Sex With Emily - AITA for Wanting Less Sex?

Episode Date: January 12, 2024

Sometimes, in our sex lives and relationships, it can be easy to wonder: Am I the Asshole? Don’t worry, because in today’s episode, Producer Erica and I are letting you know if you’re approachin...g asshole territory in your sexual situations, like: AITA for wanting oral sex every time, not just on special occasions? AITA for rejecting my partner’s advances in the middle of the night? Or how about: AITA for getting upset when my partner turns me down? It’s a juicy one. In today’s episode, you’ll learn: Creative solutions for mismatched libidos What to do if you’re in a sexless relationship Tips for healthy sex conversations See the full show notes at sexwithemily.com. Show Notes: How to Initiate Sex Bathmate (code EMILY10 for 10% off sitewide) Tips for Better Communication & Other Guides SHOP WITH EMILY! (free shipping on orders over $69) The only sex book you’ll ever need: Smart Sex: How to Boost Your Sex IQ and Own Your Pleasure Want more? Sex With Emily: Home Let’s get social: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | TikTok  Let’s text: Sign Up Here Want me to slide into your inbox? Sign Up Here for sex tips on the regular.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 You remember some of the things that we say to our partners, we sometimes especially when it comes to sex, we just accept it like, okay, that's your belief around it, but we're also allowed to get curious. And that's questions like, tell me more about, you know, your early messaging around sex. Tell me more about why it's important for you to wait or tell me more about what about our sex life do you like and what is interesting to you. And if he says to you, I just don't think sex is important. I don't care if I have sex or not.
Starting point is 00:00:24 Let's find out more about it. He says that, and I think that that is ground to you? I mean, if he says to you, I just don't think sex is important. I don't care if I have sex or not. Let's find out more. But if he says that, then I think that that is grounds to end a relationship. You're listening to Sex with Emily. I'm Dr. Emily, and I'm here to help you prioritize your pleasure and liberate the conversation around sex. Sometimes in our sex lives and relationships,
Starting point is 00:00:41 it can be easy to wonder, am I the asshole? Well, don't worry. Because in today's episode producer Eric Caniah are letting you know if you're approaching asshole territory in your sexual situations. Like, am I the asshole for wanting oral sex every time, not just on special occasions? Or, am I the asshole for rejecting my partner's advances in the middle of the night?
Starting point is 00:01:00 This is a juicy one. And as a reminder, if you have a scenario where you're wondering, am I the asshole? Submit your questions to sexwithemily.com slash AITA. We've been loving these, so please keep them coming. Please rate and review Sex with Emily wherever you listen to the show. Just do it right now, whatever app you're listening to. It really helps us get this sex-positive message out to more people when you review it.
Starting point is 00:01:23 Also, my new article, How to initiate sex Sex, is Up On Sex with Emily.com. Aren't they going to enjoy this episode? If you've ever thought about giving your toes into the world of sex toys but didn't know where to start, well, I found a solution that's not only beginner-friendly but also super affordable. And to make it easy, you can find it at local retailers and that is plus one. Plus one wants to make your journey of self-exploration
Starting point is 00:01:55 smooth like their silicone toys, which are actually super smooth. Check out the range of products from their dual massager, which is just so versatile, to their sleek bullet vibrator, which I literally gifted everyone on my holiday list this year. You might have also heard of their viral rose arouser, it was all over TikTok, and it's a really discreet device that's definitely more reliable than your last Tinder date. Trust me.
Starting point is 00:02:19 And if sexual wellness is on your resolution list, check out Plus One's Kegel Trainer. This will be your newfound ally to make your pelvic floor stronger and your orgasms more reliable. So start on your journey of sexual pleasure and wellness with plus one. Visit myplusone.com and use code SWE15 at checkout for 15% off this week. That's myplusone.com and use code SWE15 to get 15% off this week only. Or find them on Amazon or at your local retailers, like Target, CVS, Kroger, and Walmart. Plus one. Because everyone deserves a plus one
Starting point is 00:02:51 on their quest for self-love. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- [♪ OUTRO MUSIC- This is from Sarah and she's 52 years old. Am I the asshole for rejecting my partner's advances in the middle of the night? I'm so excited for this one. I'm so excited. Hey Dr. Amalie, we're a very couple, both early 50s together for 16 years. But am I the asshole because I don't spontaneously wake up in the middle of the night filled with desire for sex and ravaged my husband? My husband's disappointed because I never wake up hoarding the middle of the night. He wakes up hoarding the middle of the night regularly.
Starting point is 00:03:29 At times in the past, he's tried to touch me while I'm sleeping and I'm difficult to rouse and apparently in my sleep, I pushed him away. He feels rejected and refuses to initiate sex with me. I apologize for my behavior when I was asleep and unaware of what was happening. I asked him to make sure that I'm awake and to start with a make out session first before movie to general touching. He feels that once he touches me, I should wake up and be filled with sexual excitement and gratitude that I have a partner that is so turned on by me.
Starting point is 00:03:59 He is filled with resentment about this issue and feels rejected. We have sex at least five times a week, mostly in the afternoon or home alone. He'd be far more sex and more during the night. I'm afraid that I can't meet his expectation, and this makes me feel like a failure, and he feels undesired. Shy said in the alarm so I can initiate sex the middle of the night. When to be honest, I'd rather be sleeping. I have difficult getting back to sleep after sex and I'm willing but not
Starting point is 00:04:25 excited about making some sleep sacrifices if that's what it takes for him to be a love. If that's what it takes for him to feel loved and desired. Thanks for your help and I believe my husband will be happy to hear your opinions on this issue. Wow. That was a long one but that is a good one. Okay, so. wow, lot to a pack here. First off, let me remind you that men can wake up easier in the middle of the night, or they wake up more regularly in the middle of the night with erections because they get these nocturnal erections.
Starting point is 00:04:55 That's why a lot of men wake up with erections in the morning because it's all about blood flow and getting erections. So he gets this notion and go out to wake up and have sex with you. And listen, I don't feel that you need to disrupt your sleep patterns and send a alarm in the middle of the night so you can allow your husband to feel wanted and desired. And that's just seems like this is going to be, you know, a long haul and sleep is so
Starting point is 00:05:26 important, especially what we're fighting now about sleep and hydration and all these things. I think like sleep hydration exercise, but sleep is one of the main three things in our lives that we can control. Sleep hygiene is so important. And by you waking up in the middle of the night, that's going to disrupt everything. But what this is telling me is that your partner, your husband wants to feel desired. He wants to feel needed by you. He wants to feel you
Starting point is 00:05:54 ravish him. And so I'm wondering if there's other things you could do to make him feel that way. I love them. Could you initiate sex other times the day that's not the middle of the night? You said you're having sex five times a week, which side note, 16 years married in your 50s, you're having sex in the middle of day five times a week and he wants to wake up in the middle of the night. I just think that that's a lot. You guys are in a great place. You seem like you're a really healthy couple. But there's just one thing that he wants. So again, you could let him know that I'm not willing to sacrifice my sleep, but I would like to know what you're getting from that and how I can make you feel desired love and that know that I'm attracted to you in other ways. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:06:42 Do you think because they're already having sex, she said at least five times a week, and he would prefer more sex and more during the night, do you think that sex for him is tied to his feelings of being seen? I mean, I think we can fill in the blank here. We know this, but I do feel like, again, not everything's gendered, but we hear this more from being the sonners, right? Yeah, we hear more from Peter Sona's that they, well, would they wake up in the middle of night?
Starting point is 00:07:08 They have erections. They're ready to go. Definitely that part of it, where Lava owners, you know, were like slow cookers many of us. So we need time to get around and turn on. It doesn't just strike us as much. This spontaneous desire as it does. We think about it.
