Love, Lust and Laughter - 11.24.20

Michael Castleman has answered more than 12,000 sex questions throughout his career: on his Great Sex Guidance website, through his “All About Sex” blog on Psychology Today (where he reviewed Dr. Diana’s book Love in the Time of Corona), and during the 1990s on the Playboy Advisor column. Michael and Dr. Diana first discussed the upcoming Thanksgiving—a very different one this year in the midst of the pandemic. Many have recalibrated their plans to keep themselves and their loved ones safe in the midst of all the uncertainty. But crisis can create opportunities. One of the best remedies for COVID stress is massage. Michael calls it a nutrient you get through the skin. If you don’t have a partner, self-massage and solo-sex are helpful. A couple may feel deprived of touching loved ones outside their household (hugging grandchildren comes to mind!). Many partners are turning to each other and getting into massage; some view sex as less about intercourse and more about touch. Shoulder and neck massages relieve tension and promote relaxation.

 

Castleman’s new book Sizzling Sex for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Maximize Erotic Pleasure at Any Age

will be published in January, and is available for pre-order on Amazon. This book, which took three years to write, incorporates source material from 2,500 studies published over the past seventy years. He delves into many social/political/sexual issues. Michael and Dr. Diana discussed two of these: sex education and pornography. Another topic, couples therapy, revealed that the most common presenting problem is a difference in levels of desire. After a while, “sex becomes less like the Fourth of July and more like Thanksgiving.” Library Journal calls Michael Castleman “one of the nation’s top health writers.” Dr. Diana calls him one of her very best radio guests in the last ten years!