What Does It Mean to Be in an Exclusive Relationship?

— Here’s what to know before you DTR. By Rachel Varina It’s pretty much the bread and butter of every mainstream romance book and rom-com: the ~exclusive relationship~. Cue the hearts, sunsets, and kisses in the rain! And while exclusive relationships might seem like the end-all-be-all definition of lurve, there’s actually a lot more to …

The Forgotten History of the World’s First Trans Clinic

The Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin would be a century old if it hadn’t fallen victim to Nazi ideology By Brandy Schillace The first gender affirmation surgeries took place in 1920s, at a facility which employed transgender technicians and nurses, and which was headed by a gay Jewish man. The forgotten history of the …

“For lots of us, lockdown has been a time of sexual self-discovery”

by Meena Alexander Much has been written about the global ‘sex recession’, with studies showing that – for reasons both practical and psychological – we’re having much less of it right now. It makes sense: social distancing and a very stressful year will do that to us. But there’s a flipside to this coin. The …

4 Tips For Proudly Introducing Kink Into Your Relationship

By Mary Grace Garis If during this time in quarantine, you’ve done some sexual exploring about what gets you going—great. Maybe you’ve dedicated some self-care sessions to self-pleasure, had some mind-blowing staycation sex, or taken the BDSM test to explore your NSFW interests. And just maybe, all the sexploration has you wanting to learn how …

Understanding These 2 Types of Sexual Desire Will Help You Feel In Control of Your Libido

Introducing: Spontaneous and responsive desire. By Gabrielle Kassel By now, you’ve probably heard a sexual health pro say—punctuated by 👏👏👏, of course—that porn is entertainment, not education. And that’s true. But there’s another type of media that shoves lies about what sex “should” (eye roll) look like down our collective throat: Romantic comedies. One of …

What I learned talking to 120 women about their sex lives and desires

By Katherine Rowland Male desire is a familiar story. We scarcely bat an eyelash at its power or insistence. But women’s desires – the way they can morph, grow or even disappear – elicit fascination, doubt and panic. In 2014, as experts weighed the moral and medical implications of the first female libido drug, I …