Starting point is 00:07:21 Your penis is on the outside of your body. Maybe he brushed up against her in the middle of the night. He went to the bathroom and came back and he touched her. He saw her. It's just easier for guys to get going. That's where I will say that gender definitely plays a role. Your body works differently. You probably require more touch, maybe more oral sex, maybe more verbal arousal. You already said you require more making out in the middle of the night and maybe that would get you there like I love how much you're willing to Sort of try to be there for him in ways that just you know are more difficult Because I think like losing sleep is a non-negotiable. I did that too
Starting point is 00:07:54 I think that it's hard to get back to sleep. You got to get up and work But again understanding more about this strong desire he has for sex Could he pleasure himself in the middle of the night? How would he feel about just masturbating next to you? Would you be okay if he did that? I just came up with a good idea. Oh, tell me. What if you sent him like a video
Starting point is 00:08:14 or something that he could watch in the middle of the night, like something where you're like, I am never gonna be awake enough to want this, but I know that you crave this and I want to be involved in that in a certain way. I love it. And you could even like film multiple things so each time he has something new to see from you. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:08:29 And it doesn't disrupt your sleep, but he feels seen and appreciated. That's a girl in like personal like porn, you can send him. Like a little video of maybe you touching yourself or you getting dressed or you doing things that you think is hot talking dirty to him. He can put his headphones in the middle of the night and watch that. It's like you're there, but you're not there. Yeah. I think there's just some creativity for couples. This active and this still really into each other. Let's find some workarounds. And that's a great idea. But I think also the notion that she feels like a failure and he feels undesired. Yeah. I'm also wondering if this is a theme or if this comes up in other parts of
Starting point is 00:09:03 your relationship where you feel like you're not able to meet his needs or you feel like you're letting people down or maybe not even just in him, are there other places in your life where you feel like you can't do enough and does he feel like you don't want to be able to desire him? Because a lot of times our sex challenges also show up in other areas. So I think that might be a really fun tip and pack, especially since you said your girls are gonna be listening to this together. And I wanna make an offer that you guys could call
Starting point is 00:09:30 in together and we could talk about it. So if you want us to really unpack this with you, I am certain Erica that if we get them on a call, we do a little session with them that we could help them find a lot more ways to play that don't happen in the middle of the night. Every couple gets to determine how often they want to have sex.
Starting point is 00:09:49 And if five times a week for you is great for both of you, amazing. The one little red flag I'm seeing is that he's feeling resentment towards you for something you did while you weren't even conscious. Like that seems very easily triggered to me. So I wonder if that need for so much. So I wonder, do you want sex five times a week? If so, amazing. But if not, I feel like you can't always be trying to just please your partner and serve their needs if you're already serving them.
Starting point is 00:10:19 A lot. Exactly. Yeah, no, that's a really good note. He thinks that she should just wake up in the middle of the night and be grateful and be grateful and ready to go is also Points to me that he doesn't really have a clear understanding of female rousal and that he actually Believes that she did this with other partners, but isn't doing it with him. He's like looking for ways to feel rejected when that just feels like I'm already telling you that men are more likely to wake up in the middle of the night, desiring sex and I explain the reasons why. And so yeah, he's shutting her and making you know, shutting all over and she should wake up.
Starting point is 00:11:03 She should feel bill with excitement and gratitude. And it sounds like you could let him know that you're super grateful for the connection you have. You loved these turned on by you five times a week. So I do think there's something else going on here. They's kind of pushing the envelope and saying like, and this is an area that you're not doing enough. And so that's why I'm just feeling like
Starting point is 00:11:25 there's some other things going on in the relationship, some unspoken things. And perhaps the frequent sex could be filling a void where there's other places of disconnect in the relationship. And so I'm wondering if this focus on the sex and the dynamic of him feeling like she should be grateful and her feeling like she's not doing enough is part of a larger relationship
Starting point is 00:11:52 challenge that maybe they could get into. And that would help heal the sex as well. He's got to somehow figure out that you still love him, you desire him, you want to be with him, but it's just down in this one area. So let's find other ways to play. Love that one. Thank you Sarah. Thank you. Not an asshole. Appreciate you Sarah. This is from Hannah 37 in Kentucky. I'm out of the asshole for feeling done with a sexless marriage. Hey Dr. Emily my husband I've been married for seven years now and we were dating long
Starting point is 00:12:21 distance for a year. In the beginning we relied mostly on phone sex, Skype, sex, and he was totally into it. When we got closer distance-wise, I noticed he had some issues being able to have sex. He wanted us to wait to move in together until after marriage, which I should have argued harder against. It wasn't until our honeymoon where I did everything
Starting point is 00:12:42 possible to turn him on and we didn't have sex a single time that week. Then I got really worried. Now we have hardly had much sex at all in our marriage and my sex life is insane. It always has been. I've talked to him about it over and over and about a year and a half ago I told him one last time out was hurting me. Nothing changed.
Starting point is 00:13:03 And over the last two years I've been focusing on myself. I shamefully have had an affair and I'm falling in love with someone else. My husband's a good man and he's trying to fix things now that he found out, but I just don't even want that kind of connection with him anymore. I spent the last two years numbing myself from it.
