Let's Talk About Sex, Baby! (Or Let Dating Guru Rachel Canis)

Yahoo! Shine recently reached out to EKC client and Best Foot Forward founder Rachel Canis to share her thoughts on...SEX! Check out the article below, where Rachel gives the scoop on how men and women in the Windy City feel differently about sex:

Are Guys More Freaked Out Over Sex Than We Are?

by Liz Brody

I was still in my pajamas this morning (don't ask what time) when I turned on the computer to find it was National Unmarried and Single Americans Week. Who knew? But apparently September 19 to 25 has been set aside to honor the more than 100,000 adult solo citizens of this country. It occurred to me that such an occasion should be acknowledged. So after watching an old episode of The Match Off, (that NBC show where two pros vie to fix up a picky single), I called one of the dating experts on it, Rachel Canis. She was actually the loser, but I don't know... I like her shoes theory: "Make sure you can walk in them. I don't care how old you are."

That POV, it turns out, goes nicely with the name of her high-end dating service, Best Foot Forward, in Chicago. In any case, it was Canis, who told me she'd interviewed 500 of the windy city's singles this year and discovered a surprising new trend. When couples first have sex, according to her research, women take it in stride; it's the guys who freak out. They overanalyze. They worry what it all means. They feel the air thinning and turn into Carrie Bradshaw on a mountaintop doing a one-night-stand postmortem.

What happened to all that sowing of wild oats?

"We found that men were over-thinking it more than women," Canis says. "Some guys don't, but a certain percentage of them assume that after sex, the woman is already picking out china patterns, and they worry there's a new obligation. Ironically, for most the ladies we interviewed, sex was just part of the dating process to see where things were going."

Canis went on to say that men even flip out if the woman thanks them for date (Oh boy, "I Love Lucy" just turned into Lucy the hominid.) "I'd think it was common courtesy to send a text if you had a really good time," she admitted, "but for some reason it makes men feel more pressured. I find that men still want to control the pace of the relationship."

'Dating Concierge' & NBC Star De-mystifies Relationships in Online Coliumn

EKC's latest online addiction is BFF founder Rachel Canis' article series on dating and relationships.

In real life, Rachel gets paid to use her relationship savvy to help her clients achieve dating success. But in her online Examiner column, the dating pro gives free advice on everything from pre-date jitters to Facebook dos and don'ts. Check it out if you haven't already-- single or not, you have to admit she has some pretty insightful things to say!

The Measures People Take to Meet Mr. & Mrs. Right

Stef Saffron is a Chicago matchmaker. She's the founder of Stef and the City. Stef has a lot of experience and her costs are affordable. She prides herself in being able to pair off commitment-minded daters who are in the "dating sweet spot" (ages 26 to 32) and finding dates for men.

But what happens to singles who aren't so easy to match via the Internet of otherwise? What about locals who have taken a break from dating and have missed the whole social media craze? What about people who don't have a lot of free time but have significant emotional baggage? What about women who aren't in their child-bearing years? What about the fashion and appearance challenged?

At Best Foot Forward, we consider ourselves the go-to team. As a professional dating concierge, we take the necessary steps to ensure individual success stories. Across the nation, there are extreme examples of what singles are doing to meet or market themselves in search of a mate.

New York's Janis Spidel and Los Angeles' Patty Stanger charge a minimum of $25,000 to scour their cities to find the "perfect" match for their male clients. Whether or not you believe in the longevity of these matches, the media is giving these women a lot of attention.

Outside of Chicago, a 23-year-old guy at DatingBrian.com has left his love life to Facebook and Twitter. People can vote to determine the future of his dating life. (read more...)

EKC Client Rachel Canis to Appear on New NBC Show, Right After SNL

Rachel Canis, president of Chicago-based "dating concierge" Best Foot Forward, will appear on NBC's newest reality series, "The Match Off," airing this Saturday after SNL. On the show, Rachel's dating expertise will be put to the test, as she competes against matchmaker PJ Osgood to find "Mr. Right" for an eligible single woman. Checkout this trailer, where the bachelorette explains why being single is like an STD: