…so does an attractive salesperson

Shoppers are more likely to buy something and would pay more for an item if it is sold by an attractive salesperson, particularly of the opposite sex, according to a Canadian study.

Even if a shirt had been used and had not been washed, some consumers were willing to pay more for it if they knew the person who had worn it was attractive.

"If a shirt had been touched by someone who is highly attractive and of the opposite gender, the shoppers evaluated the products higher and they’re willing to drop more money on it," said Jennifer Argo, a professor at the University of Alberta School of Business.

Argo, Darren Dahl of the University of British Columbia and Andrea Morales of Arizona State University studied the reactions of 300 shoppers who were assisted by an attractive model and an average looking salesperson trying to sell a shirt said to be the last in the store.

The researchers found that both male and female shoppers who saw the attractive model leave the changing room with the shirt were willing to try it on next.

"If the shopper was of average attractiveness, the participant evaluated the shirt negatively. But if it was the opposite gender and they were highly attractive, the participants were willing to pay more," Argo explained in a statement.

"The results show that it’s worth having highly attractive people work there. Or if you can’t, at least have the staff dress well and be well-groomed and maximize their potential."

In the second part of the study which will be published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the researchers questioned only male shoppers who were assisted by female models and salespeople. The men tried on a shirt which the salesperson said she had worn the shift before.

Afterward the men were asked how much they liked the shirt, if they would buy it and how much they would pay for it.

"The dirty shirt won for the men when the salesperson was highly attractive," Argo said.

"It’s like they were trying to get her essence."

Yes, sex sells!

NIGEL Cawthorne, author of more than 80 books, is probably best known for his Sex Lives series, comprising, so far, a dozen books that catalogue the sexual habits of the world’s rich and powerful, famous and shameless.

The 56-year-old British author was in Singapore at the beginning of the month to speak at the Singapore Writers Festival. He was supposed to head a panel discussion on the, erm, ins and outs of writing sex scenes but, unfortunately, this event did not go ahead as planned.

Cawthorne spoke, instead, on being a hired gun. Many of his books are commissioned and he says he never turns down an assignment if the money is good. Also, even when he comes up with his own idea for a book, he will only continue writing it once a publisher makes a commitment to it.

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Teenagers who have had formal sex education are far more likely to put off having sex, contradicting earlier studies on the effectiveness of such programs, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

They found teenage boys who had sex education in school were 71 percent less likely to have intercourse before age 15, and teen girls who had sex education were 59 percent less likely to have sex before age 15.

Sex education also increased the likelihood that teen boys would use contraceptives the first time they had sex, according to the study by researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

"Sex education seems to be working," Trisha Mueller, an epidemiologist with the CDC who led the study, said in a statement. "It seems to be especially effective for populations that are usually at high risk."

Mueller’s team looked at a 2002 national survey of 2,019 teens aged 15 to 19.

They found teen boys who had sex education in school were nearly three times more likely to use birth control the first time they had intercourse. But sex education appeared to have no effect on whether teen girls used birth control, the researchers found.

Black teenage girls who had sex education in school were 91 percent less likely to have sex before age 15.

The researchers did not evaluate the content of sex education programs, including whether students were taught about contraception or about abstinence only.

Earlier studies, which relied on data from the 1970s through the 1990s, suggested sex education did little to persuade teens to delay sex.

The researchers said they think the difference may be that sex education in the United States is now more widespread and is being taught at earlier ages.

"Unlike many previous studies, our results suggest that sex education before first sex protects youth from engaging in sexual intercourse at an early age," they wrote.

Sex Education Works, Study Shows
Teens Who Have Formal Sex Education Delay Sexual Activity, Researchers Find

Sex education is effective, increasing the chances that teens will delay having sexual intercourse at least until they reach age 15, according to a new study.

"We were encouraged that sex education is working," says Trisha Mueller, MPH, an epidemiologist at the CDC in Atlanta who led the study. "Sex education should continue to be implemented."

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SEX education lessons should be given to schoolchildren as young as five as part of a bid to combat soaring levels of teenage pregnancy and sexual disease, Scotland’s most senior public health doctor said last night.

Dr Charles Saunders, chairman of the British Medical Association’s Scottish consultants’ committee, warned that schools were leaving the safe-sex message so late that many teenagers were already exposing themselves to avoidable risk.

Saunders also called for secondary schools to hand out condoms and other forms of contraception to children from the age of 13.

His comments are the most radical call for reform of sex education in Scotland ever to be made by such a senior doctors’ leader.

Last night, parents’ groups gave Saunders’ remarks their cautious backing and the Scottish Government said it was up to individual schools to decide when to begin sex education. But the Catholic Church in Scotland said it would oppose any such move, describing it as “pointless”.

