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For many people, first sex
and first love are defining
experiences they'll never forget.
He'd choose you to take
his virginity over anyone.
Really?!
This is about what happens
in our bodies
and brains as we begin
our *** lives.
Chris is trying to pull a girl.
He's, like He's a ***.
We follow young people as they set
about losing their virginity.
"Are you sure you don't want to
try before you buy?"
We'd tried it.
No.
We didn't.
And we track the effects of falling
in love for the first time.
I could tell it made her very happy.
Ecstatic might be a better word.
With access to cutting-edge science
and computer graphics, we show the massive
impact these crucial rites of passage have.
Here's the area where we're hoping
to see the activity.
It can be a rollercoaster
of emotions.
Abortion is absolutely not
a contraceptive choice.
It's like the last resort
of the last resorts.
What happens at the start of our
sex lives can have a major effect
on the rest of our lives.
I'm thinking of being a sneaky gay,
or just be a gay person.
Through the highs and lows, this is
the inside story of how sex works.
Sex is good.
It was really fun!
In Leeds, 19-year-old Callum
and 17-year-old Corrina are in the
first flushes of a new relationship.
We've been together a month
on Saturday.
So, just over a month now.
Yeah, early stages.
Callum plucked up the courage to
ask Corrina out one Saturday night
at the local park.
I had to have several aids for that
courage, if you know what I mean.
PRODUCER: What do you mean?
To put it simply, I were drunk!
He took my hand, led me over to the
barrier there and said, "Corrina,"
"I might be a little bit drunk, but
please, will you go out with me?"
I was like, "Yeah.
"
Did I say please?
I don't know! I was, like,
"Yeah.
Go on, then.
"
Callum and Corrina have not
had sex yet,
but Corrina lost her virginity
in a previous relationship.
Thinking back on my first time,
I was happy at the time,
and I don't regret it,
because I never regret something
that made me smile at one point.
Callum, however, has not yet found
the right person.
I am still a ***, which,
a lot of my mates, they mock me.
for you have it with someone
who means something to you.
It should be quite special.
Tonight, Corrina is cooking
for Callum round at her place.
This is the first night we'll have
spent together.
It should be all right.
I think women tend to see this as
a lot more romantic than men do.
I'm not expecting owt.
I don't expect to have sex
with her tonight.
Straightforward.
It looks quite nice, actually.
'I can't go a day
without thinking about him.
'
I get excited
when I go to meet him as well,
I think, "What are we
going to do today?"
'"What's our adventure for today?"'
Bon appetit!
'Do you think about her a lot?'
It might sound bad
if I say I never think about her.
I do think about her,
but she's not always on my mind.
'I know people who will be going out
a week and they'll be deeply,
'madly in love.
'
I've never believed that.
I don't
think love just happens like that.
'At the moment, I'd say I'm deeply
attracted to her.
I like her a lot.
'But not love.
' This is surreal.
What is?
I'm eating bacon, chicken and cheese
with a glass of pink juice.
'I actually do think
I'm falling for him.
'
There's something about him.
Have you told him? No, I'm too shy.
Most young people start to develop
an interest in sex
and relationships after puberty,
which happens at an average age
of 11 for girls and 12 for boys.
It is the most tumultuous time
in any individual's life,
so you have this explosion of
hormones, and it's no surprise that
it is associated with
some quite radical behaviours.
Puberty starts in a part of
the brain called the hypothalamus.
Messages are sent from here to
the testicles in boys
and the ovaries in girls,
telling these glands to massively
increase the production of
sex hormones.
In males, the main sex hormone
is testosterone.
In females, it's called oestrogen.
These hormones are transported round
the body in the blood stream, having
been released at significantly
greater levels than before puberty.
At sites all over the body,
the sex hormones dock at receptors,
triggering major changes in
our appearance and bodily function.
In boys, genitals enlarge and ***
is produced for the first time.
In girls, hips widen,
*** develop and periods start.
As we become fertile,
we start to explore ***
opportunities for the first time.
Young men and women are learning
about their sexuality
and learning what it means
to be sexually aroused.
In South Wales,
a group of lads in their early 20s
have all lost their virginity,
but they're preparing for
a *** rite of passage
of a different kind -
their first pulling holiday abroad.
We're off to Kavos, and everyone goes
to Kavos for one thing.
Sex, drink.
Oh, that's two things.
I
hope there will be plenty of women.
The statistics that he's come up
with - ten guys to every girl.
Better bring some lube!
Four of us
going on holiday to Kavos.
We have Dan, Richard, Tom
and myself.
Richard's the party animal
of the group.
'When he's drunk, he'll do anything,
absolutely anything.
'
He'll use his two-thumb joke
that he likes to use.
What's got two thumbs, speaks French
and has a 12-inch ***?
Moi!
They'll obviously be disappointed.
Cos they can't speak French!
Unfortunately I haven't been
on a lads' holiday yet,
so the anticipation is killing me,
to be honest.
I can't wait.
Tour operators started offering
cheap package holidays to
young Brits back in the mid-1960s.
Although,
it wasn't until the '70s and '80s that these trips
became established
as a major *** rite of passage.
These days, thousands head out
to resorts for a week of sun,
sea and sex.
Plenty of condoms in there?
That's all that's in there.
One of the aims is
to chat the women up and, yeah,
if we're lucky,
go a little bit further.
And we're live!
It's been a while, so I want to
get my leg over! I want a bit of fun.
THEY LAUGH
I'm 23 now.
