Women reported less interest in sex, less pleasure and more pain than men.

In a study of the endocrinology of the perimenopausal years, levels of serum FSH, estradiol (E2), immunoreactive inhibin (INH), testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin were measured in a population-based sample of 380 women (mean age, 49.4 yr; range, 45.6-56.9 yr). Subjects were divided into women who reported continuing regular menstrual cycles (27%; group I), a change in menstrual flow without a change in frequency (23%; group II), a change in frequency but no change in flow (9%; group III), changes in both frequency and flow (28%; group IV), and at least 3 months since their last menstrual period (13%; group V). After adjusting for age and body mass index, the geometric mean FSH increased across menstrual groups and, compared with group I, was 53% higher in group IV (P < 0.0005) and 253% higher in group V (P < 0.0001). Age- and body mass index-adjusted geometric means for E2 and INH in group V were 54% and 53% of those in group 1, respectively (P < 0.005, P < 0.0001). Women in group V who did not have a menstrual period in the next year had higher FSH and lower E2 and INH levels than those who subsequently went on to have at least one more menstrual period (P < 0.05). FSH was negatively correlated with E2 (r = -0.30) and INH (r = -0.39), whereas INH was positively correlated with E2 (r = 0.45). We conclude that an increase in serum FSH and decreases in E2 and INH are the major endocrine changes associated cross-sectionally with the menopausal transition.

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Introduction People with sexual interests in bondage and discipline, “sadomasochism” or dominance and submission (BDSM) have been seen by many professionals as damaged or dangerous. Aim To examine sexual behavior correlates of involvement in BDSM and test the hypothesis that BDSM is practiced by people with a history of sexual coercion, sexual difficulties, and/or psychological problems. Methods In Australia in 2001–2002, a representative sample of 19,307 respondents aged 16–59 years was interviewed by telephone. Weighted data analysis used univariate logistic regression. Main Outcome Measures Self-reported demographic and psychosocial factors; sexual behavior and identity; sexual difficulties. Results In total, 1.8% of sexually active people (2.2% of men, 1.3% of women) said they had been involved in BDSM in the previous year. This was more common among gay/lesbian and bisexual people. People who had engaged in BDSM were more likely to have experienced oral sex and/or anal sex, to have had more than one partner in the past year, to have had sex with someone other than their regular partner, and to have: taken part in phone sex, visited an Internet sex site, viewed an X-rated (pornographic) film or video, used a sex toy, had group sex, or taken part in manual stimulation of the anus, fisting or rimming. However, they were no more likely to have been coerced into sexual activity, and were not significantly more likely to be unhappy or anxious—indeed, men who had engaged in BDSM scored significantly lower on a scale of psychological distress than other men. Engagement in BDSM was not significantly related to any sexual difficulties. Conclusion Our findings support the idea that BDSM is simply a sexual interest or subculture attractive to a minority, and for most participants not a pathological symptom of past abuse or difficulty with “normal” sex.

The findings of this study suggest that operative intervention in first childbirth carries significant psychological risks rendering those who experience these procedures vulnerable to a grief reaction or to posttraumatic distress and depression.

A total of 1,225 men and women attending a commercial event in the state of Victoria, Australia were surveyed as to whether they had ever paid for sex. Of 612 men surveyed, 143 (23.4%) had paid for sex at least once. Men who had ever paid for sex were compared with male nonclients on 13 demographic and sexual history measures; only four significantly differentiated clients from nonclients. Clients were significantly older, less likely to have been educated beyond high school, less likely to report having a regular partner in the past 6 months, and more likely to report that their most recent sexual encounter was with a casual partner. Clients of sex workers reported the major reason for paying for sex was to satisfy their sexual needs (43.8%), followed by the belief that paying for sex was less trouble (36.4%), and that it would be entertaining (35.5%). A factor analysis of reasons for visiting sex workers identified three factors labelled Ease, Engagement, and Arousal. Together, these factors accounted for 55% of the variance associated with the factor solution of motivations for paying for sex. In a setting where commercial sex is legally available from brothels, it would appear that clients are unremarkable in their social characteristics and are motivated mainly by the ease of the commercial sex encounter, the need for engagement with another, and because they feel in need of sexual "relief."

Human sexuality is a complex construct. It involves not only the label we may choose to attach to our sexuality but also the gender of people to whom we experience attraction and the gender of people with whom we engage in sexual activity. Thus, categorising an individual's sexuality is not a simple matter of asking a single question. We must consider three aspects of sexuality: (1) how people describe their sexuality, (2) to whom people say they are sexually attracted, and (3) with whom people say they have had sexual experiences.Data from surveys of representative samples in other developed countries suggest that approximately 98% of men and women describe their sexual identity as 'heterosexual', with the remaining 2% split between 'bisexual', 'homosexual' and 'other/ undecided' categories. [1][2][3] However, such surveys reveal that substantially more than 2% of people report non-heterosexual attraction or experience. Moreover, the agreement between stated sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual experience varied. A longitudinal study of non-heterosexual women in the US revealed that in the two-year study period, 32% changed their sexual identity label, and that although sexual attraction was relatively consistent, sexual behaviour exhibited more variability.4 A New Zealand cohort study reported on sexual attraction among the same group of people at the ages of 21 and 26 years. Over the five-year period, the percentage of women reporting only opposite-sex attraction declined from 90.7% to 84.0% and among men it declined from 95.5% to 94.5%. 5 The largest change was in the percentage of people who reported only opposite-sex attraction at age 21 reporting occasional same-sex attraction at age 26. However, all possible changes in attraction Sexual Experience and Identity Article

Data from various national surveys in Europe and the United States (US) support the widely held view that people have become sexually active at slightly younger ages, and that the fall in the mean age at first sexual intercourse in the past 50 years appears to have been more marked for women than for men. [1][2][3][4][5] A metaanalysis of data from 177 studies revealed that men report significantly younger ages at first intercourse than do women. 6 The results of a cohort study of West German university students suggest that the shift to earlier sexual initiation occurred in the 1960s and 1970s and then stabilised. 7 However, recent evidence from Britain suggests that the increase in the proportion of women reporting first intercourse before age 16 years has not continued over the past decade. 4 In France, the majority of women and men reported that they were younger than their f irst heterosexual intercourse partner. Further, data from Norway, Great Britain and Finland reveal that the majority of women reported that their partner at first intercourse was older than they were at the time. in those countries most frequently reported that their partner at first intercourse was older, and less frequently reported that their partner was of the same age or younger than they were at the time. 2Sexual initiation by a sex worker was relatively infrequent among older men (for example, 3.4% of British men aged 45-59 years) and has become non-existent among younger men. 9 In the US, the first vaginal intercourse partner was the spouse of 10% of men and 22% of women. The fall in mean age at first intercourse has occurred concurrently with a rise in the mean age at marriage, 2 helping to explain the finding that younger people are less likely to be virgins at the time of marriage and more likely to report having had premarital sex. 9,10