Is It Safe to Use Coconut Oil as Lube? Ob-Gyns Explain

By Isadora Baum [C]oconut oil makes for a solid cooking oil, facial moisturizer, and makeup remover. But this popular oil is earning a rep for a totally different reason: as a sexual lubricant. Coconut oil lube can supposedly enhance sensation, help couples last longer, and make sex feel more pleasurable overall. On one hand, it makes …

BDSM and consent

How to stop rough sex crossing the line into abuse By Soraya Auer [W]hen allegations of assault were made against New York’s top prosecutor Eric Schneiderman this week, he denied them, saying engaging in non-consensual sex was a line he would not cross. “In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and …

Queen Mother of the South: My Life as a Transgender Parent

By Evonne Kaho [T]he Southern part of the U.S. has to be one of the more conservative regions in the nation. Rooted in traditional, religious, and conventional values, it is often referred to as the “Bible Belt.” Southern traditionalists marvel at their old-fashioned ways and high moral standards. These standards are applied to every aspect …

What Your Recurring Sexuality Fantasy Really Says About You

  By Anna Medaris Miller [T]urned on by whips? Tickled by images of same-sex lovers, threesomes, and sex on public park benches—despite your straight, monogamous, and law-abiding identity? Congratulations! You’re human. Sexual fantasies are part of a healthy sex life—they’re simply thoughts and scenarios that get you going, says Laura McGuire, Ed.D., a sex educator …

Here’s How Consent and BDSM Role-Play Actually Work

By Alexa Tsoulis-Reay In an article published in The New Yorker, four women detailed the extreme psychological and physical violence they say they experienced at the hands of former New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman. In response, Schneiderman resigned, but he also made a disturbing statement linking these women’s allegations with sexual role play. His …

What asexuality can teach us about sexual relationships and boundaries

By Catriona Jones, Julie Jomeen & Mark Hayter [T]here is an expectation that everyone feels sexual attraction and sexual desire and that these feelings begin in adolescence. Assumptions about sex are everywhere – most of time we don’t even notice them. Music videos, films, reality shows, advertising, video games, newspapers and magazines all use sexual …

Celebrating Magnus Hirschfeld, the Einstein of Sex

by Paul Masterson [D]ecades ago, wandering a ramshackle German flea market, an old book caught my eye. Emblazoned in gold on its brick red cover was the beckoning title Sexualkatastrophen. In its inevitably German way, the title (in English, obviously, Sexual Catastrophes) said it all and that alone was worth the few dollars price. Little …

Mutual masturbation could help end orgasm inequality

May is National Masturbation Month, so we’re celebrating by exploring the many facets of self-love. By Rachel Thompson [S]o, your sexual partner just came and you didn’t. It’s infuriating, it’s frustrating, and it’s — rather dismally — all too common during heterosexual sex. I’m talking about the orgasm gap — the inequality in men and …

Masturbation Tips for your Queerest, Sexiest Spring Ever

Masturbation, more than any other sex act, is a time to be completely selfish and all about yourself. By Cameron Glover [M]ay is here, which means that it is finally National Masturbation Month! You may have seen the memes or innuendo-laced content swirling around social media, but this month is more important than you may …

This Female Filmmaker Is Changing the Porn Industry—One Perfectly Lit Sex Scene at a Time

Catching up with Erika Lust. By:Lindsay Brown</a [S]ince we last spoke to Erika Lust, her star has continued to rise. She was recently honored with the Maguey Award at the Guadalajara International Film Festival—a prize that celebrates “the career and achievements of a person who, through her work, has transformed sexual diversity, breaking down barriers …

Performance Anxiety Doesn’t Mean the End of Your Sex Life… Here’s Why

Sometimes sex can be stressful, but these steps may help you get your groove back. by Stephanie Booth [A]fter her first sexual partner belittled her in the bedroom, Steph Auteri began second-guessing herself when it came to sex. “I felt self-conscious and nervous about being a disappointment to the other person,” the 37-year-old says. “I …