Sex advice online

Sex can be an embarassing subject, and often students don't know where to turn for advice.\nOne of the biggest problems students face is where to go for reliable advice, said Jennifer Bass, director of Information Services at the Kinsey Institute. The organization tries to fill that void for IU students through the Internet. \nTheir Web site, the Kinsey Institute Sexuality Information Service for Students, www.indiana.edu/~kisiss, provides a full range of services intended to help students have a healthy sex life.\nOne service the site provides is a question and answer database with sexual questions and answers. The types of questions students find on KISISS range from sexuality to sexually transmitted diseases to erections.\nQuestions on the Web site include:\n• "My girlfriend wants me to go down on her, but I don't know how to go about it. Any advice?"\n• "Where can a male victim of rape go for counseling or help in general?"\n• "I've been trying to have intercourse with my boyfriend, but it is too painful. The doctor said my vaginal muscle is too tight. What can I do?"\nIf the question database cannot answer a student's question, the Web site has an e-mail address where students can send their problems to the Kinsey Institute experts and get an immediate response.\n"It is completely confidential," said Emily Nagoski, a graduate student studying sex education. Nagoski works for the Kinsey Institute and is one of two people who answer the questions submitted. \nBass is the other person. If a student has a question and is afraid to submit it because it seems too bizarre, Bass said the student should not fear because they have probably heard the question before.\n"Students should know that we are not judgmental," Bass said. "We've had questions dealing with penis and testicle size and shape, sexuality, women not having orgasms, intercourse pain and all sorts of fantasies from (sadomasochism) to rape. \n"A common question we get asked is 'Do I need help? Am I normal?' We answer every question in a profession manner," she said.\nNagoski said she has also answered her fair share of unusual questions.\n"There was one person who e-mailed in asking about the nutritional content of sperm," Nagoski said. "They were worried that sperm might be bad for the digestion or high in fat and cholesterol."\nBut Nagoski managed to hunt down an answer for a tough question like this. She found that sperm is actually good for the person because it is loaded with protein but low in fat and calories.\nMost submissions that Nagoski gets are serious, she said. \n"It's clear that the people who submit questions are very anxious and worried about their sexual problems," Nagoski said.\nBut Bass said that the site gets a lot of questions about unwanted pregnancy, STDs, AIDS and HIV and abortion.\nWhile the site averages about 250 hits a day, Nagoski and Bass said they still wish more student knew about the service.\n"I feel a lot of sadness because I often get e-mails from people with huge concerns, especially about their sexuality," Nagoski said. "But they have never had anyone to talk to … until they found us"