Starting point is 00:13:17 Am I the asshole for feeling done? I know I'm an asshole for cheating. All right, a lot to impact here. This is so interesting, Hannah. What I'm seeing is that you've been married for seven years and even in the beginning on your honeymoon, he was withholding sex. He wasn't into sex and it never really got better
Starting point is 00:13:38 from there. So for seven years, you've been craving sex. You've been wanting him to want you. It wasn't happening even on the honeymoon. So you know I always say when there's challenges with your sex life, you gotta look at how was it in the beginning? Can you go back to how it was? There've been resentments, there've been ruptures in the relationship that you can't quite repair. Well it sounds like there's something going on with your husband sexually. Again we don't know if it
Starting point is 00:14:03 was earlier sexual experiences. Maybe he just got a low sex drive in sex as in his thing, but there has to be some communicating here around it and it might be too little too late right now. You let him know. You wanted sex. You tried to turn him on. And I'm just wondering, what kind of things does as he told you about your sex life? How much do you know about it? And when you do have sex, was it satisfying it at all? So it sounds like what I'm hearing is the frequency of sex and the kinds of sex
Starting point is 00:14:33 and the satisfaction you were feeling and the connection you were feeling to them just hasn't been there all this time. And you've now met somebody else and now he's trying to come around, which is kind of classic. And so, you know, you're not the asshole, but if you actually think this is a relationship, if he makes an effort and now he understands it, unfortunately, sometimes we don't really get the message until it's dire.
Starting point is 00:14:59 He feels like he's going to lose the relationship. So if you want to give it one more chance and stop seeing this other person and say, okay, now I've got my husband's attention. And I love him. And he's really going to try. If you think you could go there and muster up the strength, I'd like to say give it another chance for a few months. But there's also, you know, what I'm here for you is that Chippews sailed. Seven years is a long time to be trying. So really this is where you have to decide. But sometimes we are done and we've moved far that have passed it and it's hard to get back.
Starting point is 00:15:37 I'm curious. Does she say anything about their relationship in general? Nothing. Except for the fact that he wanted to wait until moving in together, she disagreed with that, or she should have argued harder against it. You know, like, why, but here's the other thing, when we're saying, why, just let this be a note to everybody before you get married. Before you go in your honeymoon, before you walk down the aisle with someone,
Starting point is 00:16:00 find out if you have complimentary sex drives. If you want the same things, if you both have a growth mindset around sex, let's not find this out when it's too late. So I mean gosh, I'm having sex on the honeymoon and then him waiting till you move into what else is your life? What else did you guys do on your honeymoon? You know, and I'm wondering also like, was there something, you know, I'm wondering if he grew up in an environment where sex wasn't celebrated, where he got some messaging around sex
Starting point is 00:16:34 that it wasn't healthier okay. I'm just wondering what else we know about your husband and his relationship to sex. Because it sounds like this had nothing to do with you, he came into your relationship with these ideas around sex. When he wants to wait for sex, what was he waiting for and why? You know, by the way, sometimes for our partners say things, we sometimes especially when it comes to sex, we just accept it like, okay, that's your belief around it, but we're also allowed to get curious. And that's questions like, tell me more about,
Starting point is 00:17:04 you know, your early messaging around sex. Tell me more about why it's important for you to wait or tell me more about what about our sex life do you like and what is interesting to you. I mean, if he says to you, I just don't think sex is important. I don't care if I have sex or not, you know, like let's find out more. But if he says that, and I think that that is ground to end a relationship, especially sex support too. Just change the dynamics of your relationship.
Starting point is 00:17:26 Maybe you could just be open. Yeah. But if he's serving you well as a partner, then there's no need to lose that, especially if he already doesn't really want sex. Exactly. Yeah, you can outsource the sex. Listen, there's a lot of people we're seeing showing up
Starting point is 00:17:39 in different kinds of relationship these days. And what I love about this conversation is that, yeah, most people are going to choose monogamy, but some people might want it to look a little bit different. And you might be a candidate for looking a little bit different if you guys are in a really, you know, if he's your best friend, you got a great relationship, but other things are fabulous. Like Lick Erica said, maybe you want to try another arrangement. But if you're done and done, it's too much time has passed. Only you will know. But let us know how it goes. I don't think you're an asshole, but I do think that it's time for you
Starting point is 00:18:06 to get some answers on this and to get clear rather than cheating, just give you the do a clean break or figure out ways to reimagine your partnership. As it exists today. Thanks, Hannah. We appreciate you. No need to be an asshole.
Starting point is 00:18:18 I'll be right back after a quick break for our sponsors. So just stick around. But first, I wanna tell you about bath bait. It's the world's only FDA-regulated hydro-penas pump. See, bath bait exercises the one body part I think most people neglect in the gym. What, you tell me? They're penises.
