Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Cosmocking: December '10! Part One!

Yellow cover! Julia Stiles! I kind of like the dress but I think it's too tight on her! For a December cover this is not very Christmassy! Biggest headline: "Your Breasts Called..."! That's very passive-aggressive; mine talk to my face when they have something to say! Also: "Secrets of Male Arousal"! Touch him on the penis!

No wonder sample sales are so popular. A study from the U.K.'s University of Westminster reveals that scoring a bargain can trigger the same amount of excitement you might experience when drooling over a sexy guy.
I believe it. I also believe the same amount of excitement might be triggered by: kayaking in heavy surf, most films by Robert Rodriguez, unexpectedly encountering a giant robot dinosaur, building your own hovercraft, bouldering off-trail, shooting a Colt Single Action Army, digging in an agate bed and finding an opal, or getting your car up to 115 out in the desert. Sure, boys and shopping can be fun, but so can life.

Oh, and while I couldn't track down the original study (actually, it looks like it's incomplete and hasn't been published, in which case what kind of jerk was writing press releases about it?), other news sources reveal that it specifically compared receiving discounts to watching porn, and that both men and women were tested. But of course men don't shop and women don't watch porn, so Cosmo needed to do some quick revisions to keep things in line with reality.

The New Trend That's Turning Women On
The combination of [Brokeback Mountain's] success and a slew of celebrities coming out as gay or bisexual--from Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris to Lady Gaga and Anna Paquin--has opened the door for more story lines involving gay characters and couples.

Oh Cosmo. This is like a couple months ago when you declared that female bisexuality had just now been invented. Gay people exist, Cosmo. They've been existing actually for a while now. They're not 2010's hottest new invention. And, believe it or not, queer cinema and gay porn neither. Actually, according to recent research, gay people have actually existed for the entirety of human civilization. Whoa.

"When females see something that is sexually explicit but that they can't fully understand, it leaves room for their imagination to go wild," says James Colangelo, PysD [sic], a psychologist in New York City.
Oh no you di'n't, James. You did not just do the "females" and the "they love things they can't wrap their pretty little minds about" one-two punch. God damn. And you presumably said this to a female reporter? That takes balls, I guess.

If you find yourself getting turned on watching two guys, um, manhandle each other, it may mean you're wishing sex with your BF would sometimes feel more raw versus romantic. An easy way to turn a tame session more primal is to nip at his lips or neck during foreplay or push him away after kissing him passionately.
Didn't we do the "gay sex is really all about straight sex" and "don't actually say what you want" combo last month? Although last month didn't include the part where pushing a guy away is supposed to cue him--with no explicit communication! that's unthinkable!--to come back at you harder. That part's just a wee bit creepy.

Then there's an article urging women not to browse their boyfriends' call logs or read their email. While this is entirely good advice, the article is written with a "we've all done it, tee hee" tone, which... is frightening.

An important concept here, one that Cosmo doesn't seem to get: Rowdy is "my" boyfriend only in the sense that I work at "my" hospital. The word "my" here indicates "relates to me" not "belongs to me." Deciding to date me means that we'll date, not I've been granted some sort of privileges over you. We're still two people.

Hey! Page 40 is printed twice! But with different ads on the page 41s. I guess that's one way to maximize revenues.

[How to pick up a guy in the supermarket] Find some weirdly named product, like quinoa, on a nearby shelf, and ask him how to pronounce it. He'll love being able to help.
"Kee-NO-wah" and "KEEN-wah" are both correct. Now go start a conversation with someone based on the pretext that you're both competent adults.

Tummy Pooch, Full Balcony, Bunny Slopes, Badonkadonk
These are the four categories in an article on lingerie. You pick your adorably-euphemized bodily flaw and go from there to find your perfect lingerie. There is no category for "actually, my body's pretty good and I have nothing to hide." And definitely no category for "yeah, I have a big tummy, but whatever, I'm not all that broke up about it."

