One-third of sexual relationships in Chicago lack exclusivity, says a new study, conducted to point out risks of non-romantic sexual relationships.
In the survey of 783 heterosexual adults, one in 10 men and women reported that both they and their partner had slept with other people.
Anthony Paik, a sociologist in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and author of the study, said the study is important as concurrent partnerships speed up the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
"The United States has seen a major shift toward non-romantic sexual partnerships -- people becoming sexually involved when they are just casually dating or not dating at all. A quarter of the respondents became sexually involved while casually dating and a fifth did so as friends or acquaintances," Paik said.
Respondents, ranging in age from 18 to 60, were asked how many people they had been with during their most recent relationship. They also estimated how many partners their partner had during that time. Sexual involvement was defined as genital contact.
Overall, 17 per cent of men and 5 per cent of women acknowledged that they had been with someone else. Another group -- 17 per cent of women and 8 per cent of men -- said they’d been exclusive but their partner had not. Twelve per cent of women and 10 per cent of men said neither of them had been monogamous.
Being involved with a friend increased the likelihood of non-monogamy by 44 per cent for women and 25 per cent for men. Involvement with an acquaintance or stranger increased the odds by 30 per cent for women and 43 per cent for men.
The study also found that respondents who got along with each other’s parents were less likely to have multiple sex partners. Paik said people are less likely to risk a relationship when they take family stakeholders into consideration.
Paik said the research does not lead to the conclusion that efforts should be made to revive dating. "People can make their own choices, but we hope this information will be useful as they weigh the risks and rewards of non-romantic sexual relationships.
We encourage people be aware of the potential for sexual concurrency and take appropriate precautions to avoid sexually transmitted infections," he said.
The study has been published in the latest issue of the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
A Real Tragic Love Story
It was the beginning of my sophomore year. I transferred to another school because my dad need to find a job and it seemed he found one with his friends. I was a newbie to that school and yet I didn’t know anyone or try to talk to anyone. I was a shy girl. No one would even try to talk to me, so throughout the whole time there I was alone. For many times, i try to hide myself from everyone because I’m always all by myself and people think I’m weird because of it. I had thought that my entire year there just might be the same as last year where i was all by myself and even my friends left me. Not until that day happen.
I was sitting in my class one day and I noticed a boy sitting behind me. I don’t quite remember his name, but i know that he and his friends are always so loud and I wasn’t able to study on my free time or anything. They were mostly talking about girls and stuff boys would talk about. I was kind of getting tired of them yapping the whole time so I got up and tried to walk away, but one of my notebooks fell down by his foot. I tried not to bend down and grab the notebook because I fear they might make fun of me. I then said, “Would you get that for me?” They all stopped talking and looked at me. I was thinking to myself, “Oh damn…” The boy who sat behind me smiled and said, “Sure,” and handed the notebook to me. I grabbed it and make my way out.
The next day as I was sitting in my desk, he
Top 10 Romantic Love Poems
My love, I have tried with all my being
to grasp a form comparable to thine own,
but nothing seems worthy;
I know now why Shakespeare could not
compare his love to a summer’s day.
It would be a crime to denounce the beauty
of such a creature as thee,
to simply cast away the precision
God had placed in forging you.
Each facet of your being
whether it physical or spiritual
is an ensnarement
from which there is no release.
But I do not wish release.
I wish to stay entrapped forever.
With you for all eternity.
Our hearts, always as one.
2
If I could have just one wish,
I would wish to wake up everyday
to the sound of your breath on my neck,
the warmth of your lips on my cheek,
the touch of your fingers on my skin,
and the feel of your heart beating with mine...
Knowing that I could never find that feeling
with anyone other than you.
3
What I Love About You
I love the way you look at me,
Your eyes so bright and blue.
I love the way you kiss me,
Your lips so soft and smooth.
I love the way you make me so happy,
And the ways you show you care.
I love the way you say, "I Love You,"
And the way you're always there.
I love the way you touch me,
Always sending chills down my spine.
I love that you are with me,
And glad that you are mine.
4
A gentle word like a spark of light,
Illuminates my soul
And as each sound goes deeper,
It's YOU that makes me whole
There is no corner, no dark place,
YOUR LOVE cannot fill
And if the world starts causing waves,
It's your devotion that makes them still
And yes you always speak to me,
In sweet honesty and truth
Your caring heart keeps out the rain,
YOUR LOVE, the ultimate roof
So thank you my Love for being there,
For supporting me, my life
I'll do the same for you, you know,
My Beautiful, Darling Wife.
5
A stranger you were once.
Then, with a gentle look you took my hand.
As our lives engaged,
you lit my life and I held both your hands.
Now that decades have passed,
ours souls have indeed become one.
How fortunate we are
that we have found the love so true
that everyone dreams about.
6
You're my man, my mighty king,
And I'm the jewel in your crown,
You're the sun so hot and bright,
I'm your light-rays shining down,
You're the sky so vast and blue,
And I'm the white clouds in your chest,
I'm a river clean and pure,
Who in your ocean finds her rest,
You're the mountain huge and high,
I'm the valley green and wide,
You're the body firm and strong,
And I'm a rib bone on your side,
You're an eagle flying high,
I'm your feathers light and brown,
You're my man, my king of kings,
And I'm the jewel in your crown.
