sex

This is one of those situations that I think is telling you it's time to start claiming -- and insisting upon -- your independence. I kept the title you chose for this because it's clear you know what the problem is: control. The solution is about control, too: you taking control of your own life...

Some thoughts and tips on navigating sexuality as a fat teen, and dealing with sizeism and fatphobia.

What is it? Why would -- or wouldn't -- you want it? What makes it more likely to be a blast or a bummer?

Unchained's question continued: Around the beginning of this year, I was walking to the bus stop after college and when I was waiting for the traffic lights to give me pass for some odd reason I remembered the article about asexuality I had read on the newspaper's magazine... and then I remembered...

Healthy intimacy is about intentionally sharing private or vulnerable parts of our hearts, minds, bodies or lives with each other. Why would we do that, how can we do that, and what is and isn't healthy with intimacy?

When it comes to sex, women are often portrayed as nothing but warm vessels there to validate male partners' egos. The widespread cultural acceptance of a woman pursuing pleasure for her own sake is a relatively new one (at least in West's modern history), and we've still got a long way to go. It's no small wonder that many women have a difficult time asking for what they want in general, let alone when it comes to sex.

Sexual shame hinders women in far too many ways. It's a difficult beast to tackle, as it assumes so many nuanced, subtle forms in our daily lives. To be sure, some forms of sexual shame are blatant, but many of them are so deeply engrained that we scarcely even notice them. By making ourselves aware of the different ways we're made to feel ashamed, however, we can begin to overcome them.

Contrary to a common public opinion, there's no right or wrong way to have sex. Bad sex -- and what that even is varies from person to person -- definitely happens, but usually only when there's little to no communication, and one party isn't attuned to the other's needs. (I am speaking of consensual sex that's just a stinker here, not about sexual assault.) Every person's preferences are unique. An act or gesture that drives one person absolutely wild might fall flat for another. You might think, "Wow, my ex really loved it when I did this one certain thing, but my new partner barely responds to it at all." This is just the nature of sex.

Women get a whole lot of messages about body hair. So how do we figure out what you want in terms of shaving and other personal grooming?

Being that we are, y'know, human women's bodies are not pristine. When we have sex, all of our bodies' small idiosyncrasies, quirks, and so-called "flaws" are on display. This is to be expected -- our bodies' natural functions are an inevitable part of life. Real-life sex often involves a lot of these functions in many different ways. These functions involve all manner of smells, sights, sounds, goops, juices, and fluids. Living in fear of these realities won't do you any good; it helps to not only to coexist with them, but to embrace them as part of your awesome self.