Poppers are known to enhance sexual experiences and some believe they make anal sex easier as they can help a person relax their sphincter muscles, but when you inhale, most people find that they get a headache… but why?
When you inhale, the chemicals in poppers dilate your blood vessels, which allows more blood to flow to your heart and your brain. This is why your face may turn red and your heart thumps a little harder when you take poppers. Many people talk about a warm rush sensation. This is the blood flowing through your body.
The effects are short-term, although the headache might last a little longer!
So what causes the headache when your inhale poppers?
Why do poppers cause a headache?
It’s all to do with how the chemicals react to your own physiology. When you snort or inhale your blood vessels dilate, meaning they get bigger, which means your blood has the chance to rush through your system. It also means your blood pressure becomes very low. Headaches can be one of the symptoms of low blood pressure.
All that fresh blood pumping around can get the heart pumping quicker. But soon after the blood vessels start to restrict again. The dilation and constricting of blood vessels in the brain can trigger the pain centres of the brain, which might cause the headache you feel after using poppers.
Drinking alcohol while taking poppers might also exacerbate the issue.
The thing to remember is this, if you’re not enjoying it or are worried stop using them. The rush will end after two to four minutes, but your headache might last for an hour. Take an aspirin and a glass of water.
“There is no ‘right’ to have your own biological child, or to use a poor, desperate woman’s body to carry that child. Narcissistic, rich, racist, entitled pricks”
Julie Bindel, who writes for the Guardian, and New Statesman has hit out at gay men who use surrogacy to have their own, biological child. The columnist was commenting on an April Fool’s Joke about surrogacy by German LGBT+ website Queer.de.
The article, which has been apologised for, was a competition to give away an egg donation and to pay for the services of a surrogate mother in Bangkok worth €36,000.
Bindel has often spoken out about gay men using surrogate mothers in order to have children. In her latest social media outburst, she appeared to call gay men “Narcissistic, rich, racist, entitled pricks”.
She wrote on Twitter
“Those of us aware of the human rights abuses involved in surrogacy, or rather womb trafficking, will be very well aware that this so-called April Fools’ Day joke happens in real life, & the attitude is prevalent among gay men who consider it their right 2 use the inside of those women’s bodies for their own inconvenience. There is no ‘right’ to have your own biological child, or to use a poor, desperate woman’s body to carry that child. Narcissistic, rich, racist, entitled pricks:” She then linked to the April Fool’s article by Queer.de.
Those of us aware of the human rights abuses involved in surrogacy, or rather womb trafficking, will be very well aware that this so-called April Fools’ Day joke happens in real life, & the attitude is prevalent among gay men who consider it their right 2 use the inside of those
women’s bodies for their own inconvenience. There is no ‘right’ to have your own biological child, or to use a poor, desperate woman’s body to carry that child. Narcissistic, rich, racist, entitled pricks: https://t.co/dLXBZ7OI59
When Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black announced their baby news, Bindel reiterated her stance, saying, “No-one has the ‘right’ to their own biological child. And renting the womb of a desperate women to fulfil a selfish desire is a human rights violation. Surrogacy is the interface between extreme capitalism and patriarchy.”
However, Bindel’s comments have been blasted as “hate speech” and bigotted.
“Activist Julie Bindel should be ashamed at the hate speech she has ejected onto Twitter. Ms Bindel has attended a Families Through Surrogacy conference in the UK, so has surely heard both UK and US surrogates speak about their altruistic motives for nurturing a child for a couple who otherwise can’t carry one. Thousands of gay men around the world have embraced the opportunity to create a longed for family of their own via surrogacy and the majority of these have done so in a respectful, carefully planned manner, often establishing ongoing friendships with their surrogate and her family.
“No, there is no ‘right’ to have your own biological child, but when educated, empowered women in countries like the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Greece and Eastern Europe make informed decisions to carry a baby for a childless couple, bigots such as Ms Bindel have no right to label them ‘poor, desperate women’.
“The bans on surrogacy for foreigners in Thailand, India, Cambodia and Nepal in recent years seems to have completely escaped Ms Bindel’s notice. Wake up and smell the flowers!”
