50 Great Myths of Human Sexuality (Paperback)

Preface ix

1 Body Parts

Who Has What and How It Works 1

#1 Bigger Penises Are Better 1

#2 Vaginas Are Dirty, Ugly, and Smell Bad 6

#3 Male Circumcision Is Dangerous and Completely Unnecessary 14

#4 The G-spot Is the Most Orgasmic Part of a Woman’s Body 22

#5 Testosterone Is the Main Predictor of Sex Drive in Men, and You Can Always Add More 26

#6 Everyone Is Born Either Male or Female 31

2 Orientation and Identity

Who We Are and Who We Want 41

#7 You Can Tell If Someone Is Gay Just by Looking at Him/Her 41

#8 No One Is Really Bisexual 44

#9 Most Transgender Individuals Get Surgery 49

#10 Homosexuality Can Be Cured 55

#11 Same-Sex Relationships Are Inherently Different from Those Between One Man and One Woman 64

#12 Children of Same-Sex Parents Have Psychological Issues and Usually End Up Gay 69

#13 Most Child Molesters Are Gay Men 77

3 Sexual Stats

Who Has Sex? How Often? How Hot? 83

#14 Single People Have the Best Sex Life Since They’re Not Tied Down 83

#15 Married Sex Is Boring, and Boring Sex Is Bad 87

#16 Grandma Doesn’t Have Sex (and I Doubt that Mom Does Either) 91

#17 Young People Are Sexually Wild, Promiscuous, and Irresponsible 97

#18 Anal Sex is Not Normal 102

4 Performance

Lights, Camera, Orgasm 110

#19 The First Time You Have Sex Is One of the Best and Most Meaningful Events of Your Life 110

#20 Good Sex Always Ends With Simultaneous Orgasms 117

#21 No Partner of Mine Has Ever Faked an Orgasm 123

#22 Women Want to Be Dominated in Bed, Rough Sex Is the Most Fun 126

#23 Only People Who Aren’t Getting Any Masturbate 129

#24 Not Horny? Horny Goat Weed Can Help 132

5 Conception and Contraception

Illusions and Delusions 137

#25 She’s Not Going to Get Pregnant if We Just Do It This Once 137

#26 The Pill and Other Birth Control Methods are Actually Dangerous to a Woman’s Health 141

#27 Withdrawal Is Just as Good as Any Other Contraceptive Method 151

#28 Condoms Don’t Work Very Well, Plus They Take All the Fun Out of Sex Anyway 156

#29 Abortion Causes Breast Cancer and a Host of Mental Health Issues 162

6 STIs and Protection

The Risks of Romance 167

#30 There’s a Cure for HIV and AIDS 167

#31 STIs Are No Big Deal as Long as You Take Your Medicine 174

#32 HPV Vaccines (and Other Prevention Methods) Turn Girls into Sluts 183

7 Relationships

Dating and Desire 190

#33 Hooking Up Never Leads to a Relationship 190

#34 If You Feel Attracted to Someone Else, There Must Be Something Wrong With Your Relationship 194

#35 Most Female Fantasies Revolve Around a Love Story 196

#36 Men Cheat, Women Rarely Do 203

#37 Most Couples have Matched Sexual Appetites 211

8 When Sex is Unhealthy

Sex and Trouble 216

#38 Jealousy Is Romantic 216

#39 Alcohol Makes Sex Better 220

#40 Alcohol and Sex Are a Harmless Combination 225

#41 For Girls, Sometimes Sex Just Hurts 229

#42 Men Under 40 Rarely Have Trouble With Erections 234

#43 People Can Get Addicted to Sex, Just Like They’re Addicted to Alcohol or Drugs 241

#44 She Was Asking For It, and Other Common Myths About Sexual Assault 248

#45 Pornography Is Dangerous 253

9 The Not-So-Private Side of Sex

Sex, Society, and the Law 262

#46 Sex Education Makes Kids More Sexually Active 262

#47 Men Who Have a Lot of Sex Are Studs, Women Are Sluts 270

#48 Sexting is a Dangerous Epidemic Among Teens 276

#49 If Sex Is Consensual, It Can Never Be Illegal 283

#50 The Struggle for Gay Rights Is Over 292

Index 301