Sarah asks: "I have been dating a great guy for a little over 5 months. We are both in our 20's. He has a very demanding job and is extremely busy, while I am a college student with a much more flexible schedule. Our sex life has always been great - we have awesome bedroom chemistry, and it has always been an enjoyable, zesty enterprise for us both. However, he decided to stop drinking for a month - he felt like he was doing it too much. He has lost all interest in sex - we haven't done it in about a month. He says it is because his emotions and thoughts are all changing and becoming clearer because he has stopped drinking. Also, he is on antidepressants, and I have read that they can decrease libido. He is still very affectionate - we cuddle every night we are together, hold hands and kiss. I asked him if I had put on weight or anything since we started dating, and he insists that I have nothing to do with his lack of libido. Does this seem plausible? If this is a temporary thing, it is definitely worth it for me to wait it out and be patient and give him time, because he is a great person. I just want to know if the reasons he gave me for this seem legitimate. How long is too long without sex, especially in a new-ish relationship between young people?" Read more...

When dating someone new, what's your primary motivation?

I read a quick clip in Bernice Kanner's book, Are You Normal? that shared the majority of men (42%) and women (51%) date to 'establish a relationship', whereas 33% of men and 29% of women date to 'have a good time'.

I couldn't find the origin of the statistics quoted unfortunately, but I'm still looking. Since the book was published in 2004, I'm assuming the research is a bit dated now - so now I'm even more curious as to what the point of dating is for people today. Take the poll and let me know - why do you date?

I'm not sure how these purchases will filter down to its user bases, but there were some major deals brokered in the online dating world recently. Match.com purchased SinglesNet, and private equity firm Great Hill Partners LLC has made an offer to buy Spark Networks (who owns a myriad of sites including SingleParentsMingle, and American Singles).

For those of you who belong to one of these dating sites, are you worried that the services you've gotten used to will change, or are you happy and hopeful it will lead to a better online dating experience?

More information:

• Spark Networks Announces Formation of a Special Committee to Evaluate Acquisition Proposal
• Confirmed: Match.com Acquires SinglesNet

Becca asks: "While we were at the mall, a girlfriend of mine asked me if I found guys with hair on their chests attractive. I said no because I grew up swimming competitively, so I'm not used to seeing guys with hair on their chests. But I love it when a guy smells like chlorine (again, the swimming thing) and said so. My friend looked at me like I was crazy so I stopped talking. Is what I find attractive really that weird?"

No Becca, that's not weird at all. We've all got something unusual that we can appreciate, just like we all have something unusual to offer. For me, its men with goatees. I realize that few women appreciate a man with facial hair, but for me, goatees are one of the easiest ways to get my attention.

I wouldn't worry too much about what your friend thinks regarding what you find attractive. She's likely to have something in her personal list that drives her wild but makes you go 'ick' in response too. In the grand scheme of life, if what you find attractive doesn't hurt you/someone else or break any laws, I see no harm in finding things out of the ordinary attractive. In fact, I think its a good thing - because if we all appreciated the same things, life would be pretty boring.

But what about you? What do you find attractive that might not be considered normal?