I can't be going
on these holidays much longer.
I have to get it out of my system.
It will be epic.
Memorable.
In Gloucestershire,
Andy and Odele have been going out
for just under two and a half years,
and are about to experience a major
step forward in their *** lives.
Andy and I are getting married
in two days' time,
at the weekend, and we have decided
to abstain from having sex
before our marriage.
Odele and Andy are
Christian youth workers and met
when they were colleagues
at the same charity.
'I'm a committed Christian.
'That's important to me
in terms of the girl I seek.
'
To have someone who I can marry
who's got the same passions,
goals and vision,
that's really important to me.
Most of the people Andy and Odele
work with are not Christians,
and the couple are open with them
about their decision to wait
until marriage before having sex.
Were you scared the first time?
Not scared Were you not?
No, I wasn't, mate.
Were you not?
Everybody's got their own opinion.
It's a bit of a crazy thing, innit?
If you've waited so long,
I suppose it is.
There was
no *** activity involved,
the whole of your 27 years?
What would you call *** activity?
Bar kissing.
There was minimal *** activity
prior to us getting married.
I feel sorry for Odele!
It's so funny, the responses that you
get.
They say, "How old are you?"
And you say, "I'm 29.
"
"29?! And you're still a ***?
That's ridiculous!"
When you get married,
that's your lifetime partner,
and you lose your virginity to them
and it's like falling in love.
But you don't have to wait.
It's a choice that you can make.
Why would you wait? Why don't you
just lose it and feel the pleasure?
For me, it was about having
that experience with one person,
so I wanted to make sure
I waited till I was married.
It's just natural to
lose your virginity at 14 or 15.
Pregnant by 16!
The average age boys and girls lose
their virginity in the UK is 16.
Odele and Andy's pledge to save sex
until marriage in their late 20s
has even surprised
some of their friends.
One of my really close girlfriends
said at the hen do,
"Odele, are you sure you don't
want to try before you buy?"
We did.
We tried it.
No.
We didn't.
'I do think about sex quite a lot.
Odele's an attractive girl.
'Why wouldn't I?'
For me, It does excite me,
and I think that will strengthen
our relationship
and love for one another.
With the ceremony
just two days away,
some nerves about the wedding night
are creeping in.
For me, I'm slightly nervous about
the fact that Andy's going to see me
with no clothes on and, as a female,
I'm anxious about the fact that
I've not got a perfect body,
and lumps and bumps in places,
and nobody's seen that yet,
so all of that is new.
Nerves before sex are natural,
but can lead to physical problems
during sex, and often
this is down to poor blood flow.
In men,
when they are sexually stimulated,
impulses are sent by
the nervous system to the genitals.
The nerves going through the ***
then release chemicals that widen
the blood vessels, which increases
blood flow, producing an ***.
Nervousness can impair
those impulses,
causing difficulty
getting an ***.
In women, there is a similar effect.
Normally, *** stimulation
triggers blood flow to the ***,
which causes lubrication
to make sex more comfortable.
Anxiety can impair this blood flow,
meaning the *** is
less lubricated,
making it more difficult for women
to get sexually aroused.
Over in Kavos,
the lads from South Wales have
their own problems to deal with,
as their dreams of a sex-filled holiday
in the sun seem a little optimistic.
It's definitely
the end of the season.
The end of the season's coming up
this Friday.
It's a weird set-up.
I've never been to anything
like this in my life.
It's so different at night.
As night falls, the lads are
determined to find some girls
and get the party started.
'Nothing can dampen our spirits
on a night out.
'When there's plenty of girls,
alcohol, bit of music,
'nothing can get in our way.
'
The boys are three days
into their holiday,
and sex has not yet been
a major feature.
When it comes to
kissing girls, however,
one member of the group is
way out in front.
Tell me who's been
the most successful so far.
Well
The most successful is myself.
'I've met a different girl
every night.
'
I think that sounds
quite bad, actually!
He's doing great, as per usual!
A bit of a reflection
on last night, where he's pulled,
and he's just gone back for seconds,
I think.
He loves a bit of secondary dessert,
so to speak.
He was trying to find her erogenous
zones, and he couldn't find it,
so I had to find it for him!
I said, "It's her neck.
"
He's kissing her neck all the time.
That is her main erogenous zone.
When we kiss, our bodies go into
pleasure overdrive.
The lips and tongue are packed
with nerve endings
that are incredibly sensitive
to stimulation.
This sparks the release of
the feel-good chemical dopamine
by nerve cells in
the pleasure centres of the brain.
When dopamine attaches itself
to receptors
on neighbouring nerve cells,
it triggers feelings of euphoria
and excitement all over the body.
Some scientists believe kissing
could be about more than
a fleeting moment of pleasure,
as more kissing leads to
more release of other chemicals,
such as the hormone oxytocin,
which further stimulates bonding
and desire between couples.
As soon as I kiss her,
the buzz heightens,
you definitely feel
a good adrenaline kick.
There's something that just sparks
in the back of your mind.
There's always that buzz
where you're thinking,
"Yes, here we go! Job done!"
It is a bit of a holiday romance,
and I'm sort of getting to like that!
He's a very open person,
and I'm a flirty person anyway,
so we ended up flirting and giving
a lot of banter to each other.
Then things happened from there.
As you can see, the night's gone
pretty well, I think!
I think we get an early night!
(If you know what I mean!)
What was that for? Ow!
As the happy couple call it a night,
the others consider their options.
