The Kavanaugh allegations show why we need to change how we teach kids about sex

By Sarah Hosseini When I was 13 years old, I met a guy at the gas station right outside my suburban neighborhood in Upstate New York. Other neighborhood kids and I would go there to buy sodas and smoke cigarettes behind our parents’ backs. He was a friend of a boy I went to school …

3 Experts on What’s Missing From the Consent Discussion

By Kasandra Brabaw In 1990, a group of women gathered at Antioch College to talk about the growing problem of rape on their campus, drafting the very first version of the school’s Sexual Offense Prevention Policy (SOPP). In doing so, they created what we now know as affirmative consent, decades before anyone else began using …

The Puberty Book Embraced by Preteens, Parents, and Sex Educators Alike

Since its publication 20 years ago, The Care and Keeping of You has taught young girls about their bodies in a uniquely forthright and approachable way. by Allison Pohle I first learned about periods from a cartoon. Just before I started middle school, my mom handed me a large white book with three cartoon girls …

America’s Sexual Fantasies Laid Bare in New Book

Author Justin Lehmiller calls it the most comprehensive survey of America’s sexual fantasies. By Diana Crandall Ever fantasized about a politician naked? How about a threesome involving a coworker and your partner? Ever considered what it would be like to take a robot to bed? There’s at least one man in America who wouldn’t bat …

Meet the Swedish feminist bringing ethical porn to Spain and the world

By Ellie Day Erika Lust has spent the last 14 years creating feminist, ethical porn. In 2004, discouraged by the mainstream porn she found on offer, the Barcelona-based Swedish filmmaker set out to put forward an alternative to adult content. “The men who control the porn industry seemed to have the emotional intelligence of a …

Christopher Sherman’s Sex Positive Nudes

By Ryan Cahill Photographer Christopher Sherman has just woken up in Toronto. It’s lunchtime in London, where I’m currently trying to connect a transatlantic FaceTime. Storm clouds overhead mean that only fragments of Sherman’s voice are audible through our phone, which isn’t ideal when we’re here to discuss his provocative nude photography — the interrupted …

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 first app to get approved as birth control in Europe has now been green-lit in the US, despite controversy

By Erin Brodwin Birth-control app Natural Cycles has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration — the first app to be approved for contraception in North America. The app uses an algorithm to tell women when they have the highest and lowest chances of getting pregnant, but it ultimately relies on men and …

Disabled LGBT+ young people face a battle just to be taken seriously

By Alex Toft As young people navigate adolescence, they ask questions about their sexual attractions and how they understand gender. If they are fortunate, they have access to sex and relationship educators or mentors and support networks. But my research with young people who identify as LGBT+ and disabled shows that they are often treated …