What Happens to Relationships When Sex Hurts

Women who suffer from the chronic-pain condition vulvodynia often feel isolated from their partners. But a better medical understanding is helping. By Ashley Fetters In her 18 years as a sex therapist in Orange County, California, Stephanie Buehler has come to recognize a certain tense, fraught dynamic in couples when a female partner has vulvodynia. …

Meet the BDSM therapists treating clients with restraints, mummification and impact play

By Gillian Fisher When we say BDSM, you probably think of chains, whips, and all sorts of sexy stuff. But there’s far more to it. BDSM has long been recognised as an erotic practice, with more people than ever introducing aspects of bondage, domination, sadism and masochism into their sexual pursuits. A combination of changing …

Female Power and Pleasure Go Together.

Just Ask Bonobos By Wednesday Martin Meet the non-human primates who tell us everything our culture doesn’t want to hear about female sexuality. You’ve probably heard about bonobos — close relatives of chimps who are somewhat skinnier, and are native to the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the popular imagination, bonobos have a somewhat hippie-ish …

Prostate Play

How To Massage One To Orgasm By Erika W. Smith People born with a penis are also born with a prostate — a walnut-shaped gland wrapped around the urethral canal. It’s often compared to the G-spot, because the prostate’s location is in a similar location inside the body and both can feel amazing when stimulated. People …

Want to have better sex?

Talk about ‘it’ with your partner more, say Texas researchers Conversation helps sexual satisfaction and desire, especially with partners in committed relationships. By Derek Beres A new meta-analysis from the University of Texas at Austin finds that better sexual communication leads to better sex. The survey of 48 studies discovered that communication plays a key …

What porn taught us about sex, romance and ourselves

For a generation that went through puberty in the digital age, sex-ed often began in front of a desktop. But what happens when porn is your teacher? By Tyler Griffin Whenever eight-year-old Gabrielle Clarke watched Rihanna or Christina Aguilera music videos on YouTube, she would get an intense feeling of desire she couldn’t explain. She …

If You’re Sexually Woke, Then Let Straight Men Experiment Freely

“Through [gay] experiences, I found out that I am completely straight. I won’t go back.” by Bobby Box When a woman mentions she’s had an “experimental phase,” it’s often shrugged off as a shared experience. But when men share this same information, the results are often more extreme: They’re teased, labeled gay, or their masculinity …