Oh, go on, girls!
Go on! Please! Bonjour!
Oh, nice! Nice!
That's lovely.
I'm going out for some more ***.
Richard, don't leave me!
Once our sex drive kicks in,
we're naturally motivated
to find a partner.
And for the first time, we might
experience with another person
one of the most intense natural
highs the body can create - ***.
In anticipation of an intimate
encounter, *** arousal builds.
In men, foreplay triggers
an ***
as spongy tissue in the ***
fills with blood.
In women, the ***
and *** swell with blood,
lubrication occurs
and the vaginal muscles relax.
During sex, nerve endings
in the *** and ***
and wall of the *** are
stimulated as penetration begins.
Nearing ***, male and female
brains crackle with activity,
and some 80 different areas become
increasingly active.
At climax, the brain sends signals
through the body's nervous system
to generate the physical
and sensual effects of ***.
In men, the result is muscles
inside the base of the ***
contracting vigorously,
causing ***.
In women, waves of vaginal
contractions are set in motion,
spasming every 0.
8 seconds.
A few moments of pleasure,
then it's over.
For many, these intense sensations
can be a formative experience,
as we begin our *** lives.
Finding a *** partner is not
the only challenge
we face in our early sex lives.
a confusing time
when his sex drive kicked in
as a teenager.
I always saw myself different
to anyone else at high school.
I just fancied men for a long time.
I just didn't want to accept it.
I thought, "I just need to sleep with
a girl.
Maybe I might turn straight.
"
I know it's a stupid idea.
That was
my way of thinking back then.
I kissed a girl from college.
It felt
wet, and I wasn't really into it.
I thought, "I want to get out now.
"
It was like that.
Around 6% of the UK population
identify themselves as gay,
lesbian or bisexual.
I don't understand myself.
I don't get why I'm gay.
It's not, like, "What would you
like to be? Push a button to decide.
"
It doesn't work like that.
Throughout the last century, most
scientists believed people were gay
because of childhood experiences
and how they were brought up.
By the 1990s, however,
these theories started to fall
out of favour.
There's one good way of
shooting them down, and that is to
look at *** orientation
in the children of gay parents.
Most of those kids are heterosexual.
Probably about 95%, let's say, and
the remainder are gay, which is
perfectly consistent with
what you'd get by chance.
In 1993, biological theories
to explain
why some people are gay
hit the headlines.
Scientists in the United States say
they've uncovered new evidence
which supports the theory that
homosexuality might be hereditary.
Inside every cell in our body lie
our chromosomes.
They hold thousands of genes
that tell our bodies
how to develop and function.
Scientists Dean Hamer studied
and found that the majority shared
a set of five markers
on the long arm of one chromosome -
the X chromosome.
It suggested there was a gene
or genes in this area that might
influence our sexuality.
Dean Hamer's finding was
controversial at the time,
because it challenged the orthodoxy
of those in the anti-gay camp
who argued that *** orientation
could be changed.
Dean Hamer's study has never been
well replicated, and scientists have
never definitively identified
a gay gene or genes.
Science continues to look to our
biology, and recent theories have
explored how hormones might
influence our sexuality.
One of the ideas of how hormones
might organise
*** orientation is that gay men
are exposed to
lower levels of testosterone
in the womb.
If you have just the right amount
of testosterone,
you develop into a heterosexual, but
if you have too little testosterone
or too much, that causes shifts
in the female typical direction.
Once Martin realised he was gay,
he decided to tell
some close friends at college.
'I was shaking.
I could hardly breathe.
'
To say the words "I'm gay" was like
lifting the heaviest weight
you could think of.
'It was the most scary thing
I've done in my life.
'Nothing could beat that.
'
'We used to have a bit of banter
with him and say, "Are you gay?,"'
and stuff like that,
but we didn't know for sure,
but when he told us,
we were all all right with it.
Despite coming out to his friends,
Martin has yet to tell his mum
he's gay.
There were many times I've wanted to
tell her, "Mum, I'm gay,"
but I'm always, like,
"Mum Uh, nothing.
"
As a result of not being fully out,
Martin has never really explored
the gay scene.
I feel comfortable
in the straight world.
I don't know anyone in the gay scene
or any gay people.
All my friends are straight.
Going out to straight bars can have its frustrations
for Martin when his mates start pulling.
Chris is trying to pull a girl,
he's like Well, he's a ***.
When he talks to me, he's like,
"I shagged this bird,
and I did that to her.
"
"Chris, I don't want to know".
I'm frickin' jealous -
everyone else is on the pull.
It's like, "It's easy for you,
you're straight,"
"you're in straight clubs
on the pull,"
"I'm a gay guy going to
straight clubs and I can't pull.
"
Obviously, if he's attracted to
a straight man,
if he says something,
he could get a punch on the nose.
That's the way of society,
you see, so
Even when the gang move on
to a drag bar,
Martin's mate Chris looks
more at home than him.
By the powers of Grayskull!
He'll do it, I know he will! He gets
his *** and *** out all the time.
He'll do it, look!
I'm not into that sort of thing.
It just seems a bit full-on.
I don't know what's wrong with me.
I feel I'm mad in the head.
I'm a gay guy who likes
straight clubs,
but when I go into gay clubs,
I, like, get nervous.
I, like, don't know what to do.
It's like I feel trapped.
For Martin, the key to feeling
comfortable with his sexuality is
finally coming out to his mum.
If I tell her, I can, like,
feel free to bring home a guy
I'm in a relationship with.