THEGAYUK.com reached out to Julie Bindel for comment.
UPDATE since publishing: Bindel claims not to have received the email sent – and told THEGAYUK.com to “fuck off”.
Before you go to town, there are a few things you should know…
So what is Rimming?
Rimming if you’re not in the know is where one person (the rimmer) licks, sucks, kisses, penetrates their partner’s (rimmee) anus with their tongue.
There’s a lot of guys who absolutely love receiving it and giving it, or both, but if the idea of rimming makes you feel a bit icky we’ve got some tips to make the w(hole) thing a lot more sexier.
Trim that hair
Although some people will love a hairy man butt, you should be aware that pubic hair around the ass will be teeming with bacteria. This is because little bits of faecal matter will cling to the hair (we call them chumber nuts)- and normal wiping with TP, won’t get rid of all of it. So you could buy some wet wipes, but it’s best to have a shower before any anal sex situation. Otherwise, you can shave your ass or even, if you’re brave, go for a waxing.
Clean it good
So while we’re on the matter of faecal matter, make sure that you have a good shower or bath before you get rimmed. Doctor Rick Viney, a consultant urological surgeon at BMI The Priory and BMI Edgbaston hospitals in Birmingham, told us, “there are plenty of E Coli in this environment so it is possible to get gastroenteritis…” So if you don’t want to spend time recovering from a dodgy belly, a good scrub from your rimmee is necessary.
Dam it
If you’re a bit icked out by the thought of sticking your tongue in some guy’s ass, why not try a dental dam. It’s a thin sheet of latex that you put in between your mouth and his butt. Check them out here
Talking about taste
If you’re gonna go straight for it and don’t want to use a dam, but not so taken with the taste of ass, then get the receiver to smother his asshole with flavoured lube.
You can get herpes…
So did you know you can get herpes from anal oral sex? Yes, if the giver has cold sores it’s best to stay clear of rimming until the sores have disappeared. Dr Rick Viney explained, “the risks from rimming are similar to oral sex. If there is active herpes, warts or syphilis these can spread directly to the mouth and vice versa.”
Lick it… Lick it good.
There are no hard and fast rules about what makes for a good rimming session. Whether you go up to down, from left to right, slow or fast, lapping or darting every moment will give the receiver feels.
For the receiver let your partner know what is working for you, by groans of enjoyment, similarly, the giver can ask, “does that feel good?” (obviously not when your mouth is full of ass)
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Up in the air
Probably the best position is with the receiver on their stomach whilst lifting the hips a little to make the hole accessible. You can also be on your back, however, if you’re a bit body conscious this might not be a great position.
On your back is a great position if you want to make eye contact with your rimmer.
You can also do what’s called face sitting. Where the rimmee essentially sits on the face of the rimmer. Be careful not to smother your partner. Leave room for breathing to take place.
Eat the right thing
As with anything butt related you might want to pay attention to what you’re eating before getting rimmed. You don’t want to spend the entire time worrying that you might blow off in your partner’s face.
Rimming is a fantastic way to prepare for anal sex. All that licking and tongue thrusting can really get the motor running before taking your session to the next level. It can also help the bottom become a little more relaxed before fingers or a dick is introduced… Bravo!
Leave your rimming stories and comments in the comment section below!
We asked Doctor Nitin Shori from Pharmacy2U what can be done to get a bigger penis, he told us that penis size is a common worry amongst men, but there really isn’t anything that is “normal” when it comes to penises or their size. He told us, “try not to get anxious about it. So long as you are otherwise healthy and happy, the most important thing is taking precautions to ensure that you do not run the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including using condoms, when you do have sex.”
So what can actually be done to make a penis bigger?
Doctor Nitin, says that evidence that products and procedures that claim to make your penis larger is thin on the ground and that many just don’t work and more worryingly that many just aren’t safe.
He suggests some steps that you can take to improve your own and others’ perception of the size of your penis and best of all they are free. They include trimming your pubic hair – a bushy pubic area can obscure over an inch of your length and losing weight. As you put on weight and as you get older you tend to put fat on around your pubic area leading to buried penis syndrome.