Maybe because if you believed either of those, you could just wear whatever you want, and we can't have that.

Pages 81-88 are also repeated! What the heck.

Here's a surprising move that will get him primed for sex: pop a pair of his socks in the microwave for 20 seconds
This is why I love Cosmo. After all these years it can still surprise me. Oh Cosmo. Never change.

The tip goes on to say that you should put these hot socks on his feet and squeeze them and this will give him a boner because "the area of his brain that registers feet sensation is right next to the region that controls his boners." Sure, and Hoboken is right next to New York, but don't go there looking for the Empire State Building.

Blood flow from his abs travels straight down to his package. And by warming up the area right underneath his belly button, you instantly increase the amount of blood heading south, which will feel good and give him a harder erection.
Cosmo, I want to introduce you to my friend William Harvey. Mr. Harvey discovered that blood actually circulates in the body, flowing from arteries to capillaries to veins. Mr. Harvey made his discovery in 1628 and it is now taught in roughly the third fucking grade.

While Mr. Harvey did not enumerate the blood vessels in quite this much detail, it is now common knowledge that blood flows from the aorta to the common iliac artery, then to the internal iliac artery and then the internal pudendal artery, which leads to the dorsal artery of the penis. All of these arteries except the last are deep within the abdominopelvic cavity, far beneath the muscle layers. (This is so you do not bleed to death from a minor cut on your belly. Your body is sensible that way.)

The short version, Cosmo, is that the body is not just a big bag of blood that gooshes around. Tomorrow we'll discuss the Four Humours theory and hysteria, and the appropriate use of leeches.

The spinal nerve connects directly to his penis, so when you warm it, the heat shoots to his package. Plus, the nervous system that runs down either side of the spine sends arousal messages to his brain when it's warmed up, telling it to propel blood to his package and make his pulse race.
I give up. I just put the anatomy textbook back on the shelf and... I just give up. But I will point out that the concept here is a bit like trying to make a call by squeezing the phone cord.

(Okay, fine. Sacral spinal nerves S2, S3, S4 lead to pudendal nerve which leads to dorsal nerve of penis which innervates penile skin. There isn't a "the" spinal nerve, any more than there's some sort of magical second spinal cord outside the spinal column, any more than nerve fibers are sensitive to touch anyway. You want nerve endings for that, honey, and the ones connected to his penis are... ON HIS PENIS, for Christ's sake, the body kinda makes sense like that!)

Q: When do guys view a relationship as serious?
A: The moment they realize they're not sleeping with anyone else... and that they're okay with it.

My friend's been with his wife for ten years and sleeps with other people. I'll need to inform him immediately that his marriage is not serious.

Moreover, I notice that the "seriousness" of your relationship is defined by the things you don't do. The actual connection between you is apparently a secondary concern.

Q: What screams high-maintenance to a guy when you first meet him?
A: When you put on makeup or check out your reflection in a window or mirror.

That's right, girls, it's not enough to look perfect; you have to look perfect without even trying. Or at least create the illusion. This is related to those tips that tell you guys like a girl who eats steak on dates, as long as she's still skinny.

Q: If a girl is too crazy in bed, does that make her not LTR material?
A: It can. To be safe, get to girlfriend status before completely going rogue.

Yeah, because if you have the wild, enthusiastic sex that you actually want, your guy is going to go "wow, I'd hate to have that all the time."

Q: What's a simple thing that I can say to nip his jealousy in the bud?
A: "Let's get out of here. I'm tired of being around other guys."

"You're right, I should be isolated. Your jealousy is a legitimate concern and keeping me away from all potential threats is a reasonable solution. I didn't want a life of my own anyway."


There's more. Oh so much more. Cosmo is the gift that keeps on giving. Like crabs! If crabs wandered around in your pubes yelling "YOU'RE NOT FEMININE ENOUGH NO NOW YOU'RE TOO FEMININE NO BE MORE SEXY NO BE LESS SEXY NO NO NO YOU DID IT ALL WRONG."

