We need to talk about the social norms that fuel sexual assault

By Natasha McKeever [T]he recent spate of sexual harassment accusations against prominent men in Westminster comes as no surprise to many of us. We expect them to know better – to have been better people – but we have also seen this kind of behaviour before … over and over again. It isn’t just powerful …

Gender Glossary: Understanding ‘Intersex’ Beyond the Binary

By Harish Iyer [8] November is designated as the day where we show solidarity and ensure that we educate ourselves about the intersex community. 8 November is the birthday of Herculin Barbin a french intersex person, who was brought up as a girl, but in adulthood discovered that she has a vagina but also a …

Women don’t need to ‘switch off’ to climax, orgasm study shows

By Helen Thomson [T]he most detailed study yet of orgasm brain activity has discovered why climaxing makes women feel less pain and shown that ‘switching off’ isn’t necessary. It’s not easy to study the brain during orgasm. “A brain scanner like fMRI is the least sexy place in the world,” says Nan Wise at Rutgers …

Debunking Common College Sex Myths

by William Leo and Juliette Silvain [S]ex is among the most talked-about subjects on college campuses. Yet myths and misconceptions pervade almost every discussion of sexual activity and sexuality, subtly infiltrating the beliefs of even the best-informed people. Sexually inexperienced young people are likely to become confused by the dizzying array of information and opinions …

Men Often Happier With Their ‘Bromance’ Than Their Romance

By Alan Mozes [I]n a decidedly male take on the BFF, new research shows that the emotional safety of a bromance might beat romance for some men. A series of in-depth interviews with a small group of young, straight men revealed that the guys felt more comfortable sharing feelings and resolving conflicts with their male …

Feminism and Sexual Submission Aren’t Mutually Exclusive

A meme showed up on my Facebook newsfeed one afternoon a few weeks back. by Savannah Stewart It was shared by some fuckboy I worked with for about five minutes before he was never seen again, except when sliding into his female former colleagues’ DM’s—which should have been reason enough to keep scrolling past, yet …

Why having the sex talk early and often with your kids is good for them

By Veronica I. Johnson and Guy Ray Backlund [P]arents may be uncomfortable initiating “the sex talk,” but whether they want to or not, parents teach their kids about sex and sexuality. Kids learn early what a sexual relationship looks like. Broaching the topic of sex can be awkward. Parents may not know how to approach …

Inside the Koreatown Dojo Dedicated to the Art of Japanese Rope Bondage

Mention anything bondage-related and Zetsu Nawa reflexively geeks out. By Lila Seidman [A] casual reference to a dotted gag in one of his thousands of drawings and photos of bound women launches him into a mini-lecture about its “humiliation factor” in modern Japan. It’s just a dishtowel, he explains. “It’s like he grabbed the thing …