Counselling?
If you’re still concerned then maybe you might find counselling beneficial. Shori adds, “In some cases, people inaccurately conclude that they are not as big as they should be. Counselling has been shown to be beneficial for men with penis anxiety as therapy helps patients identify and correct any distorted views, building self-confidence and overcoming fears about sexual relations”.
A world of small willies…
Even if you do have a small penis there’s a world of information out there for you. Did you know there’s a small penis festival? There are also many advantages of having a small penis – check them out here.
Last week I decided that I would delete some social apps.
Ranty tweets do nothing for the health – so why not come off it for a while.
I was done with social media. Twitter had become the second thing I opened in the morning, second only to my eyes and within seconds I could feel my blood angry up.
Twitter’s “Moments” were the catalyst for my angst. The platform, which claims not to be a publisher, hires a team of people to select stories (never actually on newsworthiness) and create an incredibly biased narrative and shoves them into my timeline.
Have you ever noticed that there’s so much anger on Twitter?
It’s faux anger, fueled by hashtags that will be long forgotten when the next travesty is ‘momentised’.
But where is the anger about the mountains of plastic we consume each day? Where is the angst about the bleach we pour down millions of loos, water which eventually ends up in our oceans? Where is the outrage for the millions of acres of forest we destroy for paper products or products which contain palm oil?
Problems that actually matter, problems are extinction level events for humankind.
No, instead let’s argue about whether Ben Affleck’s back tattoo is “too much”, whether Germaine Geer is a feminist or not or whether the 30-year-old lyrics of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” are “problematic”. It’s just all so tiresome and what does all this negativity really achieve?
If you “can’t deal” Ben’s tattoo, don’t look at it. If you don’t think Germaine is woke, don’t listen to her, if the lyrics offend you, just search for how much money that song has raised for good causes. Stop shitting on everything because you have a problem with it. Today.
Enough is Enough
As I clicked the “X” above Twitter and the TWO Facebook apps, I had a pang of, actually what was that feeling? Was it desperation? Or was it relief?
Twitter is part of my work, so I knew I wasn’t going to be able to rid myself fully of the little blue bird, but I’d have to log in via a browser, which I found to be a much better experience for my mental wealth.
For the first three days, when I had a spare moment, I found myself, opening up my phone and looking for something. As I flipped through my apps, I had forgotten what I was looking for, but habit is so ingrained in our fibres, we still reach to do the thing that we always do. I guess this is withdrawal. The visual element of the Twitter / Facebook app logo had gone, but I was still looking for my connection fix.
After the fourth day, I had rediscovered the Apple news app – and started reading actual news. News that is sourced, written, analysed and curated by real-life journalists. Yes, of course, there is bias in news, but if you choose a number of outlets, one from each side of the political divide and one in the middle (or indeed a specialist or niche site, like THEGAYUK.com – plug plug) you can get variety. Like your food diet, your news diet needs variety. Consuming only one type will ultimately leave your wanting, no, needing more.
By the fifth day, I had totally forgotten about the apps and an added boon, my phone’s battery life went to last an entire day. Almost.
By the seventh day, I actually felt calmer. I felt happier. I feel less stressed.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep this up, but my mental wealth has boomed.
As I travelled into London on the train, I looked around the carriage and was aware that everyone, regardless of their age was hunched over their phone. Tapping away. They were all obvious to the world around them. When did we become so disconnected from the real world?
I looked out of the windows, the sun filtered through the glass. London looked beautiful. I felt happy to be alive. I felt happy to be disconnected in that moment.
So if you find yourself getting angry over nothing, put down the phone, look out your window and take a deep breath.
While my boyfriend takes almost every possible moment to whip his clothes off, I’m happy to keep it AbFab Saffy. He says I’m the only person he knows who dresses up to go to bed.
So the idea of a nudist beach outing isn’t a natural fit for me, my Irish Roman Catholic never-naked family upbringing means that nudity to me is best kept in the dark. But as I’ve always said, “don’t say no, till you give it go”. So on a trip to Australia, I relented to my nagging boyfriend, who had heard there was a gay nude beach somewhere on the shores of Sydney.