Scotland’s sexual health record is one of the poorest in the western world. Teenage pregnancies are on the rise with 9,040 in 2005, the latest year for which figures are available, compared with 8,891 in 2004. Cases of sexually transmitted diseases are also rising. In April to June this year, Scottish laboratories saw 4,715 cases of chlamydia - up 6% from 4,468 in January to March.

Saunders, a consultant in public health medicine at NHS Fife, said: “It needs to start at quite an early age, because if you leave it until they are 12 it is too late because some are already experimenting. It probably needs to be started off when children start school. You need to start laying the groundwork to help them and empower them to make decisions and turn things down.

“At five it needs to be a language that they understand and taught in the same way as any other subject. It would be basic mechanics at that age in the same way as you teach a child of that age a tiny amount about geography, a fairly superficial introduction.

“It should start off with relatively simple concepts in the same way as English and science start off with the basics. It could start off with how babies are made and progress from there.”

He added: “You need to start somewhere and it makes an awful lot of sense to start long before it’s needed, because if you leave it too long you are wasting your time.

“Basically sex education needs to be a whole lot better. It’s not just anatomical drawings but what the risks are from infections and what the pros and cons are of having sex or waiting.

“It’s not a simple task to get young people empowered enough to use condoms, but it’s the key. You want to ensure people are not having sex when they don’t want to have it, and that when they do want to have it they are not putting themselves at risk.”

Saunders added that all schools should also provide contraception to pupils. Currently contraception is on offer at a small number of schools.

He said: “Particularly in rural areas, schools may well be the only way that pupils can access contraception.

“It may well be that as time goes on it would make sense to have emergency contraception in schools.”

The Scottish Government allows local authorities and head teachers to set their own sex education policies, provided they are deemed appropriate to the age of the child and parents are happy with the subject matter.

In the majority of cases children do not learn about sex until Primary Six or Seven, when they are 10 or 11. They are not taught about the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases until secondary school.

A school could introduce sex education in Primary One, provided parents and teachers agreed it was the right move.

Judith Gillespie, development manager of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said she was undecided about whether

five was the appropriate age to begin sex education, but she recognised Saunders’ concerns.

She said: “We do have to step up our sex education, but if they want to move forward with this they can’t just take it into schools, they have to have the support of parents.

“Sex education is an area where schools have to approach parents, and parents have the opportunity to veto it. We need to have a concerted information campaign so that parents understand it.”

A spokesman for the teaching union the Educational Institute of Scotland

said: “While it is sensible to examine ways of improving the quality of information available to pupils, we must always take full account of the concerns of both the parents of the children concerned, and the teachers who are expected to deliver sex and relationship education.”

However, a spokesman for the Catholic Church said five-year-olds were too young to understand sex.

He said: “When children reach puberty they are able to assimilate information about their own sexuality but they are just not ready at five. It’s way over their heads and would be as pointless as giving a five-year-old a talk on alcohol. At the age of 15 it’s a different matter.”

Public Health Minister Shona Robison

said: “We expect all schools to teach sex and relationships education and we expect them to consult parents about the content of sex and relationships education programmes.

“Any sex and relationships education needs to be appropriate to the age and stage of the pupils involved. Younger pupils might start learning about the broad idea of relationships, and family and friends, for example.

“We are not persuaded of the need to provide emergency contraception on school premises but do want to ensure that such services are available and are accessible in other local facilities.”

Children of five ’should be given sex lessons’

Sex education lessons should be given to children as young as five in an attempt to combat rising levels of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, a senior public health doctor has said.
Dr Charles Saunders warned that schools were leaving the “safe sex message” so late that many youngsters were being exposed to unnecessary risks.

He said that by the time they were 12, many children were “already experimenting”.

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Jim Trulock and Julie Norris look like an average suburban Dallas couple. He’s a graying middle-aged divorcé pushing 60. She’s 30 years younger but partial to frumpy floral dresses. But on weekends their late-’70s split-level house in the southwestern Dallas suburb of Duncanville is transformed into “The Cherry Pit.” Tubs of whipped cream are laid out with the chips and dip on the yellow Formica countertop. A garland of thong panties adorns a kitchen wall. After a game of Naked Twister or a turn under the disco ball, Jim and Julie and their most intimate friends might pile into their steamy oversize hot tub. And for the, ahem, climax of the night? A semiprivate romp in a side bedroom or a more gregarious encounter on white sheets in “the pit”: a half-dozen beds pushed together in front of the fireplace.

