Happy endings

The ins and outs of clinical sexology By Matt Tilley Sexology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of human sexuality, including sexual behaviours, interests and function. A sexologist is a trained professional who specialises in human sexuality. There are many different ways a sexologist may work, and many different areas she may work in – in …

How To Boost Your Sex Life While Looking After Your Mental Health

by Bonnie Evie Gifford We’d all like a bit more passion between the sheets (and on the streets, if that’s what does it for you), but can you give your sex life a boost without risking your overall wellbeing? Going through a dry spell. Having a crisis of confidence. Just feeling plain ol’ frumpy, fed-up, …

Not Sexually Compatible With Your Partner?

Here’s How To Work On It. By Caroline Colvin A couple’s compatibility doesn’t hinge on just one thing. Compatibility takes into account a couple’s habits, interests, attraction, and the effort both partners are willing to put into their relationship (among so many other factors). Sex is one important part of an even bigger compatibility “whole,” …

An essential safe sex guide for lesbian, bisexual and queer women

Everything you need to know about vulva-to-vulva sex. By Paisley Gilmour If you’re a lesbian, bisexual, pansexual or queer woman, or someone who has a vagina and sleeps with vagina-having people, it’s likely you haven’t had the sexual health education you need. School sex ed is so heteronormative that many of us never heard so …

Documenting the initiative helping disabled people explore sexuality

by Studio 1854 Simone Cerio won the ‘Hidden Worlds’ category in last year’s Wellcome Photography Prize for his year-long project documenting the practice of sexual assistance, helping people with disabilities to explore intimacy and sexuality in a therapeutic context. Six years ago, Simone Cerio came across a newspaper story that made him sit up and …

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 …

Think Your Child Might Be Questioning Their Gender Identity?

Get them willing to talk with these 5 tips You suspect your child is questioning their gender. You’re starting to pick up some clues, but what’s the next step? Should you approach your teen? Wait for them to come to you? Gender-questioning conversations can be difficult for caregivers. Pediatric endocrinologist Julia Cartaya, MD, discusses gender …

Why painful sex can plague women at any age

By Erin Blakemore Your brain may be ready for sex. But what if your body refuses to cooperate? Women desiring intimacy with their partner sometimes experience pain instead of pleasure. Painful intercourse can happen even without other health issues — and it’s more common than you might think. In a nationally representative 2013 survey, 1 …

Ways of Being

Three new books explore the variety of transgender experiences. By Stephanie Burt Assigned one gender at birth, we’d felt like the other since childhood. That feeling—which had nothing to do with sexual desire—grew until life in the wrong gender seemed not worth living. So we came out as trans women or trans men to loved …