Where Sex Education Fails, Technology Can Help

The Juicebox app connects people with sex coaches to get their questions answered—anonymously. By Sydney Worth One day last year, Evan Conaway realized he had a problem. He’d been through a series of breakups in a short span of time, and the ensuing stress manifested with the onset of erectile dysfunction. He didn’t know what …

Why So Many People Ignore LGBTQ Dating Violence

These people shared their experiences. By Paula Akpan Talking about dating violence is complicated, particularly when it can take many different forms, some far more subtle than others. When we think about domestic or relationship abuse, we often think of physical violence. That’s certainly one component, but it’s not the only one. We tend not …

How genes and evolution shape gender – and transgender – identity

By Jenny Graves Mismatch between biological sex and gender identity, culminating in its severest form as gender dysphoria, has been ascribed to mental disease, family dysfunction and childhood trauma. But accumulating evidence now implies biological factors in establishing gender identity, and a role for particular genes. Variants – subtly different versions – of genes linked …

For survivors, breast cancer can threaten another part of their lives: sexual intimacy

By Barbara Sadick Jill was just 39 in July 2010 when she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Her longtime boyfriend had felt a lump in her right breast. Two weeks later, she had a mastectomy and began chemotherapy. The shock, stress, fatigue and treatment took its toll on the relationship, and her boyfriend …

Rubbing Out Sexist Attitudes Towards Female Masturbation

Lois Borny discusses attitudes towards female masturbation at university By Lois Borny Other than typing ‘porn’ into YouTube on my family computer at age 11, I always saw it as a dangerously seductive zone not meant for my eyes. A force field also encircled my pelvis, the nether realm where I ought never to go. …

If You’re Sexually Woke, Then Let Straight Men Experiment Freely

“Through [gay] experiences, I found out that I am completely straight. I won’t go back.” by Bobby Box When a woman mentions she’s had an “experimental phase,” it’s often shrugged off as a shared experience. But when men share this same information, the results are often more extreme: They’re teased, labeled gay, or their masculinity …

Sexual desire can spark a real connection

Sex helps initiate romantic relationships between potential partners, a new study finds. by Sandra Knispel-U “Sex may set the stage for deepening the emotional connection between strangers,” says lead author Gurit Birnbaum, a social psychologist and associate professor of psychology at Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel. “This holds true for both men and women. Sex …

What’s So ‘Indecent’ About Female Pleasure?

A consumer technology innovation award was revoked from a company that makes a hands-free sex toy. The reason, some believe, is that the product is made for women. By Valeriya Safronova A personal massager, a sperm counter, virtual-reality pornography, something described as “the world’s first ebook-driven sex toy”: All of these products have been exhibited …

The 7 Rules of a Healthy Long-Distance Sex Life

by Taylor Kubota Sometimes a long-distance relationship is unavoidable. Here are some expert tips and clever tech we suggest to keep an intimate relationship lively and hot from miles away. Couple Apps Tristen Weedmark, Global Passion Ambassador for vibrator company We-Vibe, recommends that long-distance partners look into Avocado or Couple, apps that both offer multiple …

Having a gay friend makes you a better person according to science

By Gwendolyn Smith It seems like a no-brainer: having LGBTQ friends leads to more accepting attitudes towards the rights of queer people, but until now, little has shown this all goes together when someone comes out to their straight friends. Now, a recent study has shed light into the connections, showing that people who have …