Meet the Couple Fighting Porn’s Race Problem

By Sandra Song Whether we’re talking about its reliance on fetishization, the overt pay discrepancies or the fact that it’s always been a predominantly white space, it’s no secret that porn has a race problem. But after 20 years of shared experience as performers, educators and master fetish trainers, Jet-Setting Jasmine and King Noire are …

A Groundbreaking New History of Gay Sex and Capitalism

Christopher Chitty’s “Sexual Hegemony” is a galaxy-brain examination of the ways in which markets and sexuality intersect. By Josephine Livingstone In the earliest phase of European capitalism, Marx’s old story goes, a significant number of laborers renounced agrarian communities for towns and cities, dissolving the family unit and moving from one place to another. As …

Normalizing Kink For Black And Brown Folx

By cheydavis14 The fight for Black rights is ever-growing and ever-changing. Law enforcement is being reformed, congressional conversations on reparations are being revisited, and even businesses, celebrities, and influencers are being held accountable for their anti-Blackness. Although the Black community has seen a lot of progress, from an intersectional standpoint, Black activism spaces lack safety, …

5 Things Getting In The Way Of Black Women’s Sex Lives

By Ashley Townes, Ph.D., MPH Like many other aspects of our society, sexuality education in the United States often reflects majority populations—i.e., white experiences. While there’s been some research dedicated to understanding the sexual lives of Black women, much of it focuses on identifying what types of sexual behaviors they’re engaging in, messages of risk …

What is a BDSM test, and what do your results mean?

Are you a master, a switch, or something else? By Ana Valens Bondage and discipline, domination and submission (D/s), sadism and masochism. Over the past few decades, BDSM has become more and more popular. Blame it on 50 Shades of Grey, loosening sexual norms, or horny millennials. Regardless, kinkiness is in vogue. And it’s easier than …

7 Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Intersex Figures from History

By Kat Armstrong A legacy of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination has meant that queer identities are often left out of the history books. But with a modern perspective, we’re able to pick up on hints that flesh out a more inclusive portrayal of gender and sexuality over the ages. From the ancient world through modern times, gender …

What it really means to be in a dominant/submissive relationship

Real D/s relationships go beyond ‘Fifty Shades.’ By Tiffany Diane Tso When it comes to understanding BDSM, non-practitioners generally equate the kinky lifestyle with the chains, ropes, whips, and handcuffs found in Christian Grey’s “red room of pain” in Fifty Shades of Grey. And among the different elements included in the BDSM portmanteau (bondage and …

Enjoy kink?

Here’s how to handle the ‘drop’ you may feel after you play. By James Besanvalle ‘I tend to play pretty hard,’ Rizzo Barajas from Martinez, California told Gay Star News. ‘Usually involving blood or very hard physical impact play.’ Rizzo identifies as a queer agender person of color. He’s also a switch, which means he alternates between taking either …

The 6 Most Common Female Sexual Fantasies and Why Women Have Them

By Alexia LaFata In 1973, it was believed that only men had sexual fantasies. In fact, Cosmo even opened up a feature article that same year with, “Women do not have sexual fantasies, period. Men do.” Much has changed since then, of course. While we still live in an age where female sexuality is more taboo …

Want to figure out the rules of sexual consent? Ask sex workers.

by Jessie Patella-Rey [T]he #MeToo movement has pushed issues of consent to the foreground of our cultural zeitgeist. Confoundingly, though, some of the movement’s most vocal champions seem to be the worst at respecting the very conventions they are espousing. Shortly after now-former New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against Hollywood producer …