It’s long been a given in the sex advice biz that dudes who break out the vacuum cleaner every once in a while are more likely to get laid. We typically fight such Men-are-from-Mars-Women-are-from-Venus stereotypes, but we’ve heard too much anecdotal evidence to ignore this one. It’s not that watching a man iron is an actual turn-on — though there are exceptions, of course — but more that many women find it hard to get in the mood for sex if they’re annoyed that their partner isn’t pulling his weight in the domestic chores department. For these women, accessing the libido is a matter of clearing the deck of all potential distractions — clutter in the room, to-do lists, a buzzing Blackberry, body image issues, dirty dishes, petty spousal frustrations, etc.
But it turns out that it’s not just guys who should mop a little more often: A new study has found that, for men and women alike, the more housework you do, the more likely you are to have sex with your partner. In other words, the couple who shares chores together is more likely to swap spit (and more), too. Perhaps this is because sharing chores indicates mutual respect and a commitment to the “team,” or perhaps it’s a feng-shui thing where a clean and tidy house is more conducive to boot-knocking. Whatever it is, it’s good news — almost good enough to make us forget about the other statistic in the study: that the women spent an average of 41.8 hours on household chores each week, while the men spent an average of 23.4 hours. And this despite the fact that “chores” in this study included yard work, paying bills, and maintaining cars. Maybe once these numbers balance out a bit more, we’ll finally achieve coital harmony. Hey, two advice ladies can dream.
A new study has found that 36% of people under the age of 35 Tweet, text, or check Facebook right after sex. For the over-35 group, that figure drops to only 8%. Are we totally giving away which side of the 35 dividing line we are located on when we say, Seriously, people? That’s really what you want to waste your post-coital warm fuzzy glow on?
We’ve always heard from our less-than-scrupulous guy friends that a wedding band lures single women in like flies to honey — apparently it works better even than a cute puppy or a baby bjorn. Though, we suppose if we’re going to be really fair, we should save the word “unscrupulous” for the competitive biotches who pursue a man not despite, but because of his wedding band. And let it be said for the record that we have heard not one story about the reverse happening: apparently a woman in a wedding band just isn’t an aphrodisiac to men.
It seems like every few years, someone comes out with a study about what percentage of the population would choose a good night’s sleep over sex. The studies are usually sponsored by a mattress company, or a pharmaceutical firm developing non-addictive (riiiiight) sleeping pills, or — as in the most recent case — a chain of hotels with extremely comfortable beds. The study, funded by Westin Hotels, found that 51% of Americans surveyed would choose sleep over sex (as we mentioned here earlier this week). It sounds much less depressing if you put it the other way: 49% of us would still sacrifice sleep for a bit of raucous boot-knocking, aw yeah. But it sounds much more depressing when you learn that a decade ago, a massive 69% (heh) of those surveyed said they’d choose sex over sleep.
Energy efficiency investments can provide up to half the greenhouse gas emissions reductions most scientists say are needed between now and the year 2050 to avert the worst effects of climate change, finds a new report from the nonprofit and independent American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, ACEEE.
We have a love-hate relationship with sex studies. On the one hand, they’re the bread and butter of this Naked Love blog (to wit: Study shows even cheaters’ guilt is selfish; Study shows the car doesn’t maketh the man; Study shows father knows best; Study shows some playas are just spreading the love; et al). But on the other hand, the science behind some of the sex studies out there appears flimsy to say the least. Take this “research”, which one site recently reminded us of: An Italian scientist by the name of Dr. Maria Cerruto claimed that wearing high heels improves a woman’s sex life. Hmm…an Italian woman looking to justify her Pradas? Color us suspicious.
The big sexual health news this week was that a guy can increase the quality of his sperm by having sex every day for a week, and thus improve his fertility; he might have fewer sperm on his team when he goes for the gold, but the ones he does have will be stronger players. (In contrast, many fertility experts recommend that guys abstain for a few days before her ovulation to increase sperm count.) Reading about this study brought two questions to mind:
The New York Times reports that, Mark Sanford and Jon & Kate notwithstanding, the institution of marriage has become more resilient in recent years, not less so. In fact, after Sanford’s confession-slash-lecture-on-sin last week, we wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to take credit for single-handedly strengthening the institution of marriage. Whadda guy.
In news that will probably be surprising only to the male readers of this site, a recent study found that expensive cars don’t really impress the ladies. Researchers in Australia measured changes in the brain responses of women toward a range of men in different cars. Turns out a man having a mid-life crisis in a Porsche is still a man having a mid-life crisis. And a hottie surfer is a turn-on even if he has to take the bus. Apparently one of the “biggest surprises” of the study was that the classic MG Roadster car turned women’s heads when it was empty, but failed to impress if a dude was driving it. Well, that’s only surprising if it has never occurred to you that women are more likely to fantasize about driving a classic sports car than they are about dating a man who owns one. And an insecure man in the throes of a mid-life crisis kind of spoils that fantasy. What’s next — scientists demonstrating that crotch-rocket motorbikes don’t actually increase the size of your penis?