Starting point is 00:18:34 If that you didn't know, you could work out your penis. And first, let me clarify what a penis pump is. It's used to draw blood into the penis to create direction. But bath bait is so unique because it harnesses the power of water through a hydraulic vacuum acting as a secondary pump to the heart so it draws blood safely into the penis. And it's so cool that you can just use it in the shower. It helps flesh out toxins, maintain tissue health, and improve erection quality, predictability, stamina.
Starting point is 00:19:02 So if you're struggling with erectile challenges, this is for you. And after two months, 81% of users reported better eruptions or size gains. All you do is you fill up the hydropump with warm water in the privacy of your shower bath, you slide your penis in, and you leave it on for about three minutes, three to five times a week. That's it, and you will see results, and that will impact your confidence, your performance in the bedroom. There's just so much you can do with a penis pump to help make sure that your penis is acting like you wanted to.
Starting point is 00:19:32 Try BATHMATE right now at bathmatedirect.com slash sex with Emily, and use code Emily10it check out to receive 10% off site wide. That's B-A-T-H-M-A-T-E direct.com slash sex with Emily, and use code Emily10410 for 10% off site wide. That's B-A-T-H-M-A-T-E direct dot com slash sex with Emily and use code Emily10 for 10 percent off site wide. Alright everyone, I'll be right back. This is from Taylor, she's 30. Am I the asshole for being upset when my partner doesn't want sex? Hey Dr. Emily, I'm a lesbian and my girlfriend and I have mismatched sex drives. She rarely wants or thinks about sex, but I think about it and want to pretty much all the
Starting point is 00:20:17 time. Sometimes when she doesn't want sex and I do, I act upset and hurt, and then she has sex with me even though she previously said she didn't want to. Then it makes me feel like a sleazy guy who begs his girlfriend to have sex with him. I feel gross. But I also feel like if I act like I don't care, then we would never have sex again.
Starting point is 00:20:35 I'm so upset by the whole situation and I don't know what to do. This has got to be such a common situation, right? This is the most common situation. No matter what your gender or who you're dating, there's mismatch, sex drives it every single relationship. And one of the scenarios we often see is that we get frustrated because if we're the partner
Starting point is 00:20:53 that is a high desire, we're asking for sex, we're asking for sex, and then our partner might reject us. So we feel bad or they do it. And then we think, okay, they don't really want to do it. And then we're in our heads and it sort of becomes this loose, loose situation. But mismatch sex graves are common. The next thing is finding out when is sex good for her. What kind of sex does she want when you do have it?
Starting point is 00:21:16 When you start having sex, is she into it? When you start having sex, does she have pleasure or is she just look like she's going through the motions? Maybe there's just still some work here she has to do by understanding how she wants to show up sexually and what she requires. I also understand the notion that you want her to initiate. You want her to act like she wants it.
Starting point is 00:21:35 At least you want her to be into it. So it really is important to find out again, what is she into? What do you like? What kind of sex feels good to her? And maybe she has more to learn about sex. Maybe she hasn't had as many partners or she hasn't done a lot of exploring. So maybe there's some mutual masturbation that could go on here where you're both masturbating
Starting point is 00:21:52 and you're figuring out what feels good to her. Has she been with many women? I don't know if this is a new relationship or if she's had this kind of relationship before, rather than getting upset and hurt, I would do some talking. Yeah. Getting clear. I'm curious about this because I feel like this is a dynamic
Starting point is 00:22:07 that happens a lot, where you're almost gilting your partner into it. And it's kind of this negative feedback loop where if I act upset, then my partner has sex with me. How can she disrupt that cycle and what are some new ways that she can encourage her partner to desire sex more often? Yeah, you know, the best way to do that would be a conversation outside the bedroom using my
Starting point is 00:22:27 three teas of communication, timing tone and turf, where the time is on your next date night. Just decide that you're going to say, you know what? Let's talk about sex and your tone is open and not judgmental. It's like, let's just get curious about our sex life. I love our relationship. I love what we do with sex, but I don't want it to be like I'm begging you. And then I feel like if we don't have sex or I don't bring it up, then it's not gonna happen, but let's just talk more about like,
Starting point is 00:22:53 when is the best time of day? What kind of sex do you like? What feels good to you? How do you like to be approached for sex? What could get you in the mood? If you're not sure, you guys can also check out my book Smart Sex, which I write all about understanding your mindset,
Starting point is 00:23:08 what kind of place you need to be in to be in the mood for sex, and how can you guys work together? So, again, I don't know how long you've been in this relationship, but it sounds like there's more information you need, because also there's the notion that maybe she's in sex, maybe she's just have a lot of experience with sex. Like, you just need to find out, and so I don't think there's a different approach here, because what she's already trying is being a loof and waiting for her to approach what she's not doing and then getting
Starting point is 00:23:31 Angry and neither one of those are ideal So just getting into the psychology of your partner and maybe there's a reason why she doesn't want a lot Maybe she's on a certain medication that could be impacting our libido I cannot emphasize that enough that we have to understand that if our partners on the birth control panel have thrown a certain SSRI or any depressant, maybe that's the culprit. So she could talk to her doctor about what can she do to make sure that she still has the sex drive.
