Sex Life

Here's a novel Christmas gift idea: cast  your own dildo, tie it up in a bow and present it to your special someone (no, not your mother). Or better yet, gift him the Create-a-Mate and make casts of each others members. Romantic or what?

Create a Mate is no fly-by-night operation, continuously improving their casting system for 14 years and using only the finest silicone rubber. 

Alternatively, if you have money to burn on such things, you can take the professional route and have a cast made just like the big porn stars do. Johnny Hazard recently documented a "casting call" on his blog. The procedure took place at  an unnamed California facility (Dongs R Us?) and it took three tries to get it right.  

Come to think of it, why not just buy a Johnny Hazzard dildo and avoid all the fuss and muss? Whatever you do, this is one present that will, if nothing else, provide many fond Christmas memories.

If you've been wondering where all the real men have disappeared to, there is growing evidence that the tens of  thousands of unregulated pollutants in our environment are wreaking havoc on the human male reproductive system.

A recent American study showed that baby boys born to women exposed to widespread chemicals in pregnancy are born with smaller penises and feminised genitals. And a European report published this week shows that common chemicals in the environment are feminising males in all types of animals, including humans.

Many of these chemicals have been identified as "endocrine disrupters" – or gender-benders – because they interfere with hormones. These include phthalates, used in food wrapping, cosmetics and baby powders among other applications; flame retardants in furniture and electrical goods; PCBs, which are now banned but still widespread; and many pesticides.

Communities heavily polluted with gender-benders in Canada, Russia and Italy have given birth to twice as many girls than boys. Now that's alarming!

And sperm counts are dropping like a rock.. Studies in more than 20 countries have shown that they have dropped from 150 million per millilitre of sperm fluid to 60 million over the last 50 years. That means guys are still just as full of cum, but they've got a lot fewer "swimmers" in the mix. 

So if you don't already have enough reasons to support a cleaner environment, the threat of less virile and fewer men in the world  should be enough to turn you green.

"It's official: men really are the weaker sex"  [Independent]

The New York Gay Erotic Expo is just around the corner and BananaGuide will be there. The Expo runs Columbus Day weekend (Saturday,  3-10 p.m. and  Sunday,  12-6 p.m.) in the Grand Ballroom of Manhattan Studios (311 West 34th Street.)

Hosting this year will be HX Drag Queen of the Year, Sherry Vine.  The expo covers the gamut of gay erotica, well beyond porn studios and websites.  Some of the exhibitors include the Leslie Lohman Art Pavilion, erotic romance novelists, comic book artists, clothing, toys, and The LGBT Center’s Blow by Blow Art Exhibition.

Expo attendees can see live shows, enter various raffles and win sexy giveaways.  Of course there'll be a bevy of gay adult film stars, including Colton Ford who is promoting here! tv's 'The Lair.'  Be sure to drop by BananaGuide's booth and say hello to Trevor and Steve. (Just look for the big banana.) 

After the expo on Sunday, you can head over to Hustlaball NYC, presented by rentboy.com, and party until dawn. Thank goodness Monday is a holiday!

After yesterday's article on gay personals we're sure many of you considered giving online dating another chance. And once you've figured out what you're looking for in a sex (or life) partner -- and after you've spent minutes sweating over the perfect personal ad -- you need to find the right place to stick it (the ad, that is).

The Internet, for all its size and trillions of webpages, can be surprisingly limited in what it has to offer in quality gay personal sites. And often what is available is going to cost you a not-so-pretty penny.

So we did some digging for you and found the best providers of free online hook-ups. Ready to get laid by Mr Right? Then let's get started ...

Well, summer is officially over and winter is just around the corner. As the nights become longer and the days colder, thoughts of hibernation are becoming increasingly seductive.

There comes a time every year when getting dressed to the nines, and then covering up with a scarf, sweater, parka, toque and mukluks (or just a jacket, depending on where you live)  just doesn't seem very fun. The Internet offers a chance to hook up for a quickie (or a lifetime love affair) without braving the cold in the deep dark of 7 PM.

When writing an ad for a gay hook-up site, be honest. You're not slim if you have twenty-pounds to lose. Your hair isn't short if you've lost it all already. And even if fifty is the new forty, you're still fifty. Love who you are. Besides, fudging the truth slightly may increase your odds at finding someone with whom to chat, but it will also increase the chance of rejection when you finally meet in person.

A picture with your ad will entice more men to take a look. But if you are going to include that sexy cock shot keep your face out of it. Anything posted online has a nasty habit of coming up when you least expect it.

Be honest about what you want. Only interested in a movie? Then let guys know that you're not looking for sex. Hoping to meet a sumo wrestler with a fetish for toe rings? Then say so. You'll limit the number of responses, but you won't be wasting your time on men who don't live up to your expectations.

And whatever you do, keep your ad brief. Whining about how lonely you are or prattling on about how daffodils make you happy will turn many men off. That's the opposite of what you want to do.

But be warned ...

Leading sexual health experts in Australia say their country is embracing oral sex unlike ever before.

"For young people it's an almost universal practice now, with 90 per cent trying it before the age of 30," said Basil Donovan, a professor of sexual health at the University of NSW. Among teenagers it's the new abstinence in the Clintonesque sense, because it's a way of having sex without having sex, and there are obvious contraceptive advantages too."