43 comments:

  1. I choose to believe that Cosmo was commenting on the existence of slash. In which case it is only several decades (when did Star Trek: TOS come on?) late to the party.

    Cosmo, dear. A relationship is serious when both parties experience feelings of closeness and fulfillment, drives that lead to romance and sexual attraction and shared achievements and plans with each other. "Not sleeping with other people and being okay with it" is clearly not on the menu. For instance, a man could be in a NSA fuckbuddy relationship with Angelina Jolie, who (in this alternate universe) demands monogamy from her partners to limit her STD risk, but that would not be a committed relationship.

    How To Nip His Jealousy In The Bud: "Jealousy annoys the shit out of me, and if you don't cut that shit out I will dump you like a motherfucking hot potato."

    Should I Have Enthusiastic Sex Early In A Relationship: Yes. Duh. Do you want to accidentally start a relationship with Roissy?

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  2. So what parts of the body has Cosmo not said will turn "him" on?

    Oh, wait, I know. They haven't mentioned anal sex, right?

    Also, leaving the question of whether gay people exist other than as fetish fuel for straights aside, they just noticed Brokeback Mountain was popular now?

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  3. "If you find yourself getting turned on watching two guys, um, manhandle each other, it may mean you're wishing sex with your BF would sometimes feel more raw versus romantic"

    oh! ok! so gay male sex is more raw and there's more manhandling (teehee, get it? MANhandling?) and straight relationship sex is romantic. huh. wonder what cosmo thinks lesbian sex is like.

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  4. "Q: What's a simple thing that I can say to nip his jealousy in the bud?
    A: "Let's get out of here. I'm tired of being around other guys.""

    Wow, that's just scary and wrong on so many levels.

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  5. Holly, you really must stop Cosmocking. Making fun of the mentally deficient is simply declasse, you know. ;)

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  6. Great post, again!

    It's unnerving to know that as a young girl I actually read that crabolous (!) shit and felt a need to change. I thought there actually are women like that, and that there might be some secret code of conduct that gets you what you want. In sex and in a relationship. I'm glad that reality has it's own way of contradicting. But I'd wish that there was A Holly Magazine with the exact opposite message. Because, even now, when I see it for what it is and can point and laugh with you, Holly, I know that there are girls out there who take it very seriously.

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  7. TOUCH HIM ON THE FEET/BACK!

    It's the new TOUCH HIM ON THE PENIS!

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  8. "When females see something that is sexually explicit but that they can't fully understand, it leaves room for their imagination to go wild."

    For some reason, I interpret this as being analogous to how your brain goes "wild" when you see an optical illusion? How, when your eyes can't understand something, your brain just makes up that the line with the arrows pointing out is longer than the one with the arrows pointing in or that the square in the back is a darker color than the square in the front just to keep everything in line with your pre-conceived notions.

    In conclusion, I am now imagining some men making out and they are two men on top but somehow become three men on the bottom, à la the impossible trident illusion.

    Also, on a more serious note, I would love to see some more serious/less Cosmocking thoughts (if you have any) on the "my" vs. "my" thing. I once dated a girl--or rather, that's an understatement--I was once head over heels in love with a girl who hated the word "my." And I would try to explain that calling her "my girlfriend/lover/kitten/little one/whatever" didn't mean "and hence you have lost all personal autonomy." It just meant...well, *my* girlfriend as opposed to that girlfriend over on the street there. But I could never find the right words.

    --Andy

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  9. If you find yourself getting turned on watching two guys, um, manhandle each other, it may mean you're wishing sex with your BF would sometimes feel more raw versus romantic.

    Eugh. If I purposefully get myself turned on (as opposed to oops, I seem to find myself turned on) watching two guys, um, fuck the hell out of each other, it might also mean that I am attracted to guys, find them arouusing, and do not necessarily need my porn to show me someone who has genitals similar to mine.

