In Defense of Plain Old Sex

In the summer 2009 issue of BestYou magazine, David Eddie writes an interesting essay about why he enjoys old-fashioned, "vanilla sex" with his wife. He defines "vanilla sex" as "sex that does not involve toys, props, costumes, third parties, bondage, domination, or other forms of role-playing, and that takes place in bed rather than, say, a dungeon." Eddie goes on to describe the reasons why vanilla sex has gotten a bad rep and what is so great about old-fashioned married sex.

I was rather pleased -- and somewhat relieved -- to find out that I shouldn't be embarrassed to enjoy vanilla sex with my husband. Sometimes, there's a lot of pressure put on couples to be creative when they copulate. When trying to keep up with the Joneses in the bedroom, you feel like you might be inadequate if you're not wearing leather, carrying a whip, and using a vibrator shaped like a bunny while having sex. This essay, however, brings us all back to reality. And the next time my husband starts to kiss my neck when I'm in my pink cotton pajamas and granny panties, I will be proud of our vanilla sex life instead of ashamed of it. Vanilla always was my favorite flavor -- and there's nothing wrong with that.