Jim and Julie are swingers—couples who socialize sexually with other couples or singles living “the lifestyle,” as they call it. Surprisingly, the Cherry Pit parties held in the Texan notch of the Bible Belt went relatively unnoticed for years, despite attendance of sometimes 100 or more invited guests. They stayed under the radar partly because the couple lives on a semisecluded, wooded one-acre lot near a state park, and partly because of the libertarian streak of many Texans. Despite the presence of a Boy Scouts campground across the street, they have few neighbors. But city officials said they had received dozens of complaints over the years that the “parties” on Cedar Ridge Drive were attracting streams of traffic to their normally quiet neighborhood. After examining the couple’s Web site, officials found a request for a suggested donation of $50 per couple (since removed) and accused Trulock of running a sex business from his home. In early November the Duncanville city council passed a law against sex clubs, calling them a public nuisance to the self-proclaimed family-friendly city.

The Cherry Pit parties continued, and Trulock was cited twice for the misdemeanor crime of operating a sex club. On Wednesday Trulock filed suit against the city, saying the new law is unconstitutional on the grounds that it invades the couple’s privacy, denies them due process and is overly vague. “What they do behind closed doors, unless it’s some kind of activity involving violence or children or animals or drugs, it’s none of the government’s business!” says their attorney, Edward Klein.

Trulock and Norris say they tried to be good neighbors. They had always set strict rules for their events: no drugs, no weapons and, above all, each guest’s wishes must be respected by other guests at all times (in other words, “no” always means “no”). After the city “attacked,” as Trulock put it in a message to the Cherry Pit’s Yahoo online group, which has almost 4,000 members, they tried to keep the party going by encouraging car pools. When the city erected No Parking signs on the street in front of their driveway, they arranged for off-site parking. They toned down their Web site and tried to explain their lifestyle to the gawkers and TV camera crews that began cruising by their house. Bloggers joked that Baptists were trying to shut the swinger parties down because they might lead to dancing. Many of Trulock and Norris’s neighbors told reporters they have a “live and let live” attitude toward what the couple does behind closed doors. But others denounced the swinging lifestyle. “It’s immoral,” says one neighbor, Jack Martin, a 74-year-old retiree. “Would you want someone living next to you who was a pedophile if you have a bunch of kids? It’s on the same line. The frame of mind is the same. The end result is the same: sex.”

Norris, a 29-year-old nonpracticing attorney with a law degree from Southern Methodist University, is cheerfully open about swinging, which she describes as a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle for couples. Their attorney has advised them to refrain from media interviews while their criminal case is pending, but she spoke briefly with NEWSWEEK. One common misconception about swingers, she says, is that they have troubled relationships. “Many people who are swingers believe that it saved their marriage. Now it’s part of their marriage and part of who they are. But it has to be something you need or are interested in.” While Norris and Trulock aren’t married, many swingers are, she says. Other areas of the country are more open to the swinging lifestyle, Norris adds. But in Texas “the fear is if one little small town can do it, then everyone can.”

No one knows how many swingers there are, but there is a growing number of Web sites, clubs and resorts that cater to the swinging lifestyle. Robert McGinley, founder and president of NASCA (informally known as the North America Swing Club Association), says many people “want more than just one bite of the apple.” McGinley, now 74, became an activist for the swinging lifestyle almost 40 years ago with his wife. Today there are swinger clubs operating as public businesses or gatherings in private homes in almost every major city in America, he says. “In the United States we’re rather uptight compared to all other Western countries when it comes to sexual behavior. But you cannot outlaw sex. You can try all you want to, but it won’t stand up in life, even if it stands up in the courts. We are full-time sexual beings.”

Swinging isn’t new. California military families reportedly swapped wives at the first “key parties” in the 1950s; these events later became part of the lore of the swinging ’60s and ’70s. Today’s modern swinging movement includes conventions and national publications—and Swing Stock, a four-day campout in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area featuring group showers and the crowning of a king and queen. Swingers even have their own generation gap; older swingers feel that the youth are too superficial or that they are looking for a “big orgy” instead of strengthening their current relationships and making new friendships, says Curtis Bergstrand, head of sociology at Bellarmine University, a Roman Catholic institution in Louisville, Ky.

The Cherry Pit started as a private gathering in an apartment in the 1980s in a neighborhood popular with young urban professionals. It outgrew those digs and eventually moved with its host to Duncanville. In 2004 Trulock and Norris restarted the parties, which compete for patrons of other Dallas-area swinger clubs, including the Silver Minx, Velvet Curtain, Spankee’s Club, Iniquity and the Rustic Red House, to name a few.
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Sex – it does the body good.

