Sex woo

Sex is surrounded by woo and pseudoscience. Some of it is derived from word of mouth, others from societal taboos, and others by the simple fact that sex is of interest to many people.

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Sexuality
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Pseudoscience
Popular pseudosciences
Random examples
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“”
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Sexual activity

Hot singles near you

Despite what that clickbait banner might have told you, there are probably not so many of them as there are hot male singles. Women don't generallyFile:Wikipedia's W.svg have a libido as high as those of average males,[2] even before marriage. There is an evolutionary reasonFile:Wikipedia's W.svg to this. Additionally, testosterone, the primary driver of sexual desire, is much lower in females.

This doesn't mean you won't be able to find paid sex services or erotic chats.

Masturbation
See the main article on this topic: Masturbation

A huge pile of myths has been developed on this topic, including blindness, hairy palms, loss of masculinity/libido/erections, gateway to more morally depraved acts, hatred towards women, conversion to homosexuality and much more.

Male body

Penis enlargement
See the main article on this topic: Penis enlargement

Many herbal supplements are being sold under the premise that they can change the penile size. They are often promoted by scam artists and they are sold without clinical trials to prove their purposed efficacy. Additional proposed techniques include penis pumps, which do not result in any permanent size change.[3]. Exercises range from being useless to risking causing injuries, such as Peyronie's Disease (the penis is indeed not a muscle). Surgery yields limited effects, with the addition of potential complications.

Bodybuilding woo
See the main article on this topic: Bodybuilding woo

Many supposed tips spread by word of mouth are often heard in bodybuilding communities, but they are often based on anecdotal evidence and on whatever the more muscular guy said.

Female body

Menstruation
See the main article on this topic: Menstruation

Menstruations don't sync with each other when multiple women live under the same roof,[4] nor with moon phases. Many other myths are also often perpetuated.

Abortion
See the main article on this topic: Abortion

Abortion does not increase the risk of cancer.

G-spot
See the main article on this topic: G-spot

Scientific studies don't seem to be able to point to a specific "magical" spot,[5] despite the anecdotal evidence reported by some women and what some TV "sexperts" say. Individual women can however have more or less sensitive areas.

Sex permanently stretches the vagina
See the main article on this topic: Vagina myths § Sex permanently stretches the vagina.

One particularly prevailing misconception is that the vagina will become "beat up," worn out,[6] or loose[7] from sex, especially rough sex, or sex with well-hung guys. In particular, promiscuous single women are said to develop loose, worn-out vaginas, despite the fact that women in relationships have sex far more regularly and thus would be more at risk of such a syndrome if it existed.[8]. Even more, one would expect mothers to be even more at risk, since they pass something much wider than any penis during childbirth. This whole misconception may be tied in with slut shaming.

Human body

Hair regrowth supplements

Many proposed pills and natural remedies have been proposed to cure baldness. Actual drugs that actually work are finasterideFile:Wikipedia's W.svg and minoxidilFile:Wikipedia's W.svg.

Depilation/shaving regrowth

A common myth is that shaving an area of the human body causes future hair to grow faster or stronger.[9][10][11][12][13][14] Shaving can give the illusion of thicker hair, because hair is sharply cut and loses its thinner/damaged top. Needless to say, this tactile sensation disappears as soon as hair is given time to regrow.

Orientation and attraction

Changing orientation (one way or another)
See the main article on this topic: Reparative therapy

Sexual orientation is considered to be unchangeable (without taking internalized homophobia and abstinence into account).[15] This does not stop religious groups from proposing pseudoscientific and pseudopsychological methods to "deconvert" gays to normal straight people. Fears of conversions in the opposite direction are also used to oppose gender and orientation-inclusive sex education and LGBT visibility.

Opposites attract

Whether the context is heterosexuality or homosexuality, couples composed of people with very different attitudes, social status or interest don't tend to attract each other as much as those with more similarities.[16][17][18]

These features include:

Pick-up artistry
See the main article on this topic: Pick-up artist

Pick-up artistry is the "study" or techniques to get laid with women. Many of these techniques are based on deceptive and manipulative behaviors, others on misogynistic stereotypes, while others are simply reasonable common sense that every person generally should know.

Gender

Biological determinism
See the main article on this topic: Biological determinism

Biological determinism is used to imply the idea that men should behave in a specific way (or are justified in behaving in specific ways), and that women should behave in other specific ways. While there are definitely innate differences and attitudes (such as height, sexual desire, predisposition to specific illnesses), many people (not necessarily transgender people) might find this cultural imposition to be restrictive of their agency. For example, women being slut-shamed for being sexually promiscuous, or men being dismissed for doing non-masculine things (like crying or being interested in fashion or style).

gollark: Yes, since zero CANNOT occur.
gollark: Oh, sure. But what I obviously* meant is that I'd make my program generate that so whoever reviews them is subject to it.
gollark: Sure, the visual processing stuff is "obviously part of my mind" and "accounts for something like a quarter of its energy requirements" and whatever, but bee it.
gollark: I mean, I don't exactly consider it lying to myself if "I" misprocess an optical illusion somehow.
gollark: Well, it depends on where you draw the boundaries of your identity, really.

References
  1. BuzzFeed.com - "16 Pop-Up Porn Ads That Are Totally Out Of Control" (NSFW)
  2. Ostovich, J. M.; Sabini, J. (2004). "How are Sociosexuality, Sex Drive, and Lifetime Number of Sexual Partners Related?". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 30 (10): 1255–1266. PMID 15466599.
  3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16536772
  4. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2429/does-menstrual-synchrony-really-exist
  5. http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/joan-smith/joan-smith-call-off-the-search-teams--the-gspot-is-a-myth-7679083.html
  6. "First things first: the vagina is a muscle. It's not some flippety-floppedy passive tube, nor is it tissue like your skin." http://www.scarleteen.com/article/advice/lets_let_this_be_the_last_word_on_worn_out_vaginas_shall_we
  7. "The vagina contracts and expands every time you have sex with your partner or masturbate. With repeated contractions and expansions, the vaginal walls would tend to slacken and lose their elasticity. Again, too much force applied during penetration could potentially damage the vaginal opening and walls, causing them to lose their grip and elasticity." http://www.ladycarehealth.com/home-remedies-for-tightening-a-vagina/
  8. http://www.the1585.com/concerningvaginas.html
  9. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/hair-removal/faq-20058427
  10. http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/hairgrow.asp
  11. http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v55/n3/pdf/5618137a.pdf
  12. http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v55/n3/abs/5618137a.html
  13. http://lifehacker.com/5873922/10-stubborn-body-myths-that-just-wont-die-debunked-by-science
  14. http://www.menshealth.co.uk/style/skin-care/q-if-i-shave-my-chest-will-the-hair-grow-back-thicker-516749
  15. http://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/orientation.aspx
  16. Do Opposites Attract? WebMD
  17. Do People Know What They Want: A Similar or Complementary Partner?, Pieternel Dijkstra
  18. http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/3099/do-opposite-types-in-romantic-relationships-attract
  19. White, 1980
  20. Luo and Klohnen, 2005
  21. Bouchard and McGue, 1981
  22. Klohnen and Luo, 2003
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