Heterosexuals have embraced the act as a way to spice up their sex lives, while both gays and straights see oral sex as a safer form of sexual expression with fewer risks for STIs.

But clean genitalia seems to be the number one reason for the change.

"I can't prove it but my theory is that when people only had a bath on Saturday night oral sex was a less attractive prospect," Donovan said. "The aesthetics changed when people started washing more often."

This shift took place in a single generation.

"Now it's a one year gap and in many groups the oral intercourse comes first, some times by a few years," Prof Donovan said. "That's a major shift from 80 years ago when it was entirely the work of sex workers and men were never going to get it at home."

There are still risks, of course. The risk of gonorrhea and herpes is still something all people, including gay men, need to consider.

Maybe we should send some of our oral experts over to help train them in providing the perfect blowjob. We've been doing it successfully for years, after all.

Next time your little man isn't cooperating, you may want to reach for some juicy watermelon. Researchers have discovered that the juicy red fruit can affect your body much like Viagra does. 

Watermelons contain an ingredient called citrulline that creates a compound to relax the body's blood vessels. This is similar to what happens when a man takes Viagra, say scientists in Texas. Citrulline reacts with the body's enzymes if consumed in large quantities and changes into arginine, which benefits the heart and the circulatory and immune systems.

"Arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic effect that Viagra has, to treat erectile dysfunction and maybe even prevent it," said Bhimu Patil, a researcher and director of Texas A&M's Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center. "Watermelon may not be as organ-specific as Viagra, but it's a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side effects."

The down side: all those extra trips to the restroom. (A bonus for anyone into watersports.)

Finally, a dildo Al Gore would approve of! The Eco-Dildo is a finely crafted toy created by hand from renewable sources (ie wood).

According to its creator, Blissboxtoys, " the Eco-Dildo is made from natural and sustainable materials, rather than plastic, so your pleasure will never end.

What’s more, for each Eco-Dildo purchased www.Blissboxtoys.com will plant a Willow bush and issue you a personalised certificate. The fact that you use green sex toys will be immortalized forever!

Each Eco-Dildo "is subjected to a real grinding and then polished to make it silky smooth. After receiving a good licking of protective finish, the new playmate is kept safe and protected in a handmade fabric pouch."

It doesn't come cheap; one will cost you almost $100. Does it come with a no splinter guarantee?

Okay, you've just busted a nut. You're covered in a thick white mess. It's on your stomach. Maybe some landed on your chest. And if you're like us, you shot over your head and into the next room.

Now what?  

If you're XTube star Forever18 (a.k.a. Giovanni Summers from CityBoyz) you lick yourself clean.

New findings by a group of Australian researchers reveal that men can reduce their chances of developing prostate cancer by masturbating more often. 

After questioning 2,250 men about their sexual habits, and comparing the findings between participants with and without prostate cancer researchers were able to deduce that those who habitually spanked the monkey between the ages of 20 and 50 were least likely to develop the disease.

This contradicts earlier research that suggested more sexually active men had a greater risk of getting prostate cancer. However, the Australian investigators think the original findings failed to divide sexual activity between masturbation and intercourse. In the case of intercourse men are more likely to be exposed to a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) which increases the chance of developing cancer.

The researchers suggest that ejaculating may prevent carcinogens from accumulating in the prostate gland. 

One doctor explained that "it's a prostatic stagnation hypothesis. The more you flush the ducts out, the less there is to hang around and damage the cells that line them."

So bust a nut, boys! You could be saving your life.

When you go to the hospital you don't expect your visit to be videotaped and released on YouTube. This is especially true when you're there to remove a 6 inch spray canister from your bum. But that's what happened in the Philippines when a male patient was operated on to dislodge the foreign object from his love canal.

After a three-minute video appeared on YouTube, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III ordered an investigation into a group of unnamed doctors and a nurse, who were filmed on January 3 "laughing, giggling and cheering" as they freed the paint canister.

When the spray paint was removed, one person announced "Baby out!"

The hospital acknowledged that "some acts (caught on video) were already in violation of some hospital policies."

The 39-year-old patient's lawyer, Guiller Ceniza, said: "We are not satisfied with the proceedings conducted by the hospital. All the while we thought that they were conducting an administrative proceeding... to impose sanctions but what turned out was merely a fact-finding inquiry."

The whole ordeal started with a New Year's Eve drinking binge, but the patient claims he was "too drunk to remember how [it] ended up in his body."

He only realized it was there after a series of colorful farts ...

Cock rings are relatively simple sexual aids, amounting to nothing more than a ring of rubber, silicone, metal, or leather.

They are designed to keep an erect penis harder and bigger for a longer period of time, while delaying and thereby heightening a man's orgasm. It does so by wrapping tightly about the base of the cock and keeping the blood in the shaft of the penis. (Too tight, however, and your cock will turn a gorgeous, but dangerous, shade of blue.)

The first documented use of the cock ring can be traced back to China. Men would use a goats' eyelids to give their cocks a more plump appearance. And if the eyelashes stayed on, it offered extra stimulation for a man's sexual partner.

The reasons for wearing a cock ring are varied.  Some men wear them to help with erection difficulties, while others enjoy the feeling of tightness around --  and extra thickness in -- the shaft. Models hoping to make their package look a little bigger will also slip one on before doing a photo shoot. 

Be careful, though...