sexuality

Slut-shaming is how we explain the gendered double standard of sexual respectability: It’s women taking flak for the sex we have, while men are applauded for simply “doing what men do.” Image: Thinkstock.

How STI Stigma Perpetuates Slut-Shaming

Four years ago, I could be found most mornings at the same café with the same blue notebook and a mug of hot coffee. I was trying to write the story of how I got herpes.

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Slut-shaming is how we explain the gendered double standard of sexual respectability: It’s women taking flak for the sex we have, while men are applauded for simply “doing what men do.” Image: Thinkstock.

How STI Stigma Perpetuates Slut-Shaming

Four years ago, I could be found most mornings at the same café with the same blue notebook and a mug of hot coffee. I was trying to write the story of how I got herpes.

Read...
Unless you’re talking explicitly about gay men, please don’t use the term ‘gay’ as a catch-all for our community. Image: Thinkstock.

Having Sex With Women Doesn't Make Me Gay

If I have sex with a woman, it does not make me gay. As someone who identifies as female, it doesn’t even make me a lesbian.

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It's going to be OK! #STDAwareness month. Image: Thinkstock.

11 Questions I Asked Myself During My First STD Scare

For some of us, our first real taste of adulthood comes from sitting alone in a clinic, waiting to get our ding-dongs tested.

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It's going to be OK! #STDAwareness month. Image: Thinkstock.

11 Questions I Asked Myself During My First STD Scare

For some of us, our first real taste of adulthood comes from sitting alone in a clinic, waiting to get our ding-dongs tested.

Read...
She was my Mr. Miyagi — except she was a cute young woman and there was a lot less karate.

4 Things I Learned From Dating A Professional Dominatrix

In the spring of 2013, I met a woman on OKCupid. She was petite, with a kind smile and a voice so soft that it could melt all your troubles away. Her shock of red curls went down to her shoulders — and because of this, and the fact that we no longer speak, let's call her Ann.

Ann was a few years older than I, wise and mature. She also, it turned out, spent her professional life beating up strangers for their sexual satisfaction.

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5 Comments Bisexuals Are Tired of Hearing

Greedy. Confused. Slutty. If you’re bisexual, chances are you’ve heard these labels (and worse) thrown at you from all sides, probably even by people you consider friends.

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Demisexuality isn't what you might think.

Demisexuality: The Common Sexual Orientation You Might Have But Not Know About

It’s frustrating that most identities on the asexuality spectrum are qualified by a “lack” of something — desire, intimacy, attraction. I wonder, what might happen for demisexual (or asexual) people if we turn our focus toward what relationships contain, rather than what they’re missing.

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