I don't have to prance about anymore.
So it would change my life.
No more sneakiness.
Chris, what were you thinking?
You got your *** out
in front of everyone.
So, how are you feeling today,
Callum? I'm OK!
Callum and Corrina have been
spending every day together,
and their relationship has entered
a new phase.
Expand the feelings of
how you're feeling.
I'm fine!
We were down on this little
island thing, and he's like,
"Corrina, come over here, I need to talk
to you.
" I was like, "OK, then.
"
He was like,
"Corrina, I might be a hypocrite,"
"I've told you before,
but I think I do actually love you.
"
And my heart just, like
exploded, really.
I was like, "Oh, wow!"
Had you planned to say it?
No, it were quite spontaneous.
It were just
I was just with her and I thought,
"I actually love her,"
"so I'll tell her,
cos she's brilliant.
"
For the next week or so,
I had a massive smile on my face.
I was like
"Say it again!"
I could tell it made her
very, very happy.
Ecstatic might be a better word.
To me, love feels like loads of
butterflies in your stomach.
And when I'm not with him,
I think about him.
It is just knowing that
someone is there for you,
and that you're there for
somebody else, always.
Corrina is wondering if the couple's
new-found love for each other
will lead to the next big step
in their relationship.
Lately, I keep thinking,
"Are we actually going to have sex?"
You know, when, if, you know,
all them type of questions.
What if?
I feel nervous for the obvious reason
that it might just not work.
And there's a part of me thinking,
what's Corrina going to think
ifyou know, if it don't work?
Is she going to fall out with me?
Is she going to be upset?
Will it just destroy
the relationship completely?
That's, like, the dark,
paranoid side of me coming out.
'Because the way I see it, because
Callum hasn't had sex before,
'I always think, you know,
he's waiting for the right person.
'
I'm not trying to rush Callum,
but, yeah, I'm just
thinking about things, you know.
Oh, look at that!
In New York City,
scientists are trying to find out
why the feelings of new love have
such powerful ups and downs.
Actors Diana and Albert have been
going out for seven months,
and have agreed
to take part in a study.
I actually think this is
going to be the first time
I've seen you drink a cup of coffee,
and I'm actually
quite surprised by that!
'We met in rehearsal at
the Living Theatre,'
and I remember seeing him
in rehearsal,
and he was in his workout gear
I was not wearing workout gear!
You look like you're wearing
workout gear right now.
Just give me a kiss.
Yeah!
Today's experiment is one of
the first to look at brain activity
during early-stage
intense romantic love.
What we're going to do is
scan the brain of a young woman
who says that she's madly in love,
and what we're trying to find out is
exactly what is going on in the
brain when you feel that elation,
the euphoria, the giddiness,
the possessiveness, the motivation,
the craving, the obsessive thinking
of early intense romantic love.
Hello, hello!
First of all, Diana must be assessed
to check she is sufficiently in love
to take part in the test.
What were some of
your bodily reactions
when you began to be interested
in him?
I remember the second
he walked in, it was like
It was, like, shaking.
I mean, I'm sitting at the desk,
I'm doing my keyboard thing,
and I was just so happy
He was there, you know?
Like, elation and warmth.
Elation?
Elation.
That's a major aspect of
intense romantic love.
That's what love is like -
it's a very powerful experience.
We need to capture you
in that intense feeling of
romantic passion for Albert.
Diana has agreed to go into
an fMRI scanner
to see which parts of her brain are
most active
when she thinks of Albert.
I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm excited,
I'm excited! OK, bye.
Bye.
Hi! Hi!
In the scanner, Diana is shown
a favourite photo of Albert
on a loop for four seconds
at a time.
Look at his face!
Then, to cleanse her mind,
she is asked to count down
in increments of seven
from a random number.
Finally, Diana is shown
a photo of a friend
she has no romantic feelings for.
The research team is looking for
differences in brain activity
when Diana thinks of Albert compared
to when she thinks of her friend.
Here's the area where
we're hoping to see the activity.
We're hoping the scanner can pick
this up, because we know it's there.
It's just a little factory
near the base of the brain
The team suspect the ventral
tegmental area in the brain is
particularly active in
the first stages of romantic love,
releasing large amounts of
the chemical dopamine.
Dopamine is a natural stimulant.
When you see a picture of
your lover,
the dopamine system is triggered
to give you that intense rush
of intense infatuation.
Dopamine pathways in the brain
produce focus, craving,
goal-oriented behaviours
and motivation - in this case,
the motivation to win
the love of a would-be partner.
These are really great results.
They're very specific
for this lower brain stem area
that we saw active.
There we are, romantic love.
Boy, to be able to put
your finger ona little dot.
Diana, the experiment's over,
and we're coming to get you.
Perfect.
Some scientists believe
the strong drive to be together
many new lovers experience is
essential to our survival.
Romantic love has
an important evolutionary purpose,
which was to enable the brain
to focus that mating energy
on just one individual,
and start the mating process.
So, I take it your brain is
still intact? Uh-huh.
And, indeed, it's the most
important thing that we do.
It is this way that we pass
our DNA on to tomorrow.
Were you nervous? Yeah.
'I was actively
thinking about Albert.
'
And I just got these images
of the future.
Rather than thinking about the past,
suddenly it shot to the future,
I thought, "What's going to happen
in two months, ten years"
"15, 20, 30, 40?!"
And I was just I realized
I was smiling the whole time.