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  10. What's better than one hot guy? TWO HOT GUYS!

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  11. 3x - guy on guy porn is awesome! But seriously, Cosmo is surprised by this? It's almost as if women like men's bodies. Oh noes! But that means women are sexual beings! [eye rolls] My advice would have been more like, approach your boyfriend about doing a threeway with another guy... oh yeah, I forgot, threeways only exist when there's another woman... :-P

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  12. Did Cosmo unwittingly interview a foot fetishist maybe?

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  13. Dear God the socks...my darling boyfriend sometimes has a tendency to shove socks he's worn once back in the sock drawer. I really, really shudder to think of the results of microwaving dirty socks by mistake. I can't even get past that long enough to deal with the utter batshittery of the rest of that "tip."

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  14. This had me dying from laughing. As we learned last time, women like watching lesbian sex because it's more "sensual" and gay sex because it's "rough." Absurd stereotypes ahoy! Also, there is no way that you are attracted to other women or just think gay sex is hot. Because only men experience desire.

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  15. I'm a man and I know for a fact that my spinal nerve connects my braincell to my penis!

    Those socks you put in the microwave, do they have to be worn or can you use clean ones?

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  16. An easy way to turn a tame session more primal is to ... push him away after kissing him passionately.

    Dear Lord, Cosmo! If someone tries it with you, run away and get a restraining order. If you try it and it works, run away and get a restraining order and a gun. Or I guess run away and check yourself into an asylum because you tried it in the first place.

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  17. "When females see something that is sexually explicit but that they can't fully understand, it leaves room for their imagination to go wild."
    What was the subject of this article? The only thing I can think of that would be applicable is surrealist art.
    http://www.famous-painters.org/Max-Ernst/ernst-gallery/19.jpg

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  18. Tomorrow we'll discuss the Four Humours theory and hysteria, and the appropriate use of leeches.

    Would want to read that, especially the last, since I always wondered - in old novels doctors frequently go for bloodletting of already weakened by disease patient. Didn't they see by common sense the practice is harmful? Can it ever be beneficial? Hope you will finally enlighten me as a professional.

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  19. Fanged Butterfly - Yep. Gay sex is rough, lesbian sex is sensual, and straight sex... can be different ways because that's just regular sex, you know, with normal people who are different from each other.

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  20. Regarding serious relationships, I think I've slept with more women AFTER getting married five years ago than I did BEFORE getting married. There goes the seriosity (no, that's really a word -- like engine viscosity. No, really -- Cosmo told me) of my marriage, even though we've been married five years and married-in-all-but-name for ten years.

    Oh wait. Maybe that's me in the example to begin with. Anyway...

    Only Thing I've Learned From Cosmo This Month: apparently The internal iliac artery is apparently The New Black.

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  21. I appreciate the ludicrousness you peruse for our enjoyment.

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  22. Holly- I'm so glad that Cosmo has taught me this. Otherwise I might go on thinking that gays are people are too!

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  23. reader- Believe it or not there actually is a somewhat plausible reason that could have sometimes worked.

    Iron is an even more critical resource to a lot of pathogenic bacteria than it is to us; when we get an infection, the body sequesters iron and gives itself an artificial case of anemia. By giving the patient a rather more drastic case of anemia, if the patient survives that a bacterial invading force might very well NOT survive it.

    (Note to self: post?)

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  24. "When females see something that is sexually explicit but that they can't fully understand, it leaves room for their imagination to go wild,"

    James Colangelo, PysD: ladies want to fuck Cthulhu!

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  25. When females see something that is sexually explicit but that they can't fully understand, it leaves room for their imagination to go wild.

    I interpreted this as "when a woman sees something going on that is clearly sexual but she can't see all the details, it makes her imagination run wild" - but that's not just women, that's everyone. Otherwise my beloved beautifulagony.com would only be popular with the ladies.

