Drunken Suggestion
Pregnancy happens. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes accidentally. People enjoy having sex so these two occurrences are pretty likely to continue. People also like to drink alcohol. That’s not going to change either. Yet, was it right for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to suggest that women who are not on birth control refrain from drinking altogether because they might become pregnant at any time?
Now, the CDC does have some medical reasons for making such a heavy-handed suggestion. Fetuses exposed to alcohol at any point can be susceptible to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. They argue that women often do not know they are pregnant in the first 6-8 weeks, and that exposing a developing fetus to alcohol at that time would be dangerous. However, despite there being science behind it, there does seem to be a level of paternalism here. Women aren’t just prospective baby machines. This seems like yet another fight in the quest for body autonomy. Also, let’s consider something else about alcohol: the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism suggests that “researchers consistently have found that approximately one-half of all sexual assaults are committed by men who have been drinking alcohol.” By the CDC’s logic, guys better put those beers down or they just might rape someone.
Sexual Compatibility
When we look for a life partner, it is often assumed that the one we love will be someone with whom we share considerable interests. We don’t have to like everything in solidarity, but if there is one area we hope we’ll both smile at, it is our sexual interests and proclivities. However, what happens when the love of your life is kinky and you're more on the vanilla side? This compelling article in Vice icludes interviews with couples who have experienced divergent sexual interests, and illuminates both the difficulties and the potential solutions to this issue. It is a serious problem, one that has surely damaged and ruined otherwise happy couples. Of special note for the above link is the included interview with the authors of Partners in Passion, Mark Michaels and Patricia Johnson. Even sex educators need to keep learning.
