Meghan McCain says GOP needs to lighten up about sex

While she isn't exactly saying that Republicans should run out and buy oral sex mints, Meghan McCain, in her Daily Beast column, addresses the archaic and often harmful rhetoric of the GOP on sex.

This is something I know about firsthand. During my father’s 2000 presidential campaign, a reporter asked how he would feel if I became pregnant and wanted an abortion. He answered that it would be my choice, sending shockwaves throughout the party (because for the GOP there is only one answer, and obviously Senator McCain’s daughter shouldn’t be engaging in sex ever). I’d like to thank that reporter for single-handedly putting me through years of trying to reconcile the fact that when it comes to politics, no matter what you do or who you are, everything is fair game.

But seriously, here was a father, delicately navigating a question about his teenage daughter and being true to the kind of father he had always been, and the Republican Party was outraged. It didn’t matter that my parents raised me to know that, regardless of the mistakes I might make, they would allow me the dignity and courage to make my own choices. That’s the kind of trust my parents have always placed in their children—yet the GOP still needed to get involved and have a say in what I did with my body.

McCain reveals that the first time she ever heard about oral sex was in reference to Bill Clinton, and argues that the party needs to begin discussing better options about birth control and steer away from the Bristol Palinesque fantasy that is abstinence-only education.

If we can’t discuss birth control in addition to abstinence, and in a nonjudgmental way, kids will continue to make bad choices for lack of having access to informed, safe options. Not everyone shares the same beliefs, and more importantly, people don’t always react the same way to their circumstances. Which is why it is so important to encourage honest, open communication about the realities of sex within the party at large, and more specifically, between parents and their children.

5 Tips For Better Sex Tonight

Tip # 1: Respect

Most people agree that one of the biggest pleasures in a relationship is through mutual respect. Developing intimacy requires developing a healthy respect for your mate. Remember what it was that drew you to our partner in the first place. What makes him/her feel like “home” to you? When you have these answers, treat them like mantras you repeat silently throughout the day. Over time, it will become an unconscious act. In those moments when you and your partner are not seeing eye-to-eye -- and these happen for everyone -- the memory of why you are with him/her will renew the respect you have.

Tip # 2: Adult Movies

Adult Movies are a helpful method for spicing up your sex life. Whether or not you have a partner, watching adult films can certainly assist you in improving your skills as a lover, but many of the how-to videos and DVDs are extremely educational from a scientific standpoint. Many feature commentary by medical doctors and licensed sex therapists, who offer invaluable knowledge about how the male and female body functions during sex. In addition, you are often able to view real couples putting lessons they learned into practice, which serves to demonstrate that we are all capable of having satisfying sex lives.

Tip # 3: Fellatio

Fellatio is the technical term for oral sex performed on a man. Its root is from the Latin verb meaning “to suck.” For many men, oral sex is a more intense experience than intercourse. This is due to the concentration of stimulation to the penis by mouth, tongue, and hands. Each man has different areas of concentrated sensitivity, so it’s important for a man to communicate what is pleasurable to him during oral sex. If he is not comfortable speaking out loud about his needs, he should gently guide his lover either with his hands or let her know when she’s doing the right thing by making some oral indication such as telling her he likes what she’s doing or sometimes even just a moan will send the message!

Tip # 4: Prolonging Pleasure

As a general rule, the longer the stimulation, the larger the release. This is true physically as well as mentally. In order to prolong pleasure during lovemaking and prevent male orgasm from occurring too soon, it’s important to start slowly. Even just talking to each other about the sex you’d like to have is a turn-on, and can initiate arousal. Once you begin to touch, you may wish to begin with a backrub or deep kissing before moving to intercourse. Once you do begin making love, you can also bring a man back from the brink of orgasm with a squeezing technique. Just prior to his orgasm, put your thumb on one side of the base of the penis and the tips of your index and middle fingers on the other side, then squeeze.

Tip # 5: Sensual Massage

Sexual technique is not always about doing super tricks in bed. Much of lovemaking occurs before the act of intercourse even begins. In part, knowing how to be a good lover means knowing how to touch. Sensual massage is a wonderful way to connect to your partner, and to learn what feels good to him/her. It is also a very bonding act. Three basic types of massage can be practiced. There’s a general soothing massage, where you simply use oils or lotion and gently rub your lover’s body head to toe. In a body to body massage, you use your own body to assist in the massage, sliding up and down his/he back, using hair, nails or even playful bites. Some massage sessions may progress to masturbating your partner as part of the rub-down. Pay attention to your partner’s reactions as you massage or establish ahead of time what type of massage you will give/receive so that both of you achieve the maximum pleasure.