We were 9,445 miles away. No one I know would be there, and at 26 years-old I was in my prime.
Early one morning, we took a ferry to the Toronga Zoo and walked for what seemed like hours. With every step, my protestations got louder and more pronounced. “Did we really need to do this”, “There’s a perfectly nice, findable beach in Manly”, “What’s so special about getting naked anyway?”
Finally, we found it. Opening up in front of us was a naked haven. It was less of a beach and more of a cove of smooth rocks, facing towards the sea. A bit like a penguin exhibit at a zoo. Numerous, well-placed, seemingly naturally occurring outcroppings of smoothish rocks, perfect for spreading out a towel and basking beneath the Aussie sun. It looked perfect. It looked secluded. At each end, there was a high wall of rocks and thick bush add to the seclusion. Perfect.
My boyfriend’s little eyes lit up like it was Christmas, Easter, Valentines, New Year’s and Wirral Appreciation Day (he’s from Wirral) all in one. He started removing items of clothes as we picked our way across the rocks to find somewhere to settle.
I started casually glancing around, more to make sure I had a good footing on the rocks, rather than goggling the naked men on show. There were penises everywhere.
Some were casually flopping over the owner’s knees, some were neatly nestled in a well-groomed nest of pubic hair. All attached to perfectly bronzed and toned bodies.
We had found a spot to make camp, my boyfriend literally ran off towards the ocean.
I was left to undress and sink lower into my own self-loathing.
I could feel expectant eyes around me. I was, still dressed, very much so. So I began to peel off an item of clothing one item at a time. It was like a very slow, very bizarre Victorian striptease. First flip-flop, second flip-flop and so on until it was just my underwear and nakedness. I was eking out every moment of clothed protection.
Finally, with my undies still on, I rooted around in my rucksack for my book. It was chunky. In what can only be described as pure magic, I whipped off my undies and firmly placed the book in front of the crown jewels in one swift, deft move. I was naked save for the book. I looked around to see if there had been any signs of approval from the expectant eyes, but they had long bored of my antics and were distracting themselves in other ways.
I pretended to thumb through my book. My boyfriend called for me to come down to the ocean.
Could I?
Could I walk to the ocean… exposed? Between where I was sitting and the shore there must have been about ten meters of rocks.
Sod it. Do it. What’s the worst that could happen?
Beneath my book, I gave my little Mr a tug. It’s the tugging that all men give themselves when you need a little something more. You know, in the right circumstances, you add a couple of inches to a flaccid knob.
Finally, appeased by the length, I remove my book stand up. I blind everyone. My pale never nude body is so bright I’m sure it can be seen from space.
I feel eyes on me. “Turn it around Jake, turn it around”, I coo to myself. In my mind, Sade’s “Smooth Operator” is playing, as I slink towards the shoreline. Not wanting to rush, I make sure each step is sure and solid. My boyfriend is seven meters away from me. He’s waving at me, encouraging me to come to the water’s edge. He’s waist deep in the water and he’s been playing catch with some others that are in the sea. It looks fun. I want to join them.
I continue to walk towards the sea. Why did we settle so far back from the shore? I’m five metres away now.
Four meters… and then, I hear voices. These aren’t the subdued mumbles of the cove’s current inhabitants. No, I can hear children’s laughter and a general hubbub. I can hear a tannoy announcement. I can hear the churning of water from a propeller. From the left side of the cove, a tourist boat’s bow begins to appear.
I’m three meters from the water now. More and more of the boat begins to show. It’s big. Actually, it’s massive. And there are lots of people on it. All of them with cameras pointed in the direction of the beach. The boat seems so close I’m sure I can hear the individual shutters of a hundred cameras firing.
Forgetting Sade and my careful footing, I make a dash for the water. Gazzele like, I spring over the last few rocks and dive.
Into 3 inches of water.
My pasty ass isn’t even covered with water.
The tourist boat continues its slow-paced chugging, its slow speed is mocking me. The cameras are still clicking. Eventually, it disappears around the cove. My boyfriend is almost drowning with laughter. The expectant eyes, attached to waspy mouths are saying something… I think I can hear “oh look, a floating pomme”.
