I got my first job at a sex shop in 1987. At the time I don't know if there was such a thing as flavored, water based lubricant. What we did have was a product called Emotion Lotion. Emotion Lotion (we never called it "EL" for short, but now I wish we had) came in a shapely clear plastic bottle with a white flip top. It was thick, sickly sweet, and branded itself as the original warming lotion. Put a little on your skin, rub it in, and blow on it, and the lotion would feel as if it is warming up.

This was not something I'd recommend anyone put in their body, and while tests had never been done, I was pretty sure that the high sugar content and sticky consistency during use would have been harmful to condoms.

Still, there was something sort of throw-back groovy about the product. Legend had it that the manufacturer began by making large batches of it in a bathtub in their home. It was always fun to watch people's reaction when they would pick up the sample and try it out on their wrist (less fun to watch the reactions of customers who would complain of burning...I learned to warn people after that).

Once Astroglide made a splash as the first lubricant designed for pleasure, the lube market blossomed and along with it the sub-category of flavored lubes has grown. I worked for over 20 years in sex shops and have heard customers opinions about the taste of hundreds of different flavored lubes. And to this day I still would never say to someone that brand X has the best taste or brand Y is the worst. Taste is taste, and for every hundred people who swear that one kind of lube is horrible tasting and should be banned, there will be a few who love it, and can't get enough.

Evaluating the flavor and taste of flavored lubes is a thankless job, and so I have avoided it for a while. But a few weeks ago an About.com reader asked if I would share with them a few recommendations, and in the interests of steering them away from Emotion Lotion and it's many step-children, I wrote the article below.

A Short Guide to Flavored Lube

Growing up in the 70s I heard bad things about virgins from all sides. My friends were desperate to shed their virginity. They were excited to get to try out sex (after years of practicing on their own). But the desperation came as much from the sense that, like nerd or loser, virgin was a label you didn't want to stick.

I didn't feel that kind of pressure at home, but I was raised to understand that sexuality was something wonderful, something to be explored, and in contrast to the messages my parents received growing up in the 50s, sex was something that you probably should try out before settling down.

I wasn't convinced that I was even human so the idea of being a young virgin didn't bother me. Something in the culture let me know that it was okay to wait a little while, but if wait too long you might miss the boat entirely. Being an adult virgin was a problem.

Now that I'm older I realize that being an adult virgin isn't a problem. The idea that it is something that's clearly defined, diagnosable, something that someone else says about you, that's the problem.

When it comes to sexual identities it can be so easy to forget that these terms are labels. They are meant to help describe or define some aspect of our experience. For some people the label adult virgin works. And that's great.

But if it doesn't, it's time to peel back the label and remember that sexual experience is more what you've done, with who, how often. Sexual experience is first and foremost an experience.

Read More : Understanding Adults Virgins

A few weeks ago an issue of New York Magazine featured a story about men who were quitting masturbation and finding solidarity and guidance on a Reddit forum called "NoFap". The piece was a mess of misinformation and confusion. It referenced to faddish research ("Your Brain on Porn") and conflated sexuality, desire, gender identity, and gender roles. All of this made it a pretty accurate reflection of many mens understanding of their own sexuality, and a good reminder of why things rarely get better for cisgender men.

As long as it doesn't involve coercion, everyone should get to choose how they want to be sexual, including whether or not they want to masturbate. But the idea that not masturbating makes you a better man is a sad, old chestnut that only looks new because of the technological platform and shiny stock rubber chicken images that accompany our current public discussion of it.

We're half way through National Masturbation Month and it seemed like a good time to review some of the most common questions I get asked on the site about masturbation, which perhaps tellingly almost always come from men.

Questions About Masturbation

• How Much Masturbation Is Too Much Masturbation?
• What Is Chronic Masturbation?
• What's Normal Masturbation?
• What Can I Do If My Boyfriend Likes Masturbation More than Me?

It was back in 1995 when a group of political sex shops came together to do what they always did best: combine consciousness raising with politics with pleasure. National Masturbation Month (NMM), and the month's main event the Masturbate-a-Thon were inspired in part as a response to the firing of Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders for daring to suggest that masturbation might be something that should be mentioned in school based sex education.

The month was also a tongue-in-cheek response to the kind of Hallmark holidays that other industries create. Despite being the most commonly practiced sexual activity, and one that in most cases carries the lowest risk of any negative consequences, masturbation remains a second class sexual citizen. Who better to be out and proud about masturbation than those businesses that profit (financially, emotionally, and spiritually) from it each and every day.

Since 1999 the Center for Sex & Culture, under the leadership of Carol Queen and Robert Morgan Lawrence have kept the self-love fires burning, organizing events and a live Masturbate-a-Thon each year. This year they are celebrating NMM's 18th birthday by combining the Masturbate-a-Thon with the Jack-and-Jill-Off. As in previous years it is a live event you can participate in (if you're in the Bay area) or you can participate on your own by downloading a pledge form from their website.

I'll be celebrating this month by featuring articles about the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the ins and outs, of masturbation. Apparently I'll also be celebrating by dragging out every cheesy double entendre I can think of.

I hope you can find a more fun (possibly equally groan inducing) way to celebrate this month!

Read More: Paul Krassner on National Masturbation Month