The Windsor Star from Windsor, Ontario, Canada • 40

LIFE The Windsor Star wiiHlsoislaiimn D4 Saturday; May 9, 2015 Promposals getting more elaborate FOTOUA While baby boomers average about 11 sexual partners in adulthood, millennial, generation of Tinder and 'I'm just not looking for anything serious right can expect an average of just eight partners. Fewer sex partiers for practical miUennials Chances are their parents had more lovers DANIELLE PAQUETTE Washington Post WASHINGTON Amid our rapidly changing attitudes about sex, a seeming contradiction has emerged: Millennial tend to be cool with casual relations but they've probably had fewer partners than lovers of previous generations, new research suggests. Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, analyzed data from a survey of more than 33,000 adults in the U.S. to measure the country's shifting sexual landscape. Americans in the "Greatest Generation," or those born between roughly 1901 and 1924, slept with an estimat they actually might be having "sex within a smaller circle of people," and not doing the serious dating that might actually lead to more partners.

Millennials also tend to become sexually active later than Gen X. Between 2006 and 2008, 11 per cent of teenage girls and 14 per cent of teenage boys reported having sex before age 15 compared with 19 per cent and 21 per cent in 1995, when gen Xers would be coming of age, the Guttmacher Institute found. The reasons millennials might be delaying sex could be practical, Twenge said. Today's young people are generally aware of risks of sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies, thanks to sex education and the Internet. But millennials seem to be less judgmental about other people's sex lives.

Sixty-two per cent think there's nothing wrong with sex before marriage, according to Twenge's calculations, and 56 per cent have no issue with same-sex relationships. LAUREN LA ROSE The Canadian Press TORONTO Charlotte Stoody has long known her boyfriend would be her prom date, but Devon Oates was still determined to pull out all the stops when asking her to the big dance. Stoody joined her friends outdoors during lunch at their Toronto high school, thinking she was going to witness someone else's promposal only to discover she was the centre of attention. Oates rolled up in an SUV with the word "Prom?" in large blue bubble letters across the right side of the vehicle. He emerged with a bouquet of flowers and another boy, who was carrying a vanilla cake featuring a photo of the couple with "Prom?" etched in blue icing.

Oates and Stoody were surrounded by a group of students each holding signs reading "Yes. "I was shocked," recalled Stoody, 18. "It was sort of scary, everyone watching and screaming and stuff. But it was exciting. I was really happy about it." Stoody later shared the promposal on Twitter and Instagram for all her friends who weren't there to experience the event in person.

"Talking to my parents and older kids, it wasn't that big of a deal to have a huge celebration about it before," Stoody said. "I think now everybody likes the attention. And with social media, we like to post about it online and have everyone know that this happened to us." While promposals elaborate invitations to proms that are often similar to marriage proposals are more popular in the U.S., social media has helped boost their popularity north of the border, said Amanda Bloye, editor of Vervegirl Canada and Vervegirl Canada: The Prom Issue. And while over-the-top promposals tend to generate the most buzz, Bloye says the gesture has more to do with making the moment more meaningful than spending a lot of money She recalled a memorable promposal where a boy offered a fresh take on the famed "Roses is red, violets are blue" rhyme, subbing flower references with doughnuts. Instead of presenting his would-be date with a bouquet, he offered a dozen doughnuts with "prom" and ques- Companionship Personal Care HI Housekeeping -A ih-hb 111 III! windsorstar.com Gay, bisexual children likely to be bullied more mi CHARLOTTE STOODYThe Canadian Press Charlotte Stoody holds flowers given to her by her boyfriend Devon Oates as part of his promposal in Toronto.

tion marks etched in icing. "Some are much more grandiose but for the most part, it's just someone doing something nice for another person," said Bloye. Since Tristan Rouse and Alex Donnelly attend different high schools in Oakville, Ont, the 18-year-olds are taking turns popping the question. Donnelly made the first move. "SOME ARE MUCH MORE GRANDIOSE BUT FOR THE MOST PART, IT'S JUST SOMEONE DOING SOMETHING NICE FOR ANOTHER PERSON." AMANDA BLOYE Rouse arrived at his girlfriend's home around 10 p.m.

