Global sex study finds Austrians most equal to task
April 21, 2006
Associated Press

CHICAGO - Japan can't get no satisfaction. But Austria's mojo is working. Sex is more satisfying in countries where women and men are considered equal, according to an international study of people aged between 40 and 80 by the University of Chicago.

Austria, where 71 per cent of those surveyed reported being satisfied with their sex lives, topped the list of 29 nations studied.

Spain, Canada, Belgium and the US also reported high rates of sexual satisfaction, ahead of Australia, in sixth.

The lowest satisfaction rate, 25.7 per cent, was in Japan.

EDITORS NOTE: The study, which appears in this month's issue of the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, was funded by Pfizer, which makes the impotence drug Viagra. It's all PR.

College bars students from posing for Playboy
Thu Apr 20, 11:02 AM ET
Reuters

SAN ANTONIO - Baylor University in Waco, Texas, which bills itself as the world's largest Baptist college, has threatened to discipline female students if they pose for Playboy magazine, which is trying to recruit models from the college.

Playboy photographers came to Baylor's hometown seeking models for a photo spread on women of the Big 12 college athletic conference, of which the college is a member.

Baylor Vice President for Student Life Samuel W. Oliver sent an e-mail to women students this week warning that any who "associate" with Playboy would be subject to the university's disciplinary processes.

EDITORS NOTE: Baylor did not allow dancing on campus until 10 years ago.

Sex cues ruin men's decisiveness
Wednesday, 19 April 2006
BBC NEWS

Catching sight of a pretty woman really is enough to throw a man's decision-making skills into disarray, a study suggests.

The more testosterone he has, the stronger the effect, according to work by Belgian researchers.

Men about to play a financial game were shown images of sexy women or lingerie. The study found they were more likely to accept unfair offers than men not been exposed to the alluring images.

The suggestion is that the sexual cues distract the men's thoughts, preventing them from focusing on their task - particularly among those with high natural testosterone levels.

The University of Leuven researchers gave 176 heterosexual male student volunteers aged 18 to 28 financial games to test their fair play. The men's performance in the tests showed those who had been exposed to the "sexual cues" were more likely to accept an unfair offer than those who were not.

The men's testosterone levels were also tested. The researchers found that men in the study who had the highest levels performed worst in the test, and suggest that is because they are particularly sensitive to sexual images.

Dr Siegfried DeWitte, one of the researchers who worked on the study, said: "We like to think we are all rational beings, but our research suggests ... that people with high testosterone levels are very vulnerable."

The researchers are conducting similar tests with women. But so far, they have failed to find a visual stimulus which will affect their behavior.

Dr George Fieldman, principal lecturer in psychology at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, told the BBC News website: "The fact men are distracted by sexual cues fits in to evolutionary experience. It's what they are expected to do.

"They are looking for opportunities to pass on their genes."

Bra Marketing Business Busts Out All Over
$5.2 Billion Industry Spending Big to Get Word Out About Underwear Innovations
By Stephanie Thompson
Published: April 20, 2006
AdAge

NEW YORK -- Lifting and separating was just the beginning. Today's bra makers are increasing marketing spending as they woo women with technological improvements that promise conformity, moisture resistance, real comfort and even fashion for the full-figured gal who has long settled for function. Bra makers are expanding their marketing programs; Olga is focusing on larger-busted consumers who purchase nearly twice as many bra products as their smaller-busted counterparts.

As the $5.2 billion bra business seeks to maintain its 6%-plus growth trajectory, top brands including Playtex, Victoria's Secret, Maidenform and Olga are all innovating beyond traditional parameters. There is special focus these days on the long-suffering, larger-busted bra wearers, among whom sales are up nearly double that of smaller-breasted women. The new products are already driving up marketing expenditures in the category; TNS Media Intelligence data show bra outlays up $12 million to $64 million last year, and that's expected to grow.

The plus-size segment is the fastest growing area of the bra market, with sales up 10.5% to $1.9 billion last year, according to NPD. That fact has the top marketers striving to adapt to the top-heavy set. Maidenform this month launched its new Flex-to-Fit technology bras for those 36C and up that offers "coverage, support and shaping" via a combination of technologies, among them two-way stretch foam and power-mesh fabric. And in July, Warnaco's Warnaco Intimate Apparel unit will launch Olga's Christina, a brand that provides a better foundation for the full-figured to wear current fashions.

Thank you.

This has been a Strumpette Sex Minute.

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