I think I'm in love
Today, Odele and Andy will celebrate
their love in front of 500 guests
when they get married.
And after the ceremony,
they'll be free to explore sex
for the very first time.
It still doesn't really feel like
it's my wedding day.
But I don't feel nervous,
just feel really excited.
Andy and his ushers are posing for
pre-wedding photos
when word comes through
from the bride's house.
She's wearing white.
White means for
a ***, traditionally.
It's more purity, isn't it?
Are you wearing white, Andy?!
Some of Andy's mates also waited
for marriage before having sex.
I did give Andy some advice,
but nothing too serious.
I'll leave it for him and Odele to
work it out!
The mechanics!
I'm sure they'll be fine.
I gave him some advice,
more practical advice.
Pack of digestives under one of
the pillows to keep your stamina up.
Refraining from sex has not always
been easy for Odele and Andy.
'I'm a red-blooded male, so when
me Odele get intimate, you know,'
your heart does beat fast,
you do get excited,
you start to think with other things
other than your head.
'Men and women are different
'in terms of
when they become sexually excited.
'Andy is like a gas oven.
'
Turn it on and it's instant heat,
excitement, and there's a big flame.
And other men - not just me.
And you turn it off and it goes
straight away.
Whereas women,
they're more like an electric oven -
they take longer to heat up,
'but the moment that
they have got hot,
'it takes them longer to cool down.
'
'I think Odele is a lot better
at this than I am.
'
She can tend to step back.
I think we would have had sex by now
if it was over to me.
BOTH: I give you this ring
as a sign of our marriage.
With my body, I honour you.
All that I am, I give to you.
Amen.
Amen.
It gives me great pleasure to now
announce you as husband and wife.
You may celebrate with a kiss.
APPLAUSE
'It will be fantastic when we do
have sex in the context of marriage,'
and the fact that we can both
enter that without having
previous *** experience
is fantastic.
CHEERING
First-time sex can often be a case
of trial and error, but the fact
Odele and Andy are deeply in love
may stand them in good stead.
Some scientists believe that,
particularly when women are in love,
they have better-quality orgasms,
and can achieve ***
more easily than those who aren't.
In tests, this has been linked to
a brain region called
the left insular,
which showed greater activity when women
saw their beloved's name written down.
The more satisfied
the female test subjects were with
the quality of orgasms
in their *** relationship,
the more
this brain area was activated.
I've had the most perfect day ever.
I'm never intending
to do this again,
so it's the best thing that's
ever happened.
It's just great.
It's a fantastic reception.
Lots of people here that I love
and respect and, obviously,
just to share that
with Odele is incredible.
At the reception, conversation turns
to the wedding night.
We've talked openly about,
obviously, tonight, THE night,
and what it might be like
and what to expect,
and all of those type of things,
and I think they're looking forward
to it an awful lot!
In fact, I can't see them now!
THEY LAUGH
'We would view sex as something
much more than a physical act
'it's got emotional aspects to it.
'
'Within a loving context,'
and it is fantastic,
because it's that relationship
that leads to good sex,
that love, that commitment
that leads to a good sex life.
Choosing when to have sex
for the first time
and who with is a major decision.
And we don't always get it right.
over 40% of young women
feel they had sex
for the first time too soon.
In recent years, a small minority
has taken the extreme step
of resorting to cosmetic surgery
in an attempt to return themselves
to the physical state they were in
before first sex.
The procedure is
called hymenoplasty.
The *** is a thin, fleshy membrane
that is found at the opening
to the ***.
When the *** is stretched,
it can rupture,
which sometimes causes bleeding.
For a long time, it was believed
an intact *** was evidence
of virginity,
and that it would be broken
the first time a woman has
penetrative sex.
However, the *** can be ruptured
in many different ways,
such as horse riding or through
the insertion of a ***,
Despite this, in some cultures,
the *** is still
symbolic of virginity.
'What we do in a hymenoplasty is
recreate that barrier'
so that it re-virginises,
so to speak, the patient.
Today's patient is Judy,
a committed Christian
who regrets losing her virginity
to a high-school sweetheart.
She's asked to be anonymous,
as she fears she will be ostracized
if it becomes public
she is not a ***.
'I was born into a very, very
conservative Catholic home.
'
Sex before marriage is not allowed
at all.
He was my best friend.
We did date for a little while
in high school, and it was hard,
because he had really strict parents
and I had very strict parents.
He had told me that
he was in love with me.
He did propose to me.
So I said yes,
and, you know, we're engaged.
And then, one night,
it just happened.
Judy and her boyfriend had sex once.
Then, two months later,
he disappeared.
She eventually caught up with him
on Facebook.
He messaged me back saying,
"I'm sorry to tell you this,
"but I got married a week ago.
"I met THE most amazing girl ever,"
"and I had to leave
because I loved you too much.
"
'I was in shock.
I gave him my virginity.
'I gave him something sacred that.
At the time,
'I felt like I wasn't going to
get it back, ever.
'
Hymenoplasty costs between
ã2,000 and ã4,000
and is relatively rare,
with this clinic
in the US performing
just seven procedures a year.
The first step is
to expose the area
so one can actually see
what is going on.
You may feel a little pinch.
And the second step,
the edges are freshened up
I mean cutting the old scar
that has formed
on the free edge of the ***,
allowing a bleeding edge to form,
and the final step is a suture
on the outside layer of
the hymenal wall
that faces the exterior.
Now, you don't want to
tighten it too much,
otherwise, the next time
you have sex,
it will be exceedingly difficult.
