Should we teach teens about BDSM in sex ed?

By Leigh Cuen Could talking to students about BDSM culture help combat rape on college campuses? Psychology researcher Kathryn Klement thinks so. Klement is the co-author of a newly published study out of Northern Illinois University, which showed that BDSM practitioners are less likely to believe victim-blaming myths or sexist stereotypes than the general population. That’s why she believes …

Science can’t explain sexual orientation. Here’s why

By Rafi Letzter Why are you so straight? Why are you so gay? Why are you so bi? Science doesn’t have any definite answers. I reached out to Ritch Savin-Williams, a developmental psychologist at Cornell University and author of several books focused on sexuality. I asked him what we know about why and how people …

American Men Are Pretty Happy With Their Penises

By Jesse Singal For understandable reasons, society’s conversation about body satisfaction tends to focus on women. Women, it can safely be argued, face a lot more social pressure to look good all the time, to feel ashamed of their bodies, and to harp on minor imperfections. Men aren’t immune from all that, though. And one …

This Long-Lost Study On Victorian Sex Teaches A Very Modern Lesson

By Sara Coughlin What comes to mind when you picture Victorian-era sex? Corsets? Marriages of convenience and social bartering? Repression? Maybe, like, a lot of repression? Turns out, how we view that time in sexual history might be more than a little warped. We can start to get a better idea of what women of …

A waning interest in intimacy; a cross-dressing husband

By Dr. Katie Schubert As a sex therapist, people sometimes email and call me to ask if I can answer a “quick question” for them. Human sexuality is complicated, and a “quick question” generally has a convoluted answer. However, sometimes I am able to provide a general answer or offer a starting place for those …

We’re Not Quite ‘Born This Way’

By Jesse Singal Back in 2014, a bigoted African leader put J. Michael Bailey, a psychologist at Northwestern, in a strange position. Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, had been issuing a series of anti-gay tirades, and — partially fueled by anti-gay religious figures from the U.S. — was considering toughening Uganda’s anti-gay laws. The …

5 Tips for Parents of Transgender Children

by SLICKLION Raising children is certainly one of life’s most rewarding experiences yet simultaneously presents some of our greatest challenges. As information about transgender children continues to spread, more and more parents of are quickly moving through any personal fears to fully support their trans child. It’s important to understand that the sooner you help …