Since it's Thanksgiving, I wanted to choose a topic that related in some way to our families, and I settled on masturbation. Stay with me if you're thinking, "Masturbation? What does that have to do with family?" Our two questions are: 1) If you masturbate a lot, isn't it true it could make it more difficult to be stimulated by someone else and get used to a new style? 2) Orgasm during sex vs. masturbatory orgasm seems so different that I'm not sure if I've had an orgasm during sex. Are orgasms generally so vastly different?

How do I bring up nontraditional sexual topics with my wife of many years? This is a short and to-the-point question that could have a very long answer—whole books, in fact, have been written on this topic. But you don’t specify what “nontraditional sexual topics” you are interested in. For some people...

November 20 is the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, founded in 1998 to memorialize those who are killed due to fear of or bias against transgender people. According to one estimate transgender people have a one in 12 chance of being murdered, compared to one in 18,000 for the general population. If you haven't heard about this day, I encourage you learn more by attending UWM's candlelight vigil, which will take place at the UWM Union, Room 179 at 6 pm next Wednesday, November 19.

One of the most common sexual fantasies involves bondage: tying up a partner or being tied up yourself. What is it about restraints that make them such a perpetual turn-on? For answers, I talked with Lee Harrington, a nationally known rope bondage expert who is visiting Milwaukee next week...

In late October a few years ago I was teaching an undergraduate seminar on gender and sexuality. One of my female students stormed into class clutching a copy of the student newspaper, in which there was an article written by two male students that basically mocked women for dressing as sluts on Halloween. "Gone are the days when girls would dress as ghosts, ponies and princesses," they wrote. "In college, you have to be a slutty ghost...

For a little more than a year now, I have dated a wonderful woman. I love her, and think we would make a great husband and wife. A big problem for me, however, is that it is very clear she dislikes giving oral sex. She will from time to time, but it is the worst I have experienced, and you can just tell the whole time she does not like what she is doing. It is very hard for me to enjoy something...

National Coming Out Day occurred Oct. 11. This day, recognized by schools and community organizations across the country, encourages gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people to share and celebrate their identities. National Coming Out Day was first observed in 1988. A lot has happened in 20 years.

My girlfriend of three months asked me how many women I had had sex with. I told her three, including her. When I asked her the same question, she said, “Eight, nine…no, 10.” At other times, she has told me that she had been with six, including me. I know of five major boyfriends before me. The different answers...

This week, I turn the tables by asking my readers some questions. Students have been back at school for a month now, and I talked with a few from local colleges and universities about what they wished their parents had told them about sex before they were all grown up.   This topic is on my mind for a couple of reasons. The pregnancy of Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol, has once again put the spotlight on the effectiveness of abstinence-only sex education and of parental messages about sexuality. In addition, I just kicked off a series of workshops for parents at the Tool Shed, the first of which focused...

I am a 26-year-old bisexual female.I just got into a relationship with a woman for the first time. My partner and I have used a vibrator once, and I really enjoyed it. My question to you is: How do I ask her to use it again? When we used it, we used mine, and I asked her if she owned one. She said she did, and now I would like to use hers.