Starting point is 00:23:54 Maybe she has some pain, we don't know. But I'm gonna make an assumption here that maybe you haven't had these kind of clarifying conversations with your partner, we can get more data and figure out what does it take? Because also, if she says to you, nope, I just don't care. I don't wanna talk about it. I don't like sex.
Starting point is 00:24:10 It's never been my thing. Then you have more information. And you could say, well, do I wanna be with somebody that I have to convince them to have sex that's actually willing to have a life that isn't as sexual as I require it? But we won't know anything unless we talk about it. If you haven't read Smart Sex, yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:24 One of the five pillars of sexual intelligence is collaboration. And I would say if you have this conversation and your partner doesn't seem down for it, she's just like, this is the way I am, I never want sex. Then you're not fulfilling that pillar of sex IQ. That just makes everything more difficult. Yeah, it really does. We have to all have healthy conversations about sex, which is also another skill set. It's almost like the skill set of learning
Starting point is 00:24:45 how to communicate about sex is just as important as the skill sets of learning how to actually perform in the bedroom, although we don't want you to perform, we want you to be present and do the things that make you feel good and move your body in certain ways, but again, we've got to talk about it too. So try that on for size this year. Start talking about it and see what kind of information you get.
Starting point is 00:25:03 And remember, it's out of one time conversation. Alright, thanks for your question, Taylor. You're not an asshole. I just look forward to you getting some clarity with your girlfriend and seeing what kind of sex life you both want to have and then you can create it together. This is from Sid, he's 42 years old. Hey Dr. Emily, I'm 42 years old and my libido is not what it used to be when I was in my 20s.
Starting point is 00:25:25 Obviously. It's extremely hard put intended to get it up and have the desire for sex more often than once a week. I just don't feel like I have the stamina needed for sex more often than once a week without the help of a prescription pill. When I don't have the stamina, I feel inadequate and insecure. And also the pills have some annoying side effects from time to time that I don't always like dealing with, but my wife is an angel and deserves the best of the best. Because I'm apparently such a decent person to her compared to her ex, her libido is actually skyrocketed to unbelievable levels. Part of me feels like I owe a turn of sex at least once a week, even if I need to use my pills to help me do that.
Starting point is 00:26:03 Please help, she's the best thing that I've ever happened to be and I need to use my pills to help me do that. Please help. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I want to make sure she stays happy and knows that she is valued and treasured. Aw, I love that. We love saying that. You're not an asshole. Say, do you want to feel valued and treasured and show up for your wife at the frequency
Starting point is 00:26:20 in which she desires you to show up? And so the first thing I want to say is that whenever I hear people say things like, part of me feels like I owe it to her of sex at least twice a week. And so first, let's have a conversation with her and find out how often does she need sex? And when she wants it, what kind of sex does she want?
Starting point is 00:26:41 She might be okay with oral sex. If she has a higher sex life, she might just want to get off and feel connected. And so it might not be about penetration. It might be about connection, oral sex, using a toy. And so rather than, you know, feeling like you have to jump through all of these hoops and take a pill that really isn't working for you, and take a pill that really isn't working for you. Let's have a conversation and find out, you know, with this skyrocketing libido, you want to be a great lover tour,
Starting point is 00:27:11 how many times we could be right, and then what kind of sex feels good? Again, let me remind you that for many Volvo owners, it's not all about penetration. Now, you are married to her, and you might know more than I know, obviously, but again, a conversation to clear on what she actually requires with this higher libido than you have would help you get some clarity.
