Pics and Pecs
How much can we interpret about collective social values from the pervasiveness of social media? Apparently, reviewing anonymously posted photos of men taken in the London Tube reveals that women and gay men are attracted to men who appear to be physically fit and those who appear to have money. Personally, I’ve found taking photos of strangers in public places and then posting them online to be creepy beyond the pale. Yet, for the sake of argument, let’s pretend this is a totally normal, good-for-society thing to do. Does photographing these types of men really indicate they are the desired commodity of the male meat market? Or does it just prove that this type of man is presented as the ideal in mainstream media? Given the herd mentality of social media trends, I know I have my interpretation of these findings. Also, don’t take photos of strangers and post them. It's creepy.
All You Have to Do Is Dream
Now, if you really want to have some fun with creative sexual interpretations, take a deep dive into your dreams that involve sex. Dream analysis has been around for a long time, but it has always been controversial. There is so much happening in our brains at any time, so much that we will probably never understand. How we are then meant to somehow take the random thoughts and situations that happen in our dream states and interpret them for meaning seems implausible. However, some have tried and here is a short list of things you can interpret from sexual situations in your dreams. This particular collections seems to focus a lot on exes, which leads me to interpret something about the author…
Massaging Conversations
Maybe the two fellas in Devon Delacroix’s column about a massage session gone uncomfortable should have had their dreams about non-monogamy analyzed first. As a sex worker, Devon is in a unique position of interaction with clients and, in some situations, can probably interpret issues with their situation in a different way than the client can. This encounter - which is not an uncommon one when a couple decides to open their relationship to another person - not only creates a new challenge for the couple, but also makes the situation very uncomfortable for the third. While left unsaid, it seems clear that one man was more interested in this sexual experiment than the other, but we are only left to speculate as to the circumstances. Even if you’re with someone a long time, you can’t ever attempt to interpret what their desires are without great communication.
Good Therapist Relationships
Really, communication is absolutely the better way over trying to interpret what others are saying or doing. Especially when it comes to sex. And that communication needs to go both ways. You can’t hold back or your feelings or intentions will likely be misinterpreted as well. Sure, we’re all bound to have fears and issues with opening up, and that’s okay. If we can all make an effort to free our sexual discussion to new levels of openness, we can, collectively, help to create a better sexual society. Already helping to do that are the growing number of sex therapists who help us interpret situations everyday. While we shouldn’t assume that it is easy peasy for sex therapists to open up in their intimate conversations and relationships, it is great to read that the connections they have with their spouses can provide a great jumping off point for the rest of us to make positive change.
Combining the Two?
Finally, I am just not sure how to interpret either of the Erotic Carp Fishing or the BBQ Chick GrillKalendar. But I do offer it for your consideration.
J
Written by
Jon Pressick
Jon Pressick is a sex-related media gadabout. For more than 20 years, Jon has been putting sex into our daily conversations at his long-running site SexInWords—as a writer, editor, publisher, sex toy reviewer, radio host, workshop facilitator, event producer and more. These days, he focuses on writing for Kinkly, GetMeGiddy, The Buzz and PinkPlayMags and editing Jason Armstrong's series of Solosexual books. In 2015, Jon edited Cleis Press' Best Sex Writing of the Year, V1...
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