Living | Annette Owens

 Sex is like everything else in life—it has its ups and downs. Having seen countless couples over the years struggle to keep their sexual passion at unrealistically high levels, I was pleasantly surprised to see a new approach to sparking sexual desire hit shelves this year. Enduring Desire: Your Guide to Lifelong Intimacy is different [...]

Living | Annette Owens

 Most people recognize and know how to meet their basic needs when it comes to doing things like eating and drinking, or turning the heat up or down. And they don’t even think twice about it. But what about when it comes to sex? Do we trust ourselves? Recently, I attended an international conference where [...]

Living | Annette Owens

 We’ve come a long way since the pill was introduced in the 1950s. Today, there are many birth control options available—some of them over the counter (OTC), others prescribed by a medical practitioner (MP). Ask your health provider about which method might be best for you. BARRIER METHODS Barriers block the sperm from reaching the [...]

Living | Annette Owens

 Quite a few women with uterine fibroids suffer in silence, unaware of how common their condition actually is and not knowing where to turn for help and support. Between 20 and 35 percent of women ages 25 to 50 have symptomatic uterine fibroids (leiomyomata). And African American women have an even higher chance of developing [...]

Living | Annette Owens

 They define your female curves, respond to your lover’s caress and allow you to nurse your newborn. Sure, they can also hurt like hell just before your period and you may think that yours are either too large or too small. But, trust me, your breasts are precious friends you need to take good care [...]

Living | Annette Owens

An image of it was found on a 13,000-year-old etched plaque discovered during an archeological dig in Enlene, France. Hemingway’s novel The Garden of Eden centers around it. Go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and you will find ancient Greek vases depicting scenes of it. Pick up the latest issue of Playboy and see [...]

Living | Annette Owens

  Ask your partner or your friends “What does sex mean to you?” and you might be surprised. What seems like a simple question is not so at all. People often have very different ideas about what “having sex” means. To some, the answer seems simple—and they often wonder why I ask such a weird [...]

Living | Annette Owens

“So I had cooked a special dinner, lit candles everywhere, and really was in the mood that night and then guess what happened? Nothing! He could not get it up! I never thought that would happen to me. I felt so miserable; I probably won’t see him again.” “I think my boyfriend is losing interest [...]

Living | Annette Owens

Why is it that so many women are unhappy with their bodies? How many girlfriends do you have who are on a diet right now? A few weeks ago, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about cankles, fat or swollen ankles that merge with the calf without a clear demarcation between the [...]

Living | Annette Owens

Many women find it difficult to have an orgasm. Or perhaps, a woman can have an orgasm when she is by herself, but not with her partner. Often these women don’t realize that this is a very common problem and naturally, they feel quite alone in their struggles. On top of that, occasionally a partner [...]

Living | Annette Owens

How will pregnancy affect your sex life? Ask your girlfriends who have been pregnant whether they had sex during their pregnancy and you will likely get quite a mix of answers—from “I was constantly horny and felt like having sex every single day,” to “No way, I felt nauseous the first few months and then [...]

Living | Annette Owens

More than half of all Americans will get a sexually transmitted infection (STI) at some point in their lifetime. If you’re one of them, how will your sex life be affected, during and after treatment? First, let’s take a quick look at some general facts. The majority of STIs are asymptomatic, which means that there [...]

Living | Annette Owens

After serving the Charlottesville community for almost 10 years, I will be closing my office later this fall.

Living | Annette Owens

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a magic pill that could help boost sexual desire for those who struggle with its ebb and flow?

Living | Annette Owens

Sometimes, couples want to introduce new elements into their sex lives, such as using toys or role-playing, but they may be worried about feeling too self-conscious. I was asked the other day, how can you overcome the giggle factor with each other? Here’s what I tell people: The more you giggle the better! It’s the [...]

Living | Annette Owens

I try to keep up with new sexuality books as much as I can

Living | Annette Owens

There are no more excuses not to step up HIV prevention efforts, especially in the black and gay male population, after a new study has found that the incidence of new HIV cases in the U.S. may be much higher than previously thought.

Living | Annette Owens

Imagine my surprise during my first Danish triathlon when, emerging from the ice-cold water, I passed naked butt after naked butt lined up in the transition area where you get ready for the bike part of the race.

Living | Annette Owens

My previous column focused on the most common sexual problem for women: low libido. Now I will address the most frequent male concern: rapid or premature ejaculation (PE).

Living | Annette Owens

Luckily, a lot of people are satisfied with their sex life and don’t need professional counseling. But what about the unhappy ones?

Living | Annette Owens

This edition of The Sex Files is devoted to new moms. Unless you adopted your child, you got to this point by having sex.

Living | Annette Owens

A vacation can work wonders for any relationship, even if you can only get away for a few days. Of course, it can also turn into a stressful nightmare, so plan a little bit ahead. The beauty of traveling to an unfamiliar place is that suddenly there are no house chores to do. You can’t [...]

Living | Annette Owens

A personal lubricant is a godsend for anyone suffering from vaginal dryness—breastfeeding moms, for instance, who often don’t know (and often aren’t told) that as long as they nurse, their estrogen levels will be low, causing them to be as dry as the Sahara. No, it’s not that they no longer like their partner. It’s [...]

Living | Annette Owens

Sex is not much fun when it hurts. About 15 to 20 percent of women in the United States report having pain during intercourse, and yet this problem often makes women feel alone. Unlike a backache or tennis elbow, it’s not something you can easily share with friends or colleagues. It’s not unusual for a [...]

Living | Annette Owens

Humans have hunted for magical love potions for thousands of years—to the extent that the black rhinoceros, whose horn bends up like an erect penis, is almost extinct. Tigers are another endangered species, since their penises—believed to possess extraordinary virility—are a hot trade object in some cultures. Aphrodisiacs are named after Aphrodite, Greek goddess of [...]

Living | Annette Owens

Spring is in full bloom and new life is erupting in colors and sounds all around us. Let’s think beyond the birds and the bees and about humans instead.