Over the holidays, a local doctor sent me a copy of a recent study on sexual function and type of hysterectomy, published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. (1) The research concludes that retaining the cervix does not “appreciably” benefit a patient’s post-hysterectomy sexual function; therefore, it is appropriate to continue the practice of removing a healthy cervix just in case the patient develops cancer in this organ in the future. I wasn’t impressed with the findings, and I couldn’t let this one slide.

It has been nine months since my husband Nicholas Regush died of a heart attack. We had enjoyed a remarkable bond over the 30 years we were together — an emotional, intellectual and very sexual partnership, which seemed only to get better and deeper as the years went by.

As confessions go, this one is pretty serious.  A few nights ago, I watched television.  Ordinarily, I prefer to watch paint dry, but I was too tired to put fresh paint on anything.  On the plus side, watching television is the next best thing to losing weight.

Last Sunday, I watched the movie Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant. During the ballroom dance event, I wondered what the people of those days would have thought of the likes of Christina Aguilera groping herself as she belted out a tune, or Janet Jackson pulling a wardrobe malfunction stunt. Some would have been mortified, I’m sure.

I don’t know why this thought popped into my head except that I couldn’t help but compare that society to ours. Back then people were so much more polite, and reserved when it came to sex and sexual conduct, and these days, we seem to be at the other end of the spectrum.