New Yorkers are skilled at cognitive dissonance—deeply romantic yet devoted to the quick thrill, lusty and then surprisingly conventional. But don’t ask us to choose: In this city, the answer to most either/or questions, but especially ones about sex and love, is usually “both.”

Below are links to confessions from New Yorkers who've made many kinds of choices: virgins of all ages, married men, a divorcing mom, a lesbian bride, and a woman twice betrayed. Plus: the MILF-cougar continuum, and some outspoken scensters explain why they're good in bed.

The Great Escape

One recently separated woman’s attempt to come to grips with society’s expectation that she act like a basket case.

The Sex Diaries

An hour-by-hour accounting of six New Yorkers’ sexual desires and their much-less-frequent consummation.

The Waiting Room

Why an assortment of voluntary virgins like it that way.

What Are You Like in Bed?

Sex tips from randomly selected bargoers.