It happens even to the best of us – we find suddenly that we have become attracted to someone who exists in the realm of the forbidden, the unattainable. Is this the real love that dare not speak its name? And might we be better to declare our love, no matter what the potential cost?
Women aren’t used to rejection – and so they often react badly if a bloke chooses not to do the horizontal mambo with them. In fact they have been known to react violently!
Separated by years and an ocean, an old lover might have seemed like a far away place. But when she arranged to meet him back where they had shared passionate sex, and a lot more besides, they both knew that they were opening up a sea of possibility.
It’s a question that is asked in most relationships at one time or another. But what should you do when you get the feeling that the fantasy is more important than the reality – that you are just a surrogate for what someone else really wants?
We’re not talking about prostitution here, just the prohibitive cost of contraception. The fact is that gratis contraception would probably save the State a lot of money in the long run – so let’s hear it for free sex…
Learning How To Say 'No'
College isn’t all about books – there are some fun and games involved too. But there are other life lessons that we have to learn as well. Best for all concerned if it isn’t the hard way...
Flirting, that is. But only if you’re good at it. So what is it that makes a great flirt? Our self-confessed expert finds out, with bit of little help from Sex Guru, Tracey Cox.
Some men are used to having sex served up to them on a plate – so when they finally encounter a woman resistant to their 'charms', the results aren’t always pleasant to behold.
“My desire was stronger and more insistent than my guilt. I was no longer able to resist you.” Thus a relationship started that would scale the erotic heights. So what went wrong in the end?
Men, it turns out are right. You can have great sex without falling in love. Because, it seems, that’s the way we are programmed. So is the romantic ideal of love all its cracked up to be?
She had been with him for months now and sex had always been good. So what could it mean when an orgasm eluded her? Was this, perhaps, the end of the affair?
All around us there is pressure to conform, even in love. As we grow up and fall in and out of relationships, the pressure mounts to make a definitive, final choice: to select a partner and commit to a monogamous future. Some people, however, insist on keeping open their options for fresh adventures, new encounters and a multiplicity of lovers…
An old friend. A warm place. A moment of rare intimacy. Lust takes its own wonderful shape. Having slept together before, what difference would one more trip through the wild undergrowth make?
America may be a conservative place in many respects – but in fact we owe our modern sense of sexual freedom to great American pioneers, from Alfred Kinsey to Annie Sprinkle…
No, we’re not talking about swearing off sex, or even avoiding what others might think of as indiscretions at the office Christmas party. But safe sex - now that is a good idea!
But only in the bedroom. There, a little bit of sexual stereotyping – from the hard man with the hard hat to the naughty schoolgirl – isn’t a bad thing at all.
There's been an upsurge in the number of women searching for the perfect vagina. It is one of the growth areas of the cosmetic surgery industry. But surely we’re better to love our bodies as they are?
Just because older women have a bit of experience under their belts doesn’t mean they have a license to start fondling twenty-something blokes when they're on the town.
It may not be sexy, but if you want reassurance about your partner’s sexual history there is only one way to get it. But you have to be willing to go the whole hog yourself too.
There was a time when our sex columnist might have enjoyed a flirtation with gender crossover. But not anymore. So why does she find the so-called ‘metrosexual’ less than a complete turn-on?
Do men want sex without ‘feeling’? Are women genetically programmed to want sex to ‘mean’ something? Or, to put it another way, is there really any difference between the genders when it comes to the issue of casual sex?
When it comes to flirting, Irishmen are rank amateurs – as our correspondent discovered on a foray into the murky but, as it turned out, quite enjoyable world of speed dating
When a long-term relationship ends, our sex columnist finds that her friends all want to rally around to uncover a brand new mate for her. Sometimes, however, their approach is somewhat less than subtle.
Having tried sex with a host of different drugs, Anne Sexton has come to the conclusion that the best sex is had when you’re in full possession of your faculties.
While equality in the affairs of the world is essential, it is sometimes better to hand power over to your partner in the bedroom. That way lies bliss…
Love – and base lust – can drive people to quite extreme behaviour. Such as risking their necks in order to retrieve a balloon for a kid whose mother they fancy.
