It's supposed to be the ultimate pleasure for women—so what's my problem?

Recently, I was in bed with a guy whose sheets I'd wanted to get tangled up in for a while. It was our third date, but I was hoping for a thousand more, and we were having the kind of intense and passionate sex that makes you believe that might be possible. I felt so close to him with our eyes locked and our bodies bendy from red wine. But suddenly he pulled away and disappeared beneath the covers, diving headfirst between my thighs.

"I could do this forever," he said, his voice muffled by the blanket. All I could think was, Please don't.

Let me be clear: It's not that I hate oral sex. A tongue feels good anywhere it roams, and I'm not bothered by the fact that bodies don't exactly taste like cherry soda all the time. But oral sex demands total surrender to the moment and the person you're with. Unfortunately, I am often stuck in my own head. Instead of being lost in ecstasy, when a guy goes down on me, I'm worrying about loose hairs, whether or not his jaw is getting

Read More »from The Trouble with Oral Sex

The loathed—and loved—condom.We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, and that all want to have sex without a condom, because it just feels better.

Um, right?

Well, not exactly--at least not according to the results of a major study just published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, which reveals a total shocker: that men and women consistently rate sex as highly arousing and pleasurable, with few differences based on condom or lubricant use.

In addition, the study, which was based on the results of 5,865 respondents, found no significant differences regarding men's ability to achieve erections based on condom and lubricant use.

"We've seen [results like this] for some time in smaller studies, but it was interesting to see it in a large national study," lead study author and sex researcher Debra Lynne Herbenick told Yahoo! Shine. "Then again, sex is usually good and pleasurable, and it's nice to know that even when people take steps to make sex safer, as with condom use, or more

Read More »from Condom Sex Feels Good, Says Study Shocker

Spencer Higginsby Brides

Choosing and managing your bridesmaids, groomsmen, and other attendants can be a stressful part of planning the big day-that's why we're here to answer all of your wedding party questions.

What does the wedding party actually do?

See More: 2013 Wedding Dress Trends

The honor attendant is usually a close friend or family member who not onlyorganizes and hosts a shower for the bride, but also helps her get ready on the wedding day. She wears a dress that she usually pays for, which matches or coordinates with the other bridesmaids, and she sometimes carries a slightly more elaborate bouquet than the other attendants.

Related: 50 Genius Money Saving Tips for Your Wedding

The bridesmaids are select friends and family, who are usually about the same age of the bride. They attend pre-wedding parties and also help out with some wedding preparations. They wear matching or coordinating dresses (usually paid for themselves) to the ceremony and are

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by Yolanda Crous, Brides

Before you even step foot inside a bridal salon, you need to prepare. You'll want to have a vision (or, at the very least, an idea of what styles and shapes you like), wear the proper underpinnings (you're basically going to be naked in front of a stranger!), and, of course, gather up the troops (your most supportive friends and family). Besides those essentials, David's Bridal Fashion Director (and wedding dress shopping guru) Catalina Maddox-Wagers says the most important item to bring to your appointment is... an open mind!

"I've seen it over and over again-a bride comes in and imagines herself in an incredibly tight mermaid gown, and then she tries it on and is tremendously disappointed," Maddox-Wagers says. "If you're working with a really good, experienced consultant, you could come in with one look in mind and leave with something completely different." Bear this in mind-and grab your besties-and you're ready to make the most out of your

Read More »from What to Bring Wedding Dress Shopping

Cristina Tudino, SELF magazine

Touch is vital to any relationship. But some guys may have a genetic variation that could make them seem less affectionate, new research from Oregon State University in Corvallis suggests. To feel tight even if he's snuggle challenged:

Try PDA-Lite: Link arms with him in public but lay off the smooches. Small points of contact are powerful bonders, too-and tend to be less freaky for a touchphobic dude.

Bust a move: Request some Rihanna and dance your butts off with each other at the bar this weekend. Simply moving in unison will make you feel more intimate and in sync.

Sweat together and fist-bump after killing a set of reps. NBA players who knock knuckles work better as a team, research shows, and so will you. LeBorn would be proud.

See more: 20 Superfoods for Weight Loss

Getting close to him will help you...

Forgive and forget. A hug can make you and your BF want to cooperate, not bicker. Researchers say that even the briefest touch can make you feel

Read More »from Is He Missing the Cuddle Gene?

Overweight woman could experience conflict when partnered with thinner men.Mixed-weight couples have rockier relationships than same-weight couples, a new study has found. But here's the clincher: The problems only seem to crop up when it's the woman who's overweight, and not the other way around.

"However many advances we have made, body image issues abound, and women, unfortunately, are more vulnerable to the societal pressures," Ruthy Kaiser, senior therapist for the Council for Relationships, based in Philadelphia, told Yahoo! Shine. When it comes to being overweight, then, "that makes it harder in a relationship for the woman, and easier for the man."

The results of the study, by researchers at the University of Puget Sound, in Tacoma, Wash., and the University of Arizona, in Tucson, were published last month in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. It had a small sample size—just 43 heterosexual couples, from 18 to 69 years old—but the findings were clear: When just the man was overweight, couples reported no more conflict than same-weight

Read More »from Woman Fat, Man Thin? Could Be a Rocky Road, Claims New Study

Peter Kverneg/FacebookIt's been a while since a Facebook meme dominated our feeds and cut into our office productivity. In 2010, in a bizarre effort to "raise awareness for breast cancer", women posted what color bras they were wearing. 2011 was consumed by "winning" hashtags, after Charlie Sheen's infamous ABC interview. The year 2012 was all about YOLO. And the New Year ushers in the latest Facebook trend: Begging people for likes in order to win prizes. However, the latest "like" gimmick that's had many people clamoring for the "dislike" button—a Norwegian girl promising a boy sex for 1 million likes—turns out, was a joke that spiraled out of control.

On January 17th, Peter Kverneng, a twenty-year-old gas station attendant from Steinkjer, Norway posted a photo of him sitting on a bed next to a woman named Catherine, holding a sign that read, "Catherine says that if I can get 1 million likes, she will have sex with me. Please share and like." Currently the photo has 1,380,360 likes and the story has been Read More »from Girl Offers Sex to Boy on Facebook for 1 Million Likes is a Joke

The Three of Wands card reversed suggests that loss of cooperation, companionship, miscommunication, rejection or disappointment are possible if you are careless about details, are not realistic, lose patience or rely on outsiders to get your romantic message across. It could be that this relationship matter may not be in your best interest if things aren't developing the way that you hoped. You might find yourself happier if you say good-bye or move on rather than waiting around.

Free Sample Big Picture Tarot Reading

Check your horoscope on Shine.

Read More »from Astrology.Com Daily Love Tarot - Wednesday January 23, 2013