Although they are only three days into treatment, Kari Ann has spent the entire time in bed. She repeatedly denied any drug use, but Dr. Drew wasn't so convinced. He felt that her moodiness and fatigue were signs of withdrawal, and that she invented a laundry list of excuses—literally, one of the errands she wanted to run was to do her laundry—to leave rehab for the day to find her stash and use. She called her manager and told him that she wanted to leave the show/facility for good, despite his pleas. (He'd be out of his 10% if she did.)

In an interview with Dr. Drew about the show, Rich Juzwiak pointed out that the show will make people wonder if they are sex addicts. Dr. Drew responds:

[W]hen it comes to sexual addiction, really you have to look at how deeply embedded in trauma that frequently is. Not everybody has trauma. People have periods of their lives where these things come up, and they might get carried away, let's say. That does not an addict make. That's just like when someone binge drinks for a while and then stops.

In this clip, the Jeff Spicoli-esque surfer James Lovett talks about masturbating until he is in pain. He also tells Dr. Drew that he has never contracted an STD, but upon a physical examination, he learns that he has HPV in his throat.


Adult film actress Penny Flame discusses how she has issues with emotional intimacy. When she entered rehab, her bags were searched for drugs and sex toys. She had several vibrators, dildos, and a pair of knee pads confiscated. Other rules in sex rehab are detailed in a a celibacy contract that each patient signed. It calls for no pornography, no seductive behavior, appropriate dress, dress, and worst of all, no masturbation.


What's odd, to me anyway, is that this sex rehab is co-ed. I would think that this would make the entire process difficult, if not impossible.


But perhaps the constant platonic interaction with the opposite sex is part of the treatment.

And though they are thankful for the ability to be sexually liberated, many women, while open to the sexualized culture around them, find themselves feeling inadequate and unable to keep up. Kate Spicer of the Times of London explores this phenomenon, noting that "what is clear is that women find the cultural environment a gigantic cause for performance anxiety."

"We appear to be living in a golden age of female sexual awareness and fulfilment, doing anything and everything on top of what our sexually naive mothers and grandmothers apparently did out of duty or for a washing machine," Spicer writes. Yet that golden age has produced a great deal of confusion, anxiety, and feelings of worthlessness for many women who feel that they can't possibly measure up to the idea of female sexuality that is being put forth by the media. Everything from oral sex skills to pubic hair grooming to getting a post-pregnancy body back in shape, celebrity style has become commercialized, as Dr. Petra Boynton notes: "Sex has become mandatory, competitive and commercialised. Vested commercial interests suggest it could be great, if only you had their product."

Sex, therefore, takes on a feeling of obligation: not only do women feel the need to groom, perform, and look a certain way, they're self-esteem takes a hit as well, as they feel a need to tie their self-worth into their sexual performance. If women aren't having sex, Boynton argues, they feel it is because they are not keeping up with the commercialized images of what a woman should be, and that "sex as a status symbol" "sets up the idea that sex only happens in really pricey knickers. It excludes women. It's an elitist model from which women without money or a certain body shape are excluded."

Spicer argues that women are encouraged to feel comfortable talking about sex, but only if it relates to the commercialized values: sexy lingerie, pubic hair grooming, vibrators, etc. The actual dynamics of sex, including masturbation and the vagina, are often brushed aside in favor of the "sexier" more sellable aspects of sexuality. As Boynton tells Spicer, she was invited onto a British television show to discuss sex, but only in certain contexts: "They wanted to do something about empowering women [sexually]. I said: ‘Let's talk about the clitoris.'" They didn't like that, "but they were having a pole-dancer on". No wonder we're paranoid. You can't bang on about female self-esteem being the root of all sexual happiness, if everything in culture takes a big pop at it."

Are Women Sexually Liberated, Or Just Confused? [Times of London]

Teen Vogue: Teen Vogue's website doesn't seem to have any sex coverage at all. Its drop-down menu on the homepage has five sections: Style, Industry Insider, Beauty, Team Vogue and Connect. And although there are no articles about sex or question-and-answer style features, there is a fair amount of sex talk on the largely unregulated Message Boards. Sample thread starter: "I haven't had sex in over two weeks. its starting to wear on me but my boyfriend is out of town and i don't want to cheat on him because i've already done that too much. I guess i just have to stay strong but its hard. TIPS?!?!?!"
Cosmo Girl!: Ah, Cosmo Girl. The website's "Sex" section is part of a drop down menu titled "Guys" (also available under the heading "Life Advice") where the magazine has a panel of reasonable experts answering questions like "Can you get pregnant if a guy fingers you with sperm on his hand?" They don't talk down to the girls, and seem to be giving straight talk. Alongside the prudent advice is a lot of boy craziness including recurring features like "Hook A Hottie", "Guy Videos", "Eye Candy", "Guide To Guys" — the list goes on.
Elle Girl: The sex coverage on Elle Girl is also pretty minimal. The brunt of it is articles like How to Deal ...With a Guy Who's Just After a Hookup and quizzes such as Are you a bad girlfriend?. None of these are particularly informative or sex-positive.
Seventeen: The bottom line of Seventeen's sex stories is always, "don't get knocked up". There's an entire section devoted to "preventing pregnancy." While the idea of sex for pleasure's sake is definitely not the backbone of Seventeen's health section, they do an admirable job in answering the tough questions, like the age-old query, "Can I Get Pregnant From Having Sex in Water?"
YM : Back in the early-mid-90s when I was a burgeoning teen, YM was the repository for the raciest sex stories. The magazine was never huge on serious content or real advice, though. It's a bit tamer than I remember — where are all the blow job questions? — but the "Say Anything" section still provides the same level of teen mortification it always did.

Magazine Readers Want Sex [Daily Telegraph]