficulties is that it is never simply sex. It is caused by a lack of interest in sex, mental anxiety or pain during intercourse (which could be caused by a lack of lubrication).

For a woman to experience an orgasm, she must know her own body. The g-spot is not a myth: it lies almost immediately behind the pubic bone on the clitoris side of the vagina, usually three to five inches up.
The feel of the g-spot is entirely different from that of the conventional clitoral stimulation. One does not feel sexual pleasure immediately, but almost the feeling of urination, something achieved by what are known as the PC (pubococcygeus) muscles. However, if one continues to rub the g-spot, sexual pleasure is found, and is usually greater in bodily depth than that of clitoral enjoyment.

Here, I advocate masturbation. If a woman practices finding her pleasure points and favorite ways of stimulation through the g-spot, clitoris, and even labial flaps, she will have no difficulty achieving an orgasm. It will become a natural thing, something she is comfortable with. Even in a male scenario, finding what arouses your mind and body sexually as well as how your body responds to human stimulation makes an orgasm as simple as dropping a bomb, rather than wiring one.

Helpful Links:
WebMD: Taking on “The Big O” for women
Female orgasm info

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Darwinian theorists might say bigger is better in the sense that females are biologically attracted to the most powerful reproductive features. While this is not proven to be true, there are some individuals who relish the idea of being dominated by a large (shall we say) asset as well as some who enjoy the visual stimulation of viewing a larger attraction. In a heterosexual intimate relationship, it depends on the size of one man’s penis and the ratio of that size to that of the partner’s vagina. It also depends on the woman’s preference for clitoral or direct vaginal stimulation/g-spot stimulation. A penis smaller than “average” could be the perfect size for a certain vagina with shorter vaginal walls and tight vaginal muscles, able to stimulate its g-spot (located a couple of inches inside the vaginal walls) as well as the PC muscles within it, both stimuli for orgasm. Then again, a penis larger than “average” could be a good fit for another vagina-or could cause pain in a vagina too short and tight for its size. If a woman solely pleasures in clitoral excitement, the size of a penis would not matter at all, for a penis does not directly stimulate the clitoral area.

So, at the end of the day, it seems that it all really depends on personal preference and personal physique. Like the question of ‘N Sync or Backstreet Boys, it seems this is one debate that we just can’t resolve, after all.

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Cell phones come in all shapes, sizes and now, colors and Internet services. “Yours doesn’t have Bluetooth?” my friend Ben muses, staring blankly at my two-year-old Nokia.

What is Bluetooth? My cell phone doesn’t have Internet; it doesn’t have color. In fact, right now, it doesn’t even have a functional screen. Thanks to the “wall incident,” in which extraction of my four-pound geography tome catapulted my cell phone across the bedroom, there’s an amoebic spread of inky blue blocking the center, making me unable to read text messages or screen my calls.

“You really should fix it,” Ben continues. “You could get a whole new phone, with color, maybe even with buttons that work!” I take out my decrepit phone and dust it off, “But I don’t really need that.” I trail off. Unlike many of my teenage peers, I am content with my old phone, which is now my broken phone. Don’t get me wrong – I’m no antediluvian resisting technology. I just feel that cell phones are supposed to serve two simple purposes: to send out calls and to receive calls. A cell phone runs my social hub. But I can make plans without a hip-top two-way with rhinestones, AIM built into the main screen, color video function and polyphonic R&B ring tones from the latest “TRL.” Without a cell phone, however, I’d have no numbers to call. I’d have nowhere to call from. I’d be lost. My vast array of acquaintances, through whom I find out about parties and get-togethers, would have no way to reach me.

Imagine 80+ people who don’t know your last name. Or maybe they do, but they don’t know your parents or your address. They don’t know or care for your home number, but they contact you frequently. They hit you up on your cell with a “Hey babe! What’s up for tonight?” in a cheery, bubble-bursting tone and, suddenly, you’re cheery too. You’re out with them running around, listening to music, having a good time.

But wait – you have no cell phone! They try to hit you up on your cellie and bam – “This number could not be completed as dialed…” That’s it. Your social life is over. I guess you could still use AIM, but that’s just a hassle. People are usually away all day with messages like, “Out in G-town! Call the cell!” The cell? You can’t call the cell. You don’t have the number! What an insensitive lout. . . .

Now what? Do I sit at home? Read a book? I guess I could catch up on that Hemingway (love his work) on my night table. Or that Nabokov (he rules!) on my dresser. Hmm, maybe Zadie Smith’s “White Teeth,” beckoning me from the couch in the den. Maybe I’ll turn on the TV. Damn, just reruns of “Friends,” which I never watched anyway.

It’s sad, really. Your social life cut off by a device smaller than your hand. By ordinary logic, my social life shouldn’t be cut off by the lack of a cellular phone. It should just become more difficult. Yet the reality is, it’s over. O-V-E-R. I speak from experience. No cell phone? No calls. No friends. They lose patience. They stop inviting and stop reaching out. The plug is pulled in a matter of weeks. Then you might run into them at a party. “Oh hey – you – how are you?” they say, so innocently. You offer a few words; you exchange a hug, a smile. You pass each other in the crowd. You probably won’t see them again.

This is our culture: the culture of the acquaintance. With the introduction of the cell phone (though no one meant any harm), our world has been hurled into a construct of the easy, fleeting friendship. Now that we can contact someone so informally by pressing a button in our digital address books, we are more inclined to do so. A person you might not feel comfortable giving your home number can have your cell. Short calls emerge, then converge into small get-togethers. You see each other again, after meeting each other just once. It is so simple! But are people you connect with this way really your friends?

When you can’t answer your cell phone, your close friends call your house. You can find them if you need to at school, even at their homes. The acquaintances that held up your intricate social life unravel, thread by thread. They weren’t really your friends anyway, they were just tools of technology. They were part of your phone.

Lucy is a freshman in Arts & Sciences. She can be reached via e-mail at lmmore@artsci.wustl.edu.

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