Yet most of us are quicker to hit the gym before hitting the sheets when it comes to taking care of ourselves. Believe it or not, huffing and puffing your way through a hot, sweat-inducing sex session may be far more beneficial to your overall health than the time you spend on the treadmill.

As research confirms time and time again, good sex in a healthy, stable, monogamous relationship can only better our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being. Sex, in this context, offers us tons of benefits, most of which aren’t touted nearly enough.

Here are just a few benefits:

— Weight loss and weight control. Forget torturing yourself with the latest fad diet or hours on the elliptical machine when you can burn about 200 calories in 30 minutes of sex! Lovemaking lends itself to improved strength, flexibility, muscle tone, and cardiovascular conditioning. Plus, there’s something super sexy about getting to sleep with your very own “personal trainer.”

— Pain management. Forgo popping a pain killer and opt for something a bit more “au naturel.” Sex has been shown to offer migraine and menstrual cramp relief, as well as alleviate chronic back pain thanks to the endorphins and corticosteroids released during sexual arousal and orgasm.

— Stress relief. Sex, even if only with ourselves, impacts the way we respond to stress, increasing levels of oxytocin and stimulating feelings of warmth and relaxation. What better way to unwind from a tough day than sharing its most climactic moment with your special someone?

— Immune booster. Stop spending late nights at the office. Sex wards off colds and the flu. And sexually active people take fewer sick days, giving the phrase “working late” an entirely new meaning. Bosses, take note.

— Better heart health. A little bit of heart and soul in the sack should be part of every doctor’s orders when it comes to cardiovascular care. Sex may help lower cholesterol and the risk of heart attack.

— Increased self-esteem and intimacy. When sex is consistent and involves mutual pleasure, it can increase bonding since the surge in oxytocin at orgasm stimulates feelings of affection, intimacy, and closeness. When spiritual in nature, sex can lead to an even better quality of life and stronger relationship. Is it any wonder that good sexual energy in a positive relationship can make you feel better about yourself, your partner, and life in general?

— Sleep enhancement. There’s no need to count sheep when sex, including masturbation, helps insomnia. Plus, making love sure beats tossing and turning your way to zzzz’s.

— A better, younger looking you. Sex keeps you looking and feeling younger and, according to some research, may lead to shiny hair, a glowing complexion and bright eyes. This is because it increases the youth-promoting hormone DHEA (dehydroepiandrostone). And feeling more attractive charges your sex life even more.

— Mood lifter. Sex releases pleasure-inducing endorphins during arousal and climax that can relieve depression and anxiety, and increase vibrancy.

— Longevity. There is a significant relationship between frequency of orgasm and risk of death, especially with men. Men who orgasm two times a week have a 50 percent lower chance of mortality than those who climax one time per month. The bonus: Living longer also gives you and your honey the opportunity for even more lovin’!

— Decreased risk of breast cancer. One study of women who had never given birth found that an increased frequency of sexual intercourse was correlated with a decrease in the incidence of breast cancer.

— Reproductive health benefits. According to at least one study, sex appears to decrease a man’s risk of prostate cancer, and the prevention of endometriosis in women. It also promotes fertility in women by regulating menstrual patterns.

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JACK Nicholson says men act like dogs after having sex. The Hollywood bad boy — famous for his womanising ways — says all guys forget about women one hour after having sex with them, just like canines, reports gossip website femalefirst.co.uk.

He said: “We have more in common with a male dog than we do with a woman in this department. This may be male chauvinism in a certain context. But, baby, it’s also science!

“I don’t have much philosophy other than ‘live in the now’. And that’s very difficult to do. Don’t leave something that you really want to do undone.”

But father-of-five Nicholson also said his promiscuous lifestyle in the ’60s could have led to him fathering up to “9 000” children.

He laughed: “There could be 9 000 for all I know — I used to live so freely.”

Nicholson, who smashed a motorist’s car window with a golf club in 1994, says golf still brings out his fiery temper.

The 70-year-old star told Men’s Journal magazine in the US: “I’m not a very Zen guy. I’ve laid in sand traps and cried, and hurled golf clubs in lakes.”

Nicholson says he gave up one-night stands over fears he would catch Aids.

The screen legend says he was terrified of catching the potentially deadly STD when it emerged and admits he became far more careful about sleeping with strangers.

Nicholson said: “In my lifetime, from World War 2 on, life got freer and freer until herpes, then Aids. That was the end, ask any bar owner. Things moved to the right.

“Once this idea that you can die from sex got into people’s heads, it became a weapon in the hands of stiff, erect, martinet father/parent fascists to suppress sensuality. When you start doing that, society gets rigid and social life as I knew it was over, fast. I loved that era, and it’s gone.”

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