to see Christmas lights duct-taped to her garage door spelling out "prom." A question mark fashioned out of candles was on the driveway "I knew she was going to prompose to me, but I had no idea the day or the time that it was going to happen," recalled Rouse, who has been dating Donnelly for about a year. He plans to return the gesture with a personalized scavenger hunt. "You only get one promposal. You only get one prom," Rouse said. fomfnrt asocfetobrand Celebrating 5 yearsi Call to enjoy two complimentary hours as ourtnanKvou mam IK 003 ed average of three partners during adulthood, according to a study published May 5 in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Baby boomers have picked up the pace, averaging about 11 partners. Generation has nearly kept up with 10. And millennials, generation of Tinder and "I'm just not looking for anything serious right now," can expect an average of just eight. People don't stop having sex at any particular age, of course. Researchers calculated projections based on historic sexual patterns across generations.

To simplify: Twenge's group compared the average number of sexual partners among 25-year-old boomers to, for example, today's 25-year-olds. So why do millennials appear to be more selective than previous generations? We don't know for sure. One theory: While this generation brought attention to the idea of "friends with benefits," said Twenge, who led the research and wrote "Generation Me," their own sexual orientation yet, said the lead author, Dr. Mark Schuster of Boston Children's Hospital. The data doesn't say why each kid was targeted.

But most were likely picked on for being he said. "Some kids may be considered by the bullies to be a more girlish boy, or a more boyish girl," said Schuster. The pattern reflects what was reported in an earlier study of teens in England. The new study was published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. The research drew from an ongoing study of health behaviours and health risks in Houston, Los Angeles and Birmingham, Ala.

Other research has found gay and bisexual high school students are more likely than their heterosexual classmates to attempt suicide or do risky things like smoke and drink alcohol. In an earlier study, Schuster and his colleagues found that the longer a child is bullied, the more severe and lasting the effect on the kid's health. Bullying is linked to depression and feelings of lower self-worth, Schuster said. "At one time, bullying was brushed off as 'kids will be he said. But, he added, the consequences can be "persistent and serious." LrJ Caryl Baker the face experts EYES lVE VISAGE tmzzh rientalRuQS Inq MIKE STOBBE The Associated Press NEW YORK Gay and bisexual kids are more likely to be bullied as they're growing up even at an early age, according to the first large U.S.

study to look at the problem. Public school students in three cities were asked about bullying in the 5th, 7th and 10th grades. When they reached high school, they were asked if they identified themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual. The researchers then looked back at what those kids had said through the years about their experiences of being hit, threatened, called names or excluded. Overall, many of the nearly 4,300 students surveyed said they were bullied, especially at younger ages.

But the 630 gay and bisexual children suffered it more. The researchers found 13 per cent of them were bullied on a weekly basis in 5th grade, compared to eight per cent of other kids. In both groups, the rates went down as the students got older but the disparity persisted. "In fifth grade, they already were bullied more than other kids" even though, at that young age, many gay and bisexual kids haven't discovered Iguarantee you'll "We provide a complete hearing health care facility and believe in the importance of offering hearing solutions to manage, improve, preserve and protect one's hearing. Learn more at www.hdhearingclinic.com" LOUIS KANAV0S Hearing Instrument Specialist HI-DEFINITION HEARING CLINIC Hoar What You'vp Bofin Anting better7 nsar Shop our Flooring Store Right in your Own FLOOR COVERINGS Hardwood, Carpet, Tile More Our Studio is located at 8 County Road 42 Manning Tecumseh 519-735-5515 Design Delivery Professional Installation I Liknkin Oitlt MHIoil Ciitrt, 4M Mnnn Ullt14t-I, I1I7Z7-BZM Reel CiiHIii ttptnUm, 4171 Walkw i hm mi pmiiii tw-im ww.w wJjndaor.lloorcoverlngalnternatlonal.com.