How Quarantine Helped Me Overcome Stigmas Surrounding Queer Dating

By Meggie Gates I’ve been out since I was 19, and insecure since the day I was born. I’ve shied away from intimacy my entire life, something psychologists label “avoidant attachment” and my mother calls “frustrating.” I am 26, I do not like to be touched, and incidences of sexual assault have only heightened that …

6 Sex-Positive, Inclusive Online Workshops To Take For Your Hottest Summer Yet

By Kells McPhillips In late 2019, Well+Good predicted that 2020 would mark an all-time high point for the sexual pleasure of vulva-owners—and so far, we haven’t been disappointed. Along with heralding in an era of high-tech vibrators and learning how both solo and partnered pleasure activities can survive during quarantine, an open and honest conversation …

Negotiating Safe Socializing Has a Lot in Common With Negotiating Safe Sex

By April Dembosky Ina Park has been in a monogamous marriage for more than 15 years, but she feels like she’s been having one safe sex conversation after another these days. Like, after she and some close friends spent time together without masks on, forcing her to later ask: “Are you seeing other people?” Then, …

The 8-Question Sex Check-In To Keep Pleasure In Tact Even During Times of Crisis

By Mary Grace Garis One inarguable truth about this year to date is that it’s sparked quite a bit of societal shake-up, and one effect of that shake-up is probably a shift one way or the other for your libido. Maybe uncertainty and anxiety have tanked your sex drive, or perhaps the constant din of …

13 Necessary Queer Literary Classics For Every Bookshelf

From Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room to Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Color Purple and Ocean Vuong’s 2019 debut — the queer literary landscape is vibrant, expansive and ready to be explored. By Rosalind Jana The history of queer literature is a long one. From Greek poet Sappho to Irish playwright Oscar …

25 Ways to Make Your Long Distance Relationship Last

Physical distance shouldn’t be a barrier to happiness.   By Nicol Natale Long distance relationships are challenging. Although you may have strong feelings for your partner, prolonged periods of time apart and a lack of physical intimacy can put any couple’s bond to the test. Deciding to commit to a long-distance relationship is an important …

A very, very beginner’s guide to understanding BDSM

By Mary Grace Garis Even as BDSM comes to popular light via media portrayals and increased openness about intimate habits and preferences, much about the sexual practice remains misunderstood and incorrectly presumed to be negative and abusive—especially in those media portrayals. This is perhaps most recently depicted in that degrading scene in Hulu’s Normal People, …

Stuck in the middle

Growing into my identity By Tatum Lindquist As an empathic perfectionist, conflicts stung me. I used to perceive any conflict as a reflection of my flawed character. It took years of inner wrestling to understand that conflicts were opportunities to grow, not threatening, but nurturing in their tumult. All too often, humans keep to their …

Dating in Captivity

Go ahead and reinstall Tinder in self-isolation. Or, if that doesn’t work, join a virtual sext bunker. By Allison P. Davis Some things about the human spirit persist, even in crisis: namely, our hunger for one another. Lauren, an editor in Austin, started seeing someone a month ago, and by date three, they’d declared their …