    And AMEN to Mousie's comment. Anytime issues of consent come up on message boards, some wiener has to go "but some women want a guy to be aggressive with them and not ask permission!" which has got to be the only kink guys are willing to be "surprised" with (more ranting on that subject here: http://perversecowgirl.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/only-yes-means-yes/ ).

    When grown-ups have a kink we want indulged, we use our words. We tell our partner what we want, how we want it, and where our limits are. We make sure our partner is willing to indulge what we want, and if s/he isn't, we hopefully come to a compromise that both people will like. We do not try to passive-aggressively trick a person into indulging our kinks. Anyone who says "no" in a sexual situation should have that wish respected. If they didn't want it respected, they should've fuckin' said so instead of giving mixed messages.

    Yeah, this is a pet peeve of mine.

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  26. @perversecowgirl - Have you seen this bit by stand up comedian Louis C.K. on just that very subject? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za7jQ1s1BV0

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  27. Anon: I love Louis C.K. - and now I love him even more! That bit perfectly illustrates what I'm talking about.

    Oh, and here's the other thing about this breed of latently submissive play-rape-loving womenz that drives me insane: I assume occasionally one of them might go on a date that's really not working for her and she genuinely doesn't want to make out/dry hump/fuck. Presumably, she'll tell the guy no, and if he persists she'll get pissed off that her "no" was ignored. And yet I guess this same woman would say no to guy she likes and get mad if he doesn't ignore it. WTF?

    Mind you, I think this sort of woman is a whole lot less common than rape apologists would have us believe. Too bad rumours of her existence have wrecked everything for girls like me who goddamn well do mean the word "no".

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  28. @perversecowgirl

    Eh, I'm one of those play-rape-loving womenz but here's the thing: No means no until I explicitly tell someone, "Look, from now on, no means yes and watermelon means no." Until you've had that conversation with someone, I don't see how anyone sane can justify getting mad if their "no" is interpreted as a "no". Therefore, anyone who randomly ignores "no" because "she might mean yes" is either an asshole using that as an excuse or is only confident enough to prey on people who are not in full posession of their faculties. Or, to rephrase, if you lose someone because they get mad at you for interpreting "no" as "no", I worry--deeply--as to why you would want to be with such a person in the first place.

    Granted, this is not a sexuality 101 topic, for sure, but at the same time, it's not THAT complicated. There are plenty of things that pop up during sex that are ONLY OKAY with permission: hit me after you've asked me and I'll be all smiles and giggles and unicorns. Hit me before you've asked me and I will be filing a police report. Ignore my no's after you've asked me and it's awesome. Ignore my no's before and grrr.

    I hope I made some kind of sense?

    -Andy

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  29. Andy, you make perfect sense, but I guess you didn't see perversecowgirl's paragraph beginning When grown-ups have a kink we want indulged, we use our words? That's what she was talking about.

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  30. @Mousie762, I did see that, but I wasn't sure whether to interpret that as:

    1) When grown-ups want "no" to mean "yes", they tell their partners in so many words

    or

    2) When grown-ups want their kinks indulged, they use the word "yes" to explicitly tell their partner they want something (even if it's embarassing) instead of pretending they don't want it and hoping it happens anyway.

    From the context of the rest of the things perversecowgirl said, it kind of sounded more like 2? Though I could be mistaken. At any rate, watermelon is always a great word to use in serious conversation so at least I got to do that today.

    --Andy

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  31. Andy, yes, I see how it could have been 2. I did not realize but I was interpreting it from history rather than just what was there; I can't remember perversecowgirl ever objecting to safewords instead of "no" when it's come up before. Holly certainly has talked about being into that. But it's best to have it all in one place, so it's a good thing you clarified.

    Watermelon is a great word. I like Jack's "Aardvark" too, but for funny implications my favorite safeword is "Vanilla". (Can't remember who said that.)

