Q:

 I'm 21 years old and in a monogamous relationship. I lost my virginity to my boyfriend, and it was a really great experience. I was drawn to BDSM even before I began having sex, and he's been happily fulfilling my needs. However, he revealed fairly early on that he also enjoys being submissive during sex. I asked him to explain what sort of dominance he was looking for, but he said he'd rather show me. Recently he tried to steer a sex session in that direction — me dominating him — but I felt nervous and self-conscious. I felt like I was failing a pop quiz. How do I become more comfortable with being a dom? Any tips for first-time doms? Or am I just not cut out for this? —Not Quite A Dom

A:

 There are a lot of skilled, confident BDSM tops out there — people who are exclusively dominant or switch — who got into it for the same reason you've started to explore your dominant side, NQAD: to please a submissive or switch partner.

But "show me" is not how a couple incorporates BDSM into their sex life. Maybe he's having a hard time articulating his desires because he's shy, or maybe he's insecure, or maybe he mistakenly believes that sex — even logistically complicated sex — should just "happen naturally."

So here's my first tip: Force him to talk about what sort of BDSM or D/s play he's interested in. A lot can be assumed during a strictly vanilla sexual encounter — far too much is assumed, far too often — but what goes on during a sexual encounter involving BDSM has to be specifically and explicitly negotiated. If he's too shy to have a face-to-face conversation about his kinks, do it over e-mail. If he doesn't feel comfortable sending e-mails (they live forever on a server, they can be forwarded), tell him to you write you a letter, read it in his presence, then tear it up.

Second tip: The less a newbie dom has to fake during BDSM sex, NQAD, the less daunting the role feels. Instead of pretending that you're a menacing and experienced dom, incorporate what's really going on — your boyfriend is so submissive that he's submitting to his submissive girlfriend, and how perverted is that? — into your play and dirty talk. Then your unfamiliarity with the dom role becomes something you're bringing to the scene, NQAD, not something that's causing you to fail at it.

Third tip: A blindfold is an inexperienced dom's best friend. Not ready to visit your local BDSM sex shop? An ACE bandage will do the trick. You'll feel much less self-conscious if he can't see you fumbling with rope, suppressing a nervous giggle, or searching high and low for a mislaid key to the handcuffs.

Q:

 I recently made friends with a guy who is in his first sexual relationship. He comes to me, his best male buddy, with questions, and I try to make sure he's informed and being safe. But he's asked me a question about oral sex that I don't know how to answer. What is a man supposed to do when he's about to ejaculate during oral sex? I feel like there should be a polite version of "Where do you want it?" that a guy can say to a woman, but I'll be damned if I can think of it. —Sexual Advice Xactly Our Need

A:

 When your friend is getting close — when he's approaching "orgasmic inevitability," as the sex researchers call it — he should say, "I'm getting close." (Duh, right?) And just as he's passing the point of orgasmic inevitability — his mother kicking down the bedroom door and leading a SWAT team into the room couldn't keep him from ejaculating — he should say, "I'm coming."

At that moment, the blow job bestower — your friend's new GF, in this case — can remove the dick from her mouth and point it at her tits or over her shoulder or at his mother. Or she can leave it in her mouth, let him come, and then decide if she wants to spit or swallow. She's the decider.

Q:

 I'm a 24-year-old straight girl, and vaginal sex does nothing for me. I've never been molested and I don't take pills. I feel sexual pleasure in other parts of my body and experience clitoral orgasms, but as far as getting fucked by a dick goes, it's about as interesting as a finger in a fist. Through Googling, I've found others with this issue, and the general response to us seems to be that it's a surmountable mental problem — which is vague and unhelpful.

So I'm asking for the opposite. Is there scientific research about this? Is there hope? Or do I just have to learn to deal? It is lonely and depressing to experience the gold standard that is vaginal sex as a kind of animate masturbatory aid. Also, at what point do I tell my partners I have this malfunction? —Wrong Type Freak

A: "I'd recommend that she spend some time exploring her vagina, trying different positions, experimenting with placing pressure on the posterior and anterior walls of her vagina, and with friction on her cervix," says Meredith Chivers, an assistant professor of psychology, a clinical psychologist, and a sexuality researcher at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. "The best position to do all this is with her on top, controlling the speed, depth, and trajectory — for lack of a better word — of the thrusts, and pairing this with clitoral stimulation."

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