Monogamy gets a pretty bad rap from a lot of different corners - people who've divorced, those who are single, people who just like to hook up. They're not huge fans of being exclusive.

And they have a point (to some degree or another) because monogamy, if it's not with the right kind of person, isn't worth it. In fact, dating someone you don't want to be monogamous with (or who doesn't want to be monogamous with you) is a waste of time.

But monogamy comes with a lot of good stuff too, providing you have the right partner. Here are some of the best parts of being in a monogamous relationship.

More from The Stir: 8 Great Ways to Arouse a Woman

1) Hand-holding. If your relationship is monogamous, it means that there's no weirdness about a cuddle during a movie or hand-holding while walking along the river. It comes naturally and it can bring even the most jaded of us some happiness.

2) You don't have to worry about safe sex. That doesn't mean you shouldn't insist

Read More »from The 8 Best Things About Being in a Committed Relationship

piercing jewelry"Sex Confessions" is a series featuring your naughtiest bedroom secrets and fantasies. Some will sound familiar, others may give you ideas, some will turn you on, and some are dark and twisted. You might want to sit down for this.

Today's sex confession comes from Paula* who has been married to Dan* for over 10 years. She's a stay-at-home mom to three kids, and has a very active sex life with her husband. She attributes the five times a week sexy time with her man to her labia piercing, which she got almost a year ago when she and her husband were going through what she calls a "funk." There wasn't much nookie going on so she surprised him with a kinky piercing in hopes it would make her much more aware of her naughty bits ... and turn her husband on. It worked. Though she's never told any of her friends about it ... until now.

More from The Stir: 7 Kinds of Sex to Avoid at All Costs

With three kids and 10 years of marriage, it's kind of hard to spice things up when

Read More »from Sex Confession: I Got Pierced Below the Belt to Spice Up My Sex Life

By Jillian Lucas for HowAboutWe

proposal10If you don't get at least a little choked up by these proposals, then maybe you should ask the Grinch to marry you. (In a boring, non-elaborate way, of course.) These marriage proposals go above and beyond the typical on-bended-knee gesture and to some, may seem like just a delusion of grandeur. But they're still pretty freaking cute. Ladies, I'd like to personally thank you for saying yes, because I have seen videos of crazy proposals gone wrong and I just... can't... take it sometimes.

Plus: "Should I Marry Him?" Science Has Your Answer.

1 deadproposal_03

These crazy Russians. When Alexey Bykov wanted to propose to his long-time girlfriend Irena Kolokov, things got messy. He chose to fake his own death but made up for it by proposing to Bykov while she weeped. ROMANCE ISN'T DEAD PEOPLE.



2
Read More »from The 5 Most Elaborate Marriage Proposals Ever

By Lauren Passell for HowAboutWe

Just MarriedDeciding to marry someone might be the biggest decision to make in your entire life, and women (and men) spend a significant portion of their best years searching for someone to marry and then wondering if they should actually go through with it. Science has an answer for you, kind of. The answer is that you have to listen to yourself - that you already know. That deep down inside, if you have a doubt, you may not have found a good match.

Plus: A New (Old) Approach To The Wedding Ring

In the first scientific study to test whether doubts about getting married are more likely to lead to an unhappy marriage and divorce, UCLA psychologists released a report that when women have doubts pre-wedding, they are more likely to enter into a troubling marriage (and possibly get divorced down the road.) Wives who had doubts about getting married before their wedding were two-and-a-half times more likely to divorce four years later than wives without doubts. And

Read More »from “Should I Marry Him?” Science Has Your Answer

It's Unmarried & Single Americans Week! Who knew? Well, if you thought you'd never heard of it before, wake up, because according to the latest Census Bureau, 44% of American adults are single. So on today's episode of "The Shine", we're providing some useful advice for all the single men and women out there. Splitting up is never easy, no matter what the circumstances, and break-ups can take a tremendous toll on our emotions. Harvard attorney, couples mediator and bestselling author of "Fight Less, Love More" (now out in paperback) Laurie Puhn is here to tell us how it is-- she's identifying the biggest fears of the newly single. But more importantly, she's teaching us how to conquer those fears to move happily forward.

The Shine's Host Allison Fishman is wearing:                                                                                           Dress by Topshop
Bracelet by Finn Jewelry
Necklace by Melanie Auld
Shoes by Dolce Vita

Are you dealing with a

Read More »from Biggest fears of the newly single

Just when you thought chivalry was dead...

Posted by Madeleine Harrington for BounceBack.com

A long time ago, the concept of royalty became desirable for nearly every woman in search of a significant other. Sure, it was in a much less figurative sense, but let's face it, we've all been guilty of it at one point or other in our short, love-stricken lives. While we've never necessarily pined for long bulky gowns and tight tiaras, we want to be swept off of our feet, for the restaurant bill to be paid for, and to walk through the door without having to lift a finger. We want to be taken care of, to be worshipped, and all around adored like a, well, princess.

What we want is old fashioned, bare knuckles, noble steed and sword in hand chivalry. And is there anything wrong with that? After all, aside from ruling a nation, there is so reason we would deserve any lesser treatment. I can confidently say that chivalry is indeed very much alive, just as long as we're willing to put on the armor and do a little door

Read More »from The Importance of Holding the Door: A Modern Woman's Guide to Chivalry

Love makes you smarter.In love? You have a built-in brain-booster sitting right across the breakfast table. Here's how to make the most of it for extra smarts:

1. Marry someone similar to you, if a bit smarter A Seattle Longitudinal Study found that the most stable relationships were those in which people were similar in intelligence, flexibility of attitudes, social responsibility, and education levels. Researchers also found that after 14 years together, spouses with the better grasp of verbal meanings and word fluency had pulled the lower-functioning spouses up to their level.

Plus: 13 things your mother-in-law won't tell you >>

2. Hold hands whenever possible In addition to creating feelings of warmth and closeness, holding hands can help inoculate you from stress. One study using brain scans found that when married women were told they were about to receive an electric shock, just holding their husbands' hands minimized their brains' response to the threat. Women in the closest relationships

Read More »from Why Being in Love Makes You Smarter

A Phoenix and a Late Bloomer, in their natural habitat.

By Maura Kelly

There's a book out called (deep breath) Seeking Happily Ever After: Navigating the Ups and Downs of Being Single Without Losing Your Mind (and Finding Lasting Love Along the Way). To write it, author Michelle Cove interviewed more than 100 women and talked to them about how relationships based on what they think they should want often leave them unhappy. She tried to determine what it was that they truly wanted - in the process, getting readers to think a little more deeply about what their dream relationship might really be like.

After interviewing so many women, Cove began to think that most of them fit into one of 12 categories, which she defines for us below.

The Soul-Mate Seeker: Someone who is doing everything she can to find The One.

The Phoenix: A woman who recently had a painful breakup and is doing everything she can to rise from the ashes in better shape.

9 Signs That He's Cheating

The Organic: She prefers to leave things up

Read More »from The 12 Categories of Single Women