Welcome to Kinsey Confidential, a project of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, providing authoritative information on sex, sex education, and other sexual health topics.
 

It happens!

The other day I noted to my roommate about how the rate of STDs in senior citizens has more than doubled in the past 10 years. She immediately shouted out "My grandmother can't be having sex! You've got to be wrong!" Her reaction got me thinking about the topic of sex lives of older people, […]

Samantha

Viagra may counteract sexual side effects of antidepressants

Between 40 and 60% of women taking SRIs, a common type of anti-depressants, experience sexual side effects, including loss of arousal, lubrication and orgasm problems. Researchers, including Dr. Julia Heiman of The Kinsey Institute, found that women given Viagra were more likely to report improvement in sexual functioning than those on a placebo pill.

Kinsey Confidential

CDC web site about Pap tests and HPV

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) frequently creates new educational tools for people to learn about their health. One of the major areas of work is in the area of sexually transmissible infections (STI).
Today I came across a recently posted section called "Making sense of your Pap and HPV test results" that […]

Debby Herbenick

I feel like this is a good idea in theory…

So there's quite a buzz circulating around about these new spray-on condoms. German inventor Jan Vinzenz Krause has created a condom that's made out of liquid latex. Here's how it works: before a man would normally put on a condom, he will instead spray liquid latex on his penis and wait at least 20 seconds […]

Samantha

This is a new kind of party!

The G-spot has long been a source of controversy among sexuality experts. Several books have been written about the G-spot claiming the immense pleasure women can seek through it, while other sex experts seriously question its entire existence.
A plastic surgeon in Los Angeles has developed a type of surgery that he claims enhances a woman's […]

Samantha

Free Sex Changes in Cuba!

Cuban officials announced earlier this month that free sex-change surgery is now available to citizens. The operations are included as part of Cuba’s health care plan, one of the newest changes that has come to Cuba with Raul Castro as President. Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education supports the new policy and has had 28 requests for sex change operations. No news has been given yet on when the operations will be available. The Associated Press has written about this new development in sexual reassignment surgery.

Samantha

Gay Pride Protests in Moscow

Gay Pride FlagLast month, a large group of gays and lesbians in Moscow rallied together waving rainbow flags in defiance of Russia’s ban on gay pride events. Right-winged activists were there to protest, throwing eggs and even beating them. The gay activists also carried a massive flag in front of Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov’s office building. Luzhkov is known to be homophobic, claiming that gay pride events are “Satan’s work”.

Samantha

Q&A: Sex During Your Period and Increased Bleeding

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QUESTION: Does having sex while you’re on your period make you bleed more?

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Debby Herbenick

Colbert takes an inside look at affairs

LipstickPhilip Weiss was a guest on The Colbert Report Monday talking about his article "The Affairs of Men" which was featured in New York Magazine. While doing his research for the piece, he traveled to Bloomington to talk to researchers here at the Kinsey Institute. The video for the episode can be seen at Comedy Central. Weiss and Stephen Colbert discuss the "myth" of monogamy, and a need for sexual variety.

Samantha

An Inside Look at Affairs

Philip Weiss, writer for New York Magazine, has an interesting view on why some men have affairs. He interviewed Jennifer Bass and Erick Janssen, from The Kinsey Institute, while doing his research for this in-depth article. It explores virtually every aspect of marriage and cheating that can be combined and analyzed together, and goes into the conversation about […]

Samantha