Most men have been forced to wonder what is going on in the mind of a lover. With the Hot Press Guide To The Female Mind, all your questions will be answered.
Natural aphrodisiacs can help to spice up your sex life – or so the manufacturers claim. But do they work? We thought there was only one way to find out.
Do you remember the music that was playing when you got your first kiss? And what was the soundtrack the first time you had sex? Often it’s not the overtly sexy songs that have the deepest sexual resonance…
Some people have a finely tuned instinct for what to do between the sheets. Others struggle to get beyond first base. So what do you do if you meet the partner of your dreams only to discover they don’t have the first inkling of how to satisfy you?
For a few nerve-wracking days, it seemed that the good times might just have come to an end. But if things had bounced differently, what would she have done?
The way they’re building apartments nowadays, the walls really do have ears. And that means that your wilder sexual cavortings can be heard by all and sundry – as our intrepid reporter discovers when her brother and his girlfriend move in.
30th Anniversary Retrospective: Well, in 2007, at least the choice is yours. Which is a bit of a change from 1977 when Hot Press launched. Back then, you couldn’t even buy a condom legally in Ireland…
Rather a lot of our esteemed sex columnists boyfriends have turned out to be gay in the long run. Did they pick her, or has she an inbuilt, secret radar for guys who are just waiting to come out of the closet? And what about the guy who couldn’t get it up because he was gay – and is now about to marry a lovely brunette?
What happens when two women who are friends decide that they both want the same man? It can get very messy – but there may be a very tasty solution indeed if you use your imaginiation.
Suddenly, our sex columnist was forced to do without her favourite ‘tipple’. The experience made her think again about the nature of sexual desire – and why some girls want it more than others…
When Anne Sexton made the point in a recent Hot Press article that she always carries condoms, it provoked more than a bit of controversy over the airwaves.
There’s nothing that modern women like more than complaining about how useless men are in the sack. But the truth is that there are lots of things that women get wrong too.
While good manners may have gone out of fashion, it makes a big difference in the sexual arena, if we avoid being boorish or pushy. Behaving gracefully is what it’s all about.
They come unbidden, at any hour of the day or night. And they often involve us doing things that we wouldn’t even contemplate in real life. Then again, if we carefully select the horniest ones to try out with a willing partner, they can really blow your mind.
Whether you agree or not may just be a matter of cultural indoctrination – because, in truth, there are so many different ways of looking at what’s good, bad or indifferent in the sexual arena.
The relationship between sex and love is a thorny one. The cliché is that sex is better with someone you love – but the truth is that people play away for a reason…
When you’re on the look out for a man, a Singles Club is a good place to start. Or is it? Well, our sex columnist thought she’d check out the lie of the land – and this is what she found…
Most women love sexy lingerie almost as much as men do – but getting it as a gift for your girlfriend can be a potentially hazardous business. On the other hand, if you strike the right note, the rewards can be overwhelming...
Annual article: Our sex columnist has been such a busy girl she asked us to open her post. We came across this rather touching missive from one of the men in her life. Apparently he thinks they need a new bed…
There are times in everyone’s life when the last thing you need is a relationship – but the thought of regular sex is very appealing indeed. Which is where a fuck buddy comes in. But what happens when an old one comes back looking for more?
Valentine’s Day is on its way. But forget the cheesy cards, the flowers and the pink ribbons. What every smart woman really wants on February 14th is the hot breath of a lover whose naked desire is for her, and her alone…
There is more information available than ever on sex. So all you have to do to become a good lover is to read all the books? Not so. In fact, there is a growing belief that technique is over-rated…
Fuck it. (or don't) Sometimes a nice cup of tea and a snooze is preferable to all that sticky sex business. Here's the user's guide to not getting laid.
Sex toys for women are in vogue, with lots of very interesting and sexy options on the menu. But for blokes - well it's a little bit harder to find the prize.
It may pose difficult ethical questions, but the rise in the number of teenage pregnancies suggests that we need to make it easier for people to get contraception here.
Despite the impression created by the tabloids, most Irish third-level students are only beginning their sex lives. But – with all that time on your hands! – college is undeniably a good place to learn about the pleasures of the flesh…and how to enjoy them responsibility.