Nothing can change
how Judy lost her virginity,
but she hopes this procedure will
make her feel more comfortable
about the prospect of
first sex with her current partner,
who she thinks
she will one day marry.
'He wants to know that he is
the only one I have ever been with.
'The night of the wedding, he is
expecting to see blood on the sheet.
'
So, here's now the repaired ***.
After a few months,
not even a doctor will be
able to tell.
'Maybe I won't be that 100% ***
that I once was,
'but I will be one again,
'and that's what
I'm looking forward to.
'Just being a *** again,
and being myself.
'
In Kavos,
it's another night on the pull,
and the lads are reaching for
a spot of Dutch courage.
The *** is really cheap.
I tried loads of cocktails.
Fish bowls Sex on the beach
Blue lagoon The head ***.
Where we come from, they don't
really serve those kinds of drinks.
They don't measure your shots,
it's purely just slapped in a glass.
Really good.
Um
It's very, very messy.
There's loads of atmosphere,
but, yeah, it's class!
As the *** flows,
the lads' confidence
with women seems to rocket.
If I didn't drink,
I wouldn't have pulled.
It stops you from thinking about
what you're going to say.
When we have an alcoholic drink,
it washes down to the stomach
and into the small intestine,
where it rapidly absorbs
into the bloodstream
and is sent pumping round the body
and to the brain.
In the part of the brain
responsible for social inhibitions,
nerve cells talk to each other by sending
chemical messages that influence how we act.
If we see someone we fancy but can't
get the courage to talk to them,
it's messages sent from this area
that are inhibiting us.
Alcohol depresses the ability
of this part of the brain
to send and receive
these chemical messages,
and we become much less inhibited
and much more self-confident
with potential *** partners.
'I think the alcohol makes me
not care about how I come across.
'I'm definitely the person
who needs that,'
a bit of Dutch courage to up the
ante and get in there, so to speak.
*** doesn't just make us
less sexually inhibited.
Scientists also reckon we actually
fancy more people when we're drunk
than when we're sober.
It's called the beer-goggles effect,
and it's a phenomenon
customers at a pub in South London
are all too familiar with.
Beer goggles is
the ruin of all mankind.
It means you start looking at women
and you think they're sexy
when they're not.
Put it this way, I've seen what
she gets with when she's drunk!
No, no!
Scientists Lewis Halsey and Jorg
Huber are carrying out an experiment
to find out why people might appear
more attractive after a few drinks.
Their study is based around
the idea that
alcohol might affect our ability
to detect asymmetry
in the faces of others.
People tend to find mates,
or potential mates or partners,
more attractive
when they're more symmetrical.
It's all about finding a mate
that will provide good genes
to go with yours for your offspring
and will also likely provide for
your offspring well.
You will be shown 20 pairs of faces.
OK.
And your job is to decide
which one is more attractive.
HE LAUGHS
OK.
Yeah, so
I'm finding YOU
very attractive at the moment!
Yeah, that's kind of you to say
One face in each pair has been
subtly manipulated to make it look
more symmetrical than the other, and
participants must decide which they prefer.
The theory that we're working on was
that people who were drunk
may be less able to see asymmetry
in a face than people
who are sober,
and if they can't see the asymmetry,
then they can't see
that lack of attractiveness.
Therefore, they see the face
as being more attractive.
After judging the faces,
participants take a breathalyser
test to measure how much alcohol is
in their bloodstream.
It's a fair amount.
Is that really high?
So we found that sober people
more often prefer the symmetrical
face of a pair of faces
when they had the choice
than did the drunk participants.
You preferred the symmetrical face
just eight times out of 20.
'There's some reasonable
evidence here, not conclusive,
'but reasonable evidence, that a lot of ability
to perceive asymmetry after drinking alcohol'
is at least part of the mechanism
explaining what we call
beer goggles.
Drinking and dating may be fun,
but winding up with someone
we don't fancy is not
the only risk attached.
Surveys say that people are
three times more likely
to have unprotected sex when drunk.
For men, the main method of
contraception is the ***,
which reduces the risk of STIs
and pregnancy.
For young women,
the pill is most popular.
It won't protect against STIs,
but is around 99% effective
in preventing pregnancy
if used properly.
It caused a storm
when it came out in 1961.
NEWSREEL: 'This little white tablet
is more explosive than dynamite.
'What its effect will be on the
future of mankind is something
'nobody can foretell.
'
The pill prevents women from
getting pregnant by interrupting
the normal hormonal changes
that control the menstrual cycle.
Normally, hormones trigger the
growth of what are called follicles
in the ovaries of women, and every month, one
of these follicles dominates the others in size
and releases an egg which can
potentially be fertilised by ***.
The pill slows the release of
certain hormones,
which restricts the follicles
from growing and, by extension,
an egg from growing and being
released for fertilisation.
The pill is only effective, however,
if users remember to take it
every day.
Victoria went on the pill
when she became sexually active
in her late teens.
I finished school at 18,
and I'd kind of messed up my final
year, I'd struggled with depression
and things like that, and had been
just going out and drinking a lot.
I was sleeping with a lot of people,
and I thought I was having fun,
but when I look back at it now,
I think, probably 80% of the time,
I wasn't having fun -
it was more desperation.
Victoria's chaotic lifestyle meant
she often forgot to take her pill.
When I went home with somebody,
I would know that
I was going to have unprotected sex.
I knew that
I was going to be stupid.