Starting point is 00:27:32 What are some side effects that might be stopping someone from taking pills? Well, you know, he might be getting headaches. He might be having an erection last longer than he likes, might make him nauseous, indigestion, you might be dizzy, back pain, none of those things are fun, blurred vision. And if that is the case, you could also talk to your doctor about finding some other solutions. There are other pills out there. There's other things that you could take if this one doesn't work for you, just because
Starting point is 00:27:57 it works for other people. It doesn't mean it might work for you, but I got it. You could take half the pill. Maybe you could take it certain time today or make sure that you've eaten something. So there's ways to mitigate that. This goes for any medication we take. Red thing going off of something cold turkey, although this isn't as needed kind of pill. Always talk to your doctor about what else you can do for this. If you heard our sex in the news episode, how often should you be having sex? The average number of times couples had sex per week was one and a half. And so maybe that half time could be you going down on her, you pleasing her, you don't
Starting point is 00:28:28 have to worry about taking fat, or worry about your performance at all. But if she is a high libido, you can still make her feel a lot of pleasure and satisfy that. Absolutely. Get out of your head, start talking to her about it and get some information so you can both show up for each other the way you want to. And I don't think you're an asshole. Not an asshole. Not an asshole.
Starting point is 00:28:45 Not an asshole said, this is from Lucy. She's 38 years old and she wants to know, am I the asshole for wanting oral sex every time, not just on special occasions? Hey ladies, I love the show and I'll think sex. I recently started seeing a new guy. We haven't had penetrative sex yet. He's all things sex. I recently started seeing a new guy. We haven't had penetrative sex yet. He's all things I want in a relationship except we were talking about
Starting point is 00:29:10 Oral sex the other night. I'd given him a BJ where she wasn't expecting or anticipating. I do it just as much for me as for him. He then said that Oral sex is only as a treat, otherwise it gets taken for granted. For me, oral, both giving and receiving is a huge part of sex, intimacy, and connection. Am I the asshole to think this is really narrow-minded? And how can I say it without seeming demanding? That's one big thing that I really enjoy. Am I the asshole in being selfish about this?
Starting point is 00:29:41 No, you're not the asshole at all. In fact, what I love is that you're already having conversations about sex before you even had penetrative sex. And listen, you're so not alone, you're, in fact, not only you're not the asshole, but you are the norm. It's a many people prefer oral sex as a warm-up to penetration. And yeah, you might want it every single time. Now, it doesn't have to meet until completion every time. We don't all have so much time, every single time to give a blowjob,
Starting point is 00:30:12 and then they down on our and then have penetrative sex. But for many people, it gets us going. It's the first stop. So I just think it's interesting that he's looking at oral sex as a treat. And I'm wondering where that comes from. Why only treat and is he talking about receiving and giving? It's kind of what it sounds like, which is surprising to me. It's always surprising to us when there's, well, first, what we've been told
Starting point is 00:30:40 and what we've learned is that men want blow jobs all the time. They would take it breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They would do that in lieu of food. And so I think whenever we hear a guy doesn't want it all the time or he only wants in special occasions, we pause, which by the way, all of these gender norm things are truly outdated. And I think that there are, just as we see here, there's just as many vulvas who want oral sex,
Starting point is 00:31:01 even sometimes more than men. So I think that this just comes down to having another conversation with him and getting a little bit clearer. I'm like, so tell me more about oral sex as a treat. Would you be down that it's something that I would require a lot more often? And, you know, again, just because he said this doesn't mean that with the right partner, he'd be willing to examine his views. Mm-hmm. I know I wonder where this message came from because yeah receiving it I feel
Starting point is 00:31:29 like that's something that women are kind of taught to do and men are kind of taught to expect. So for him to say it's only a tree I don't want to even receive it. That's the anomaly right there that he's saying I don't really want it needed every time and just to treat. I'm wondering if maybe he doesn't love receiving oral sex as much as he enjoys penetration. Yeah. That's part of it. And that is true. We have heard this from men who say, you know what? I just, I don't love it. I know it's supposed to be everything, but for me, it's not. And this is why we have to be so careful and remember that we all get to decide what kind of sex feels good to us. And just because we've heard that we should love it and we don't love it, maybe that's just things. So I would find out more about his oral sex preferences. Just because he's not into it doesn't mean that you have to change
Starting point is 00:32:12 your views on oral sex. If you want it every time, you can let him know that it's a big part of your arousal, it gets you going. Maybe you just see it for a few minutes. Maybe there's other things you would want to. If this is your guy and again, it sounds like it's early on, you haven't penetrated sex yet, but sounds like you require literal stimulation before you want penetration, which is very common. And so if he's not willing to provide oral sex every time, is there something else you might need? You maybe use a toy, use fingers, but you can just let him know that you're going to need some revenue up every time is there something else you might need? You maybe use a toy, use fingers, but you can just let them know that you're gonna need some revenue every time and let's figure out what that looks like for both of us. If he doesn't, that's just more time for him to go down on you.
