Sexual orientation remains a controversial and emotionally charged issue for some women and men in the United States, as well as in other countries around the world. In part this is fueled by misunderstandings about sexual orientation and people who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual. In addition, a person’s sexual orientation and how it develops and unfolds throughout life remain a bit mysterious to researchers - we have many questions still left to answer in our quest to understand how people come to feel sexually attracted to or interested in people of their same sex, another sex, or not interested sexually in anyone at all.

Recently a listener asked us this question at Kinsey Confidential:

I’m attracted to both men and women, but slightly more to men. I masturbate to both, but more recently mostly to men. I’ve only had sex with one woman. Does it sound to you like I’m gay?

You can listen to our response here:

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This was a particularly interesting question, in my opinion, that we received at Kinsey Confidential. In situations where women and men haven’t learned a lot about their bodies, they sometimes make assumptions about what something "means". We all do this! We try to make sense of reasons why we have pimples, why our noses run, why our hair turns gray earlier than we hoped it would, and such. In the case of genitals, our culture carries a lot of shame around sexuality and sometimes people make assumptions about normal genital function, thinking that it means something other than it does. In this case, a male reader was wondering if his girlfriend’s vaginal size was a sign that she had cheated on him with someone else.

Here is his question:
"My girlfriend and I have been sexually active for months and she has always felt the same, tightness wise, to me. I hadn’t seen her for two weeks and when I returned it seems her vagina has gotten wider. Is there any way for this to have happened without her cheating on me?"

You can listen to my response on our Kinsey Confidential podcast here:

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Many people have questions about sex and how it relates to a woman’s period, including her menstrual cramps (not all women have bothersome menstrual cramps, but many do). Recently at Kinsey Confidential, we received this question from a listener:

Can sexual intercourse help to alleviate menstrual cramps?

You can listen to our response on our Kinsey Confidential podcast, created in partnership with WFIU at Indiana University and National Public Radio (NPR).

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Ever wondered about delaying - rather than speeding up - a woman’s orgasm? Well, recently at Kinsey Confidential, we received this question:

"My girlfriend achieves orgasm very quickly - within thirty seconds. Is it possible to delay her orgasm with pills or other techniques?"

Curious about my response? Listen to our podcast here:

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Yes, it is absolutely possible! One can be allergic - or hypersensitive - to a partner’s semen. Learn more about it by listening to our Kinsey Confidential podcast.

The question was:
"When I have sex and my boyfriend ejaculates inside me, I get a bad burning feeling in my vagina. Assuming we’re STI-free, could I be allergic to his semen?"

And my response? Listen here:

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