Fake Orgasms, They’re Not That Bad After All

By Lux Alptraum A short walk from my home on the Lower East Side of Manhattan lies Katz’s Delicatessen, one of the neighborhood’s biggest tourist attractions. It’s possible you’ve heard of Katz’s because of its famous pastrami sandwiches. But it’s equally likely you know it for reasons completely unrelated to its food: Katz’s is the …

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 …

The Surprising Benefits Of Talking About Sex With Your Friends

By Kelly Gonsalves When it comes to improving our sex life, we’re told over and over how important it is to talk to our partner about our desires, turn-ons, worries, ideal frequency, and every other little detail. Communication is crucial to making sure both partners are satisfied with every encounter and are maximizing their pleasure; …

How to Have the Sex Talk During and After Cancer

One expert shares advice for opening the line of communication between patients and health care providers, as well as their partners. BY Katie Kosko Sex and intimacy after cancer can often become an afterthought. Many people are focused on fighting their disease, but don’t realize that sexual health matters, too. And it’s not a challenge …

Talking about sex is awkward, so how can teenagers ‘just ask’ for consent?

By Elsie Whittington The topic of sexual consent seems to be in the news on a daily basis, especially since #MeToo went viral one year ago. From posters to podcasts, there are endless resources promoting the importance of getting and giving explicit consent. Many suggest that a “yes” must always be enthusiastic, and that partners …

What even the most vanilla among us can learn from the BDSM community

by Natalie Benway “Sex is not what you do, it’s a place you go.” —Esther Perel Americans carry a lot of anxiety about having an exciting sex life. This anxiety inspires Cosmopolitan, Redbook and the like to publish a steady stream of articles flouting “100 ways to spice up your sex life!” and “The top …

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 …

Art of Presence: Pleasure Mapping

by KinkKit Team Try the Yoni Pleasure Mapping Technique: (Yoni, pronounced (YO-NEE), or “Vagina”, is derived from Sanskrit.) The objective is not to achieve orgasm, though that may happen. The objective is to thoroughly learn and discover your partner’s pleasurable spots in a relaxed setting, with no expectations. As you massage your partner, focus all …

What Monogamous Couples Can Learn From Polyamorous Relationships

By Samantha Cooney Polyamory — having more than one consensual sexual or emotional relationship at once — has in recent years emerged on television, mainstream dating sites like OkCupid and even in research. And experts who have studied these kinds of consensual non-monogomous relationships, say they have unique strengths that anyone can learn from. Consensual …

A Professional Dominatrix’s Advice For Powering Up Your Sex Life

A professional Dominatrix explains how a trip to the dungeon can help average couples enhance their sex lives. By Carrie Weisman It’s been said that every hopeful needs a mentor, and it may be so. But when it comes to sex, there’s not a lot of hierarchy around to guide you. Unless, of course, you …