What I Need My Daughter To Know About Consent, Even Though It’s Difficult To Talk About

By Candace Ganger The job of raising children entails a comprehensive, albeit exhausting, list of responsibilities. The duty is a privilege but the pressure to “get it right” weighs heavily on me, particularly when it comes to sex. Considering my own salty experiences, consent isn’t just an important topic, it’s the most important topic — …

What BDSM might teach us about affirmative consent

Study finds subculture has lower levels of rape-supportive beliefs By  Tom Parisi [A] new study by Northern Illinois University psychologists suggests that evidence for the effectiveness of the “Yes Means Yes” affirmative-consent movement, which has taken hold on many college campuses nationwide, might be found in an unlikely subculture—the BDSM community. While some critics of …

Dating experts explain polyamory and open relationships

By VALERIYA SAFRONOVA [T]o start, they are not the same thing as polygamy (that’s when you have more than one spouse). They are also not maintaining secret relationships while dating a person who believes he or she is your one and only (that’s just cheating). Polyamorous open relationships, or consensual non-monogamy, are an umbrella category. …

What BDSM might teach us about affirmative consent

By Brain & Behavior A new study by Northern Illinois University psychologists suggests that evidence for the effectiveness of the “Yes Means Yes” affirmative-consent movement, which has taken hold on many college campuses nationwide, might be found in an unlikely subculture—the BDSM community. While some critics of BDSM associate it with sexual aggression, and particularly …

Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are: Why Oct. 11 Matters To LGBT People

by Robbie Medwed Coming Out Is The Single Most Powerful Political Strategy We Have It’s Pride Weekend here in Atlanta, one of my favorite weekends of the year. It might seem odd to you that the largest Pride festival in the South and one of the largest in the country is in October and not …

A waning interest in intimacy; a cross-dressing husband

By Dr. Katie Schubert As a sex therapist, people sometimes email and call me to ask if I can answer a “quick question” for them. Human sexuality is complicated, and a “quick question” generally has a convoluted answer. However, sometimes I am able to provide a general answer or offer a starting place for those …

We’re Not Quite ‘Born This Way’

By Jesse Singal Back in 2014, a bigoted African leader put J. Michael Bailey, a psychologist at Northwestern, in a strange position. Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, had been issuing a series of anti-gay tirades, and — partially fueled by anti-gay religious figures from the U.S. — was considering toughening Uganda’s anti-gay laws. The …

5 Tips for Parents of Transgender Children

by SLICKLION Raising children is certainly one of life’s most rewarding experiences yet simultaneously presents some of our greatest challenges. As information about transgender children continues to spread, more and more parents of are quickly moving through any personal fears to fully support their trans child. It’s important to understand that the sooner you help …

The World Health Organization Proposes Dropping Transgender Identity From Its List of Mental Disorders

Transgender identity would instead be categorized under the sexual health umbrella, which could significantly impact acceptance of transgender individuals in health care and social spaces. The World Health Organization is currently considering reclassifying transgender identity in its International Classification of Diseases. Though the WHO previously labeled transgender identity as a mental disorder, a recent Lancet Psychiatry study has led the organization …