This week a reader asks whether he and his partner can use a ginger root as an insertable during sex.
“Hey guys,
My partner and I want to be adventurous, and try vegetable insertion, and have been told ginger is particularly good as it gives a burning sensation.”
Anon
Dear Anon
Oh dear god don’t. Have you ever put a ginger directly on to your tongue? It burns. Now multiply that by many times over and that’s what, I imagine, putting a ginger up yer bum will most likely feel like.
Like chillies, ginger has chemical compounds that cause a burn. In ginger, the chemical is called Gingerol which is very similar to capsaicin – the heat and taste creating chemical in a chilli.
Now if you’re looking for something that gives off heat that is warming whilst putting something up your ass – then there are loads of lubes that will give you that sensation. For instance, Durex’s Warming lube will effectively warm up your hole, without making it a ring of fire.
Plus, it’s condom compatible and safe to use internally.
If you’re looking for a bobbly insertable, there are many butt plugs or dildos on the market, like these anal beads from Carvaka that will give you interesting and unexpected feelings, down there.
As with anything that you might think about putting up your bum, a good rule of thumb is, if it burns on the tip of your tongue, it will feel even more intense elsewhere. Remember, the anus is much more difficult to wash out, at speed, than your mouth.
The advice listed above is not intended to replace or take the place of that of your own doctor, GP or medical professional who knows your full medical history. If in any doubt make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.
To get your sexual health and emotional questions answered click here.
Gawd loves a trier, but perhaps the marketers at Brewdog should have sat a little longer around that Flipboard.
Today, Brewdog released a new beer and called it, Pink IPA. On Twitter, they wrote, “This is not “beer for girls”. This is beer for equality. Pink IPA has landed.”
Yes, this is exactly what equality needs Pink Beer. I mean look – the Pink bottle is smashing the Blue bottle in half in the promo pic… This beer means business.
Don’t worry about equal pay for equal work, equal maternity and paternity leave, ending the patriarchy, diverse hiring, equal power gap, sexual harassment, sexual assault and all that. No drink a f*cking Pink Beer that’ll make it.
Brewdog’s marketing statement read, “we have always believed that beer is for everyone, and equality is a fundamental right. So today we are launching a clarion call to end the discrimination of gender pay inequality. In the UK men earn on average 20% more than women. And that’s not ok.
“So ahead of International Women’s Day this Thursday, we are launching Pink IPA. A beer for women. A beer for equality,
“…. What’s more, people who identify as female will be able to pick up Pink IPA in any BrewDog bar for 20% less. The beer will launch in our bars this Thursday 8th March to coincide with International Women’s Day”.
Oh, btw they say that the name, Beer for Girls is satirical and their aim is to expose sexist marketing to women.
So you know, they made the label pink.
Now, wait, remember Brewdog once made a “trans” beer, which was called “No Label” and they made a “Protest Beer” against the homophobia in Russia.? Where are they now? Nowhere.
This beer will be available for 4 weeks only and 20 percent of the proceeds will be “donated to charities that fight inequality and support women”.
The reaction
Well, by and large, people on Twitter weren’t having it. Nope, they weren’t having it AT ALL.
In another astoundingly awful faux-postmodern Bad Take™, @BrewDogUSA / @BrewDog are releasing a pink 340ml can with the bold print / logo ‘PINK IPA’ BEER FOR GIRLS on International Women’s Day. A thread.
jesus christ that pink IPA advertising is shocking . If a girl wants to drink a beer let her fuckin drink a beer, without trying to force the fact it has to be girly enough to do so which somehow correlates to pink? I hate pink
FFS, this whole article is about how they haven’t gone down the lazy route of marketing for women. But you’ve called it “Pink IPA” so that kind of ruins that point. Just donate proceeds from the normal range rather than thinking females need something to be pink to buy it. https://t.co/4zxD8GRrk6
The Brewdog Pink IPA thing is a boardroom idea that should have stayed in the boardroom. It might work with a group of friends/acolytes who “really” know that you aren’t sexist dipshits, but outside of that circle… nah.
