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...

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...