the sexual diaries

new york magazine, the illest intellectual read powering through the innernets, began running the most interesting series a couple of years ago about the sexual pathology (?)of six individuals over a seven day period. they called it the sexual diaries. the brief to the participants was "to track every sexual encounter, thought, and arousal for a week". almost three years later this is still one of the most popular series of the nymag. here is an excerpt of one of the original six participants - a young female college graduate living with her roommate:


DAY 1

7:30 P.M. Best friend calls and recounts the “out-of-body experience” of her wedding-dress fitting. I am simultaneously jealous and totally grossed out.
7:50 Sister calls and makes excuses for her husband’s weirdness at dinner last night. I don’t want to have to make excuses for anyone else.
10:58 Roommate finally comes home from last night’s date. Hate her. Can’t even look at her.
11:20 Roommate catalogues every second in hot and heavy detail. Hate her more. Go to my room.
11:45 Details of roommate’s date find their way into my fantasy. Is stealing other people’s sex lives wrong? Decide it’s no worse than porn. Proceed.

DAY 2

7:15 A.M. Wonder if roommate can hear vibrator through thin wall. I can’t hear hers. Guess not.
7:35 Shower, dress. Party tonight after work. Woke up too late for cuteness.
10:08 Sister calls, gushes about some new guy to set me up with. Experience with sister tells me that a ton of compliments equals ugly.
6:00 P.M. Babysitting. Seven-year-old: “Are you married?” Jesus Christ.
7:45 Meet friend and brother. Cute brother.
8:15 I have this problem: I meet a guy and instantly gauge our potential sex life. All signs with cute brother point to a decidedly vanilla future.
9:02 Begin to drink too much.

this excerpt is from a 27 yr old student teacher, single and not getting any:




DAY 2

7:00 A.M. Try to think of the last time I had sex. Am sad when I have to use my fingers to count the months.
11:30 Read People magazine on break. Fantasize about Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
3:00 P.M. Spot hot man outside.
3:02 Abort! Man is completely unattractive up close.
5:00 Whistle “Love in an Elevator,” by Aerosmith.
9:00 Browse through personals on Craigslist and am disappointed that all of the men seem either old or disgusting.

DAY 3

8:30 A.M. Have long, inappropriate conversation with male colleague. Am proud of myself for doing as magazines say and practicing flirting on a less attractive man.
NOON Construction worker screams a comment about my ass. I yell obscenities.
2:30 P.M. Read e-mail from a one-night stand from the U.K. Is coming for a visit in May. Put in saved-box.
3:45 Who am I kidding? I respond that I would be happy to “meet up.”
6:00–11:00 Grade papers

DAY 6

1:30 P.M. Wake up.
9:00 Go to friend’s birthday dinner. Am introduced to countless friends’ new significant others.
9:03 Sit on the side with one other single girl.
10:00 Am tipsy. Begin listing reasons why I am single to a friend’s boyfriend. He sits and listens, obviously afraid to answer.
11:00 Eat my food. Ogle the waiter. Some girl I don’t know tells me that he is too blue-collar. Decide I don’t like her and think bad thoughts.


and so it continues. here's the link

this piece was as interesting as it was fonni