Pink IPA. ?♂️ Fuck me. How many rounds of marketing meetings do you need to go through before you realise this is utter BS? Gendered colours are a human construct. This only serves to reinforce stereotypes that blue = boys and pink = girls. https://t.co/1ZFC1H1BGL
Finally, with the release of pink IPA I have finally grown a mouth and a digestive system so I am able to consume beer just like all the men in my life!!! https://t.co/xaibdZvNa1
All the good intentions behind Brewdog's Pink IPA mean very little once they actually put the product out there. Make the charitable donations, make drinks cheaper for women, do all that. But ironic sexist branding still looks like normal sexist branding.
— Robert Perry is often called Pez (@pez_sez) March 6, 2018
Unless you’re a new breed of human, if you’re gonna have anal, you’re gonna need lube. And lot’s of it.
You’re about to do the deed and your partner is just about to stick it in – what’s the best way of making sure you’re lubed and, more importantly, there’s enough of it?
So how do you apply lube?
Well, there’s two schools of thought.
The PreLuber: As a bottom or the receptive partner you can take control of the lube situation, by maybe putting some lube on or up your own butthole before you begin, perhaps as you’re getting ready – if you’re douching this might be the perfect time to do this after you’re done. Otherwise, the water inside you will flush away any lube.
Use your fingers to get some lube right up inside you and you’re sex ready!
Or you can buy, yes what a day and age we live in, a lube depositor, or lube launchers. Yep, there’s a device which can get the lube deep inside you. There are a number of different types from different makers. Check out the range here
The Mid-flow: During the action, you can get your partner to start to apply lube to your ass during the foreplay. If you’re using flavoured lube, then he can also have fun whilst rimming you. Then when you’re ready to receive, you can cover your partner’s dick (condomed or without) with lube as you blow him or jerk him off. Make sure, though, if he is wearing a condom, not to use oil-based lube. Only water or silicon.
Once he’s in, you’ll probably need to get him out of you after a few strokes and use a little more.
Or if you’re the topper, you can maybe play with your partner’s ass during foreplay and use your fingers to fully lubricate his ass. Either way, you’re going to want to make sure that you use enough – and don’t worry about stopping the action if you feel like you need more.
Remember more is more in these situations and it’s best to try a variety of lubes to see which works best for you.
There’s a new fitness craze that is firing up the fitness and environmentalist lobby. Plogging it’s a mix of jogging and picking up litter, as you go, according to Men’s Health. So when you mix jogging and the Swedish phrase “plocka upp,” or “pick up”. Ta Da!
So what are the fitness benefits? Well as you jog you are going to be bending, squatting and lifting. And as you continue on your run and the more trash you pick up the heavier you’ll become, which adds to the calorie burn count.
Plus you’ll be saving the planet from litter. Win-win.
There’s a Swedish fitness app, Lifesum which includes plogging as a fitness activity and it reportedly burns 288 calories per 30 minutes.
The Daily Mail has defended an article they published by Richard Littlejohn following on from an outcry from the public concerning what many described as the transphobic and homophobic tone of the column. The article was entitled, ‘Please don’t pretend two dads is the new normal’ in which he criticises the parents to be Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black for announcing that they are expectant fathers.
The paper, released a statement to say that the article was not homophobic in content and that those who “bullied” advertisers into boycotting the paper “politically motivated internet trolls” according to the Press Gazette.
A spokesperson for the Daily Mail said: “Had any of the political zealots who attacked Richard Littlejohn’s column actually read it they would know that he explicitly supports civil partnerships and the fostering of children by gay couples – hardly evidence of homophobia.
“Nor is it homophobic to ask whether it is right to deny a child the love of its own mother.
“It is very sad that any advertiser should give way to bullying by a tiny group of politically motivated internet trolls in their attempts to censor newspapers with which they disagree.”
Advertisers pull their adverts
At least two advertisers pulled advertising from the title, joining a host of other businesses that have said they will no longer advertise with the company. The first was Southbank Centre and then followed by Center Parcs