I couldn't talk about it with people
back then, just couldn't do it.
I didn't want them to talk about it.
I didn't want to deal it -
too much reality.
I knew the last person
I slept with
I just knew that I was pregnant.
I knew it, and it was a miracle that
it didn't happen sooner.
After confirming she was pregnant,
Victoria went to her parents
with the news.
They both came into the lounge
and sat next to me
on the sofa and just held my hand.
And just asked me
what I wanted to do.
And they were amazing.
I told them that
I didn't want to be pregnant,
and I didn't want to have a baby.
And they just said, "OK.
"
Abortion was legalized in the UK
in 1967.
The pro-life lobby argue
abortion goes against the rights
of an unborn child.
There's been over 4.
5 million
unborn children killed by abortion.
Pro-choice groups view legal
abortion as a major step forward
in women's rights.
Before 1967, the Home Office
statistics showed that
between 30 and 50 women a year died
as a result of criminal abortion.
Abortion rates increased slightly
last year,
and nearly 190,000 were performed
in England and Wales.
When Victoria opted to have
an abortion, she felt
she was just not ready to cope with
becoming a mother.
I wasn't willing to give up my life,
you know?
Messed-up as it was, I wasn't
willing to change it that massively.
When she arrived at hospital
for her abortion,
Victoria was sent for
an ultrasound scan.
'You see people going for scan on
TV, or your friends go for a scan'
when they are pregnant,
and it's a happy event.
They see the baby on the screen
and they hear the heartbeat.
And so having that experience
and it being a completely opposite
feeling was very strange,
and it was horrible.
Victoria had her abortion
and left hospital the same day.
A week later, however,
she started to experience
painful stomach cramps.
'The pain was so bad that
it would wake me up in the night,
'and I was doubled over
in excruciating pain.
'
No painkiller would make it better.
After three weeks, the pain stopped,
and she experienced
a heavy vaginal discharge.
I had no idea what it was,
but it was something and it was big,
it was round, it was grim,
it was nasty.
'I went to my GP straightaway,
'and they basically said that
it was remnants of the stuff that'
they had failed to suck out of
my womb when I'd had the abortion.
It was horrifying.
What happened to Victoria occurs
in just 1% of cases.
Despite the complications
she went through,
she doesn't regret
having an abortion.
In the seven years since her
procedure, she's travelled widely
and has met her partner.
The couple are now planning
their wedding.
'Abortion is absolutely not
a contraceptive choice.
'
It's one of the most important
things in the entire world,
whether you have a baby or not.
Um You have to
If you are not going to through
with it, you have to justify it,
you have to
I have to live a better life.
I was raised up
Believing I was somehow
In Blackpool, Martin has been
building up courage
to tell his mum he's gay.
Before the big conversation,
he visits his counsellor, Steve,
for some advice.
Today is Saturn V rocket launch day.
We're on the launch pad,
and we're going for it.
And it doesn't actually do you
any good to keepyou know
to stop the launch.
I mean, why in the hell can't I
bloody just say, "Mum, I'm gay"?
Because it's approval, isn't it?
Mmm.
You want Mum's approval.
You don't want to upset Mum,
but you still want Mum's love.
The scary thing is the reaction.
What should I expect?
Is she going to be mad?
Is she going to be fine?
What's she going to be like?
I don't know.
'It's a very, very big day
for him today.
'
This coming-out process is essential
to Martin's
development as a human being.
'It's fundamental.
You can't live
in a society where you are forced
'to be dishonest about
your true emotions and feelings.
'
I would value the fact my son told me
before I found out
through other channels.
Yeah, if my friends told
God, that would have been awful.
So it's about honesty.
Mmm.
So, off you go.
Handshake.
Go for it, bro.
OK.
See you later.
'She's, like, the one person left
that I'm so intimidated to tell.
'
I don't want her to be
different with me in any way,
so that's why
it's a sort of big deal for me.
'Right now, I just feel ready,
like, just go for it,
'because if I leave it for longer,
I'm just not going to say anything.
'
It's Corrina's 18th birthday,
and she's getting ready
to meet up with Callum,
although their relationship has been
strained this week.
He hasn't spoken to me all day.
I've seen him - not to talk to
but he hasn't texted me or anything.
Kind of upset, really.
Keeps changing.
Corrina's mate Becky is
good friends with Callum, too.
When you're upset,
I'll go over to him
and be like, "Oh, this is bothering
Corrina, that's bothering Corrina.
"
What's bringing me down is he's
hardly showing me any affection,
but when he does, I'm really happy.
Despite their relationship troubles,
Corrina has high hopes
for her special night.
I hope tonight is
going to be romantic.
I'll be there, my boyfriend will be
there.
That's what I want, really.
I'm so excited!
Agh! Agh!
ALL: Happy birthday to you!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
'Last week, it's been a bit odd.
'She were crying the other day,
because I'm good mates'
with this girl,
and Corrina got a bit upset over it.
I used to think Corrina
was all right with it,
but it seems to be
getting to her, so
Hello.
Hey!
Becky!
I need to have words with Becky
about something.
After Callum and Corrina's
rocky week, it's down to Becky
to mediate between the two
and pass on some reassuring words.
He'd choose you to take
his virginity over anybody else.
Really?
Cos he was going to tonight.
Yeah? Really, tonight?!
Yeah.
Oh! But he doesn't know
if he should or not because
Because of things.
Yeah.
She's on her period, so I can't
imagine anything actually happening.
I love you.
