Sex

She asked if she could stay with me. The thing is, I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. I suggested that I could come visit her for the weekend, but she still wants to come here. Of course, I wouldn’t object to sharing a bed with her, but something keeps giving me pause.

I’m not writing this in order to get defensive about my number of partners, by the way. I’ve had sex with around 25 people since the end of 2012 and I’m perfectly proud of and comfortable with that number. However, asking someone you’re dating about how many people they’ve slept with is a question meant to make them feel ashamed.

Everything in the world is made of chemicals. We experience exposure to thousands of them daily, from our clothing to our cosmetics. Now you can add the most intimate of items to that list — personal lubricants.

Take everything personally and think the worst of any situation? Overwhelmed with your job or at school? Say self-deprecating things about yourself, or think the same of other people? If you can relate to any of this, it’s a sure sign you need to take better care of yourself, because happiness and healing truly comes from within.

It had never occurred to me to visit [a Planned Parenthood].... And yet, in a culture where the rights and healthcare needs of people assigned female at birth are constantly under attack, it’s easy, even for someone like me, to have warped ideas about exactly what one will experience.

Prescribe, refer, repeat — that was the drill for several years. It wasn’t until I started to explore the impact of childhood adversity that I saw the big picture, and it began to make sense.

Now that I’ve turned 30 (and wear caftans) I’m done reading vapid click-bait offering prosaic advice. This is not one of those articles.

If you see me with my partner, you’ll more than likely think that I’m a straight girl in a heterosexual relationship — and there’s nothing I hate more. Being with a man seems to negate my sexuality, rendering it secret or private when I’m anything but.