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  32. Andy: Mousie does indeed know me well: I meant my statement in the sense of #1. Although actually #2 would also do, in a pinch.

    I identify as dominant, and it would totally piss me off if a new partner tried to manipulate me into doing kinky stuff instead of doing the proper talk/negotiation thing.

    My boyfriend's needs change all the damn time - from moment to moment, even - so I can never ever domme him (not in a painful way, anyway) and know he'll be into it. Basically at this point he just tops from the bottom: we'll be making out and if he needs pain he'll say "Slap me" or "spank me" or "bite me" and I happily comply (so I guess that would be your #2). Yeah, it kinda sullies the idea that I'm the boss of him, but whatever - he's 100% enjoying what I do to him and I still get to smack him. :D

    btw I wasn't disparaging the love of play-rape, just the passive-aggressive "I'm just gonna play my role in this kink and tacitly hope you go along with it" attitude that some people apparently have (being "latently submissive" vs. owning your kinks and conducting yourself appropriately - as you clearly do).

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  33. p.s. in the early days when my bf and I would play with a safeword in place, I'd still find myself automatically screeching to a halt (for a second, anyway) if he said "no" to something. Dorkiest domme ever...maybe that reflex would vanish if I got more experience.

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  34. >>but for funny implications my favorite safeword is "Vanilla". (Can't remember who said that.)

    That was me! I was in a scene once where we'd agreed on Yellow (and Red) and I was in a "space" where I genuinely could not think of the word Yellow; my brain came up with Vanilla instead. But then I decided Vanilla was an AWESOME safeword. I've never had to use it, but I also don't forget it. (And I think if I yelled it out during a scene, even someone who didn't know it was my safeword would get the idea. Or be laughing too hard to go on...)

    flightless

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  35. Andy:
    You win the internets.

    "In conclusion, I am now imagining some men making out and they are two men on top but somehow become three men on the bottom, à la the impossible trident illusion."

    I am now imagining an orgy pile in the style of Escher, where the guy on the bottom is somehow also, mysteriously, on the very top.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Escher_Waterfall.jpg

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  36. flightless, if I ever do anything that requires safewords, that's the one I'll use.

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  37. Re: The Spinal Nerve That Leads To The Penis... Whoever wrote that article must have gotten their ideas on human anatomy from Invader Zim, and that is a frightening thought.

    "My... 'arm control nerve'? In my BELLY?"

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  38. @ deerthing:

    "Ow! My squeedly-spooch!"

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  39. Oh, god, the mental image of shouting crabs just made me lol cherry limeade all down the front of my dress.

    Thank you.

    -- CoronerCountess

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  40. Q: What screams high-maintenance to a guy when you first meet him?
    A: When you put on makeup or check out your reflection in a window or mirror.
    That's right, girls, it's not enough to look perfect; you have to look perfect without even trying. Or at least create the illusion. This is related to those tips that tell you guys like a girl who eats steak on dates, as long as she's still skinny.

    Let's be fair, I wouldn't really want to date a girl who was constantly checking her reflection in the window or mirror. It's not so much about wanting her to be flawless without even trying, but ever so much about "Hey, you're absolutely gorgeous. Stop worrying about it and focus on me and having a good time, ok?"

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  41. I know this is an old post... but:

    The spinal nerve connects directly to his penis, so when you warm it, the heat shoots to his package. Plus, the nervous system that runs down either side of the spine sends arousal messages to his brain when it's warmed up, telling it to propel blood to his package and make his pulse race.
    I give up. I just put the anatomy textbook back on the shelf and... I just give up. But I will point out that the concept here is a bit like trying to make a call by squeezing the phone cord.

    that just made me fall off my bed.

    Jude

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  42. You just killed a med student somewhere in Europe... xe died of laughter and basically loves you to pieces for writing such awesome posts! :-D

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