I love you too.
You see, the thing is,
cos I'm a ***,
I don't actually know what goes on!
It's a bit embarrassing,
admitting that, but I don't mind.
But people have told me
it's not a good
you know, it's not nice.
There will be plenty of other times
when I could, but
Cos I think that you two will be
together for a hell of a long time.
Do you think? Yeah, and he tells me
how happy you make him.
'Really?! Because I bought him
Newkie Brown?'
No, not just because of that!
But just how happy you make him
in general.
CORRINA LAUGHS EXCITEDLY
'If I were to lose my virginity,
it would be her,
'because she's the special one,
the woman in my life who I do love.
'
She's the best specimen of
the female species I've ever met.
It's the morning after
the night before in Kavos,
and the lads are off to
a water park,
but some are struggling with
the early start.
How can you be so chirpy?!
Rough, I think, is the word.
It's way too early.
Terrible.
Not all the lads feel so jaded.
Best night all week.
Everything
about it was just tremendous.
For one of the group in particular,
the holiday has
exceeded expectations.
'I found someone this week.
She's
one of the nicest girls I've met.
'
I've never been on
a boys' holiday like this,
so I didn't really know
what to expect.
'You see on the television,
programmes, films,'
they're all one-night stands,
so that's what I was expecting.
I didn't expect holiday romance,
but I kind of like it, it's good.
With one night left, the others are
reflecting on their own performance.
Is it a disappointment to you that
you didn't have sex this week?
Yes, it is a disappointment.
'But anything can happen.
'Fun all night, it will happen!'
Last night of the holiday now,
so it's
.
.
a bit of a long trip home,
you know, take it easy tonight!
There's been so many highlights
this week.
There's been pole dancing,
pole dancing with fire round us,
there's been plenty of free alcohol,
which is always a bonus.
My age group should experience it
when you're young.
Just have fun, enjoy your teenage
years, or your young adulthood.
This has just opened my eyes
so much now.
I want to experience more.
Where are you running off?
I'm off for a rendezvous.
With who?
My baby lady.
I'm off for
a rendezvous with a baby lady.
And the love kick starts again
Starts again
And the love
kick starts again
This morning, Martin decided to
tell his mum he is gay,
and he was unsure
what her reaction would be.
Hello.
Did you tell your mum?
Yeah, I told her.
She was out doing pilates,
and I was waiting out.
I was like, "Crapping hell!"
And when she came back,
I was like
Umyou don't mind if we go
somewhere private, do you? Yeah.
Martin has been building up
the courage to come out to his mum
for over five years.
Well, when he first came in,
I think it was a bit like,
"I need to talk to you, Mum,"
and you think,
"Oh, my God, what's he done?!"
You know, I'm thinking,
"He's done something wrong,"
"or he's in trouble with the police
or something.
"
So yeah, it wasn't as bad.
I was like, "How do you know?"
"Is it just a phase,
you know, you're going through?"
Cos I suppose, really, I wanted him
to say, "Yeah, it's a phase,"
"but really I'll be what you want
in the end, and I'll get married"
"and have grandchildren
and you'll be happy,"
but, you know,
you accept these things.
But, yeah, I did grill you a bit,
didn't I? You did.
It was like half an hour
or an hour of questions,
and stuff about *** and,
"Have you kissed anyone before?
"Have you slept with anyone before?"
I'm like, "Ugh!"
That's what mothers do!
We're just the same as
we were really, aren't we? Mmm.
No difference, is there? Yeah.
I still put up with you!
SHE LAUGHS
The plan now is to find
a nice bloke,
good-looking and lovely personality
and all that, and just settle down
or have a good relationship.
That's, like,
the mission at the moment.
Hopefully, I can start a journey,
and hopefully,
it will be a good one, hopefully.
Odele and Andy are fresh back
from honeymoon
and are adjusting to living together
for the first time.
So far, so good.
Yeah.
I'm getting used to the flat
being girlified.
Goodbye to bachelor pad, I say.
Yeah.
What's the point in having books,
pebbles, whatever these are,
too many beauty products, candles?
I don't see the point
in having any of this.
After two and a half years together,
marriage and moving in is not the only rite
of passage Odele and Andy have been through.
Yes, we have had sex
for the first time.
Have we(?)
Yes, we have, Andy!
Glad you remember it so well(!)
The best way I can say is it evolved,
and it was fantastic at times
and at times it was,
perhaps, laughable!
That's the best way I can put it!
I thought it was going to feel
really weird,
and it was going to feel
a bit odd, you know?
But actually,
it didn't feel like that at all.
It just felt totally right.
But it has been kind of quite funny,
like getting embarrassed
at chemists and stuff.
I was thinking, "Where do they even
sell parts of lubrication"
"and condoms Where do they
even sell it in Boots?"
Cos I'd never bought it before,
so I didn't have a clue!
And then you feel naughty,
going up to the counter!
And that was all quite amusing.
So, Andy, as you can guess,
just left me to pay and ran off,
so I had to do it all on my own!
'I think it just reassured us that
our decision to wait
'and our decision to put it
into married life
'and a strong relationship was
the right one.
'
It was really fun.
Sex is good.
It was really fun!
Next time, we explore what happens
when we start to play the field.
I love exploring sex just as much as
I love eatingand I love eating!
From the pleasures
I've never had an ***
quite like it.
The Valhalla ***.
To the dangers
I was given, what I thought
at the time, was a death sentence.
Of promiscuous sex in our 20s.