Starting point is 00:32:53 I'm so fascinated by his idea that they'll take it for granted. To me that almost sounds like he is worried about the sex going stale. If they start doing oral sex every time, then what more is there to do? But if you listen to the show, you know, there's literally endless things to try and add to your sex repertoire. But yeah, that's interesting to me.
Starting point is 00:33:15 That is a great point, say it's taken for granted. That reminds me of people who think you can only give compliments every once in a while because then your partner's gonna take it for granted or if you always give to them, they're gonna expect it. And I would say that this is more about his belief system and his personality to be thinking that things are going to run out or people are going to take it for granted or have expectations. And what this makes me think is that in his
Starting point is 00:33:39 previous relationships, something happened in it where he felt that there was expectations that he couldn't meet. And so he's got this philosophy around not doing too much or you take it for granted, although we expectations he can't meet. So I think there's more here to unpack. And how we do one thing is how we do everything. How we believe certain things is how we look at other areas of our life. So there's something here about, let's make this scars. I don't want you to have expectations from me. And I think this is indicative of other things that other ways that he feels, this is not good or bad. This is just something to look out for that he's thinking about sex in this way. Do you think that part of the reason he's scared of oral sex getting taken for granted is because he thinks he's only so good at oral sex?
Starting point is 00:34:26 Like, he has a cap of how good he is and so the thing that keeps it hot and interesting is how scary so this. That could be a point as well. A lot of us are concerned that we are not good at oral sex, that we're not good at sex and we just wanna do everything we can to avoid it, especially oral sex.
Starting point is 00:34:42 We hear this from everyone, all genders who are like, what if I'm not great at it? And so he thinks the less he does it, he won't have to a face something that he's worried about, nervous about, and b, if he doesn't do that often, then it will be a treat or he'll seem better than he is. So there's something that's happened in his past around oral sex. And some beliefs he has that we can only find out by having another conversation with him about it. And she could do it in a light way, you could say to him like, let's talk more about that Oral Sex point. I found that interesting.
Starting point is 00:35:12 For me, Oral Sex is a big part of my arousal telling about your experience with Oral Sex. Or what kind of Oral Sex are you into? Or what feels good to you? Because what we find out would our partner like, so what feels good to them, Orally, or every other way. We can add that to our repertoire. Maybe he wants more suction.
Starting point is 00:35:28 He wants to use a hand. He doesn't want a hand. We are all different and then you get to tell him what you like orally. I think you guys are still on a journey here to figuring out how you can both be great lovers to each other. You're going to find out soon enough, although note here, if you're with somebody who has a scarcity mindset around oral sex, that could if you're with somebody who has a scarcity mindset around oral sex, that could become a problem for somebody who loves oral sex and requires it.
Starting point is 00:35:50 So, you're finding things out early. True. Gathering data, you know, the first few months year we're dating somebody, we're just gathering information. We don't know yet. We're listening. We're paying attention. And we're figuring out, is this somebody I can be compatible with? And rather than just making assumptions too,
Starting point is 00:36:08 you also get to have conversations about it. So what I'm here, you say, is oral sex might not be that important to you. It is important to me. What else can we do to learn together and do not an asshole? You're actually somebody who's who's thoughtful and contemplative. And you know, you want to get your needs met. No problem there. That's it for today's episode, see you on Tuesday. Thanks for listening to Sex with Emily. Be sure to like, subscribe and give us a review wherever you listen to the podcast and share this with a friend or partner. You can find me on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter at Sex with Emily. Oh, I've been told I give really good email.
Starting point is 00:36:50 So sign up at sexwithemily.com and while you're there, check out my free guides and articles for more ways to prioritize your pleasure. If you'd like to ask me about your sex life, dating or relationships, call my hotline 559 Talk Sex. That's 559 825 5739. A go to sexwithemily.com slash Ask Emily. Was it good for you? Email me. Feedback at sexwithemily.com. you

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.