7
Never Have I Fallen
Your lips speak soft sweetness
Your touch a cool caress
I am lost in your magic
My heart beats within your chest
I think of you each morning
And dream of you each night
I think of your arms being around me
And cannot express my delight
Never have I fallen
But I am quickly on my way
You hold a heart in your hands
That has never before been given away
8
Your Name
I wrote your name in the sky,
but the wind blew it away.
I wrote your name in the sand,
but the waves washed it away.
I wrote your name in my heart,
and forever it will stay.
9
Love Is ...
Love is the greatest feeling,
Love is like a play,
Love is what I feel for you,
Each and every day,
Love is like a smile,
Love is like a song,
Love is a great emotion,
That keeps us going strong,
I love you with my heart,
My body and my soul,
I love the way I keep loving,
Like a love I can't control,
So remember when your eyes meet mine,
I love you with all my heart,
And I have poured my entire soul into you,
Right from the very start.
10
I Will Love You Forever
I love you so deeply,
I love you so much,
I love the sound of your voice
And the way that we touch.
I love your warm smile
And your kind, thoughtful way,
The joy that you bring
To my life every day.
I love you today
As I have from the start,
And I'll love you forever
With all of my heart.
Since a very long time ago, people have searched for the meaning of love. But even the great philosophers, with their profound definitions, could not fully touch its true essence. In a survey of 4-8 year olds, kids share their views on love. But what do little kids know about love? Read on and be surprised that despite their young and innocent minds, kids already have a simple but deep grasp of that four-letter word.
"Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way."
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
"When someone loves you, the way she says your name is different. You know that your name is safe in her mouth."
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs."
"Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad but you don't yell at him because you know it would hurt his feelings."
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss but they look happy and sometimes they dance in the kitchen while kissing."
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."
"Love is hugging. Love is kissing. Love is saying no."
"When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you're scared she won't love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only does she still love you, she loves you even more."
"There are 2 kinds of love. Our love. God's love. But God makes both kinds of them."
"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they've know each other so well."
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
"Love is-if you hold hands and sit beside each other in the cafeteria. That means you're in love. Otherwise, you can sit across from each other and be okay."
"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
"Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken."
"Don't feel so bad if you don't have a boyfriend. There's lots of stuff you can do without one."
"Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
"If you want somebody to love you, then just be yourself. Some people try to act like somebody else, somebody the boy likes better. I think the boy isn't being very good if he does this to you and you should just find a nicer boy."
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day"
"When you're born and see your mommy for the first time.
"Love is what makes people hide in the dark corners of movie theaters."
"Love goes on even when you stop breathing and you pick up where you left off when you reach heaven."
"My enemies taught me how to love."
"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
"You have to fall in love before you get married. Then when you're married, you just sit around and read books together."
"I let my big sister pick on me because my Mom says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister because I love her."
"Love cards like Valentine's cards say stuff on them that we'd like to say ourselves, but we wouldn't be caught dead saying."
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."
"Love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."
"You never have to be lonely. There's always somebody to love, even if it's just a squirrel or a kitten."
"You can break love, but it won't die."
[VIA]
Use one of these famous Valentine's Day love quotes to express your love with a bunch of red roses. These romantic quotations will never fail to impress your Valentine and will make him/ her realize how much you love Him/ her. Some of these love quotes are funny, others are romantic and yet others are thought provoking and will surely make your beloved feel special and cared for. So read to know more about what famous people had to say about the beautiful feeling called love!
"Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds."
-Shakespeare
"If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand."
-Unknown
"You don't marry someone you can live with - you marry the person who you cannot live without."
-Unknown
"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction."
-Saint-Exupery
"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous."
-Ingrid Bergman
"I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love."
-Henry Ward Beecher
"True love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have seen."
-La Rochefoucauld
"Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all."
-St. Augustine
"To love another person is to see the face of God."
-Les Miserables
"Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition."
-Alexander Smith
"Sympathy constitutes friendship; but in love there is a sort of antipathy, or opposing passion. Each strives to be the other, and both together make up one whole."
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"The richest love is that which submits to the arbitration of time."
-Lawrence Durrell
“Very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love."
-Stendhal
"There is no remedy for love but to love more."
-Thoreau
"Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it."
-Dr. Karl Menninger
"To love and win is the best thing. To love and lose, the next best."
-William M. Thackeray
"If you love someone, let them go. If they return to you, it was meant to be. If they don't, their love was never yours to begin with..."
-Unknown
"True love never dies for it is lust that fades away. Love bonds for a lifetime but lust just pushes away."
-Alicia Barnhart
"Who says love never lives? Maybe we've never lived."
-Unknown
"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."
-Unknown
"If love is great, and there are no greater things, then what I feel for you must be the greatest."
-Unknown
"The Eskimos have 52 words for snow because it is so special to them; there ought to be as many for love!"
-Margaret Atwood
"Love is like playing the piano. First you must learn to play by the rules, then you must forget the rules and play from your heart."
-Unknown
"Within you, I lose myself. Without you, I find myself wanting to be lost again."
-Unknown
