Relationships

How to Make New Relationships, Add New People to Pods and Have Sex More Safely During the Pandemic

It really sucks that during something that can make us feel lonelier than ever, the most dangerous thing is being close to other people. It is still safest to limit our up-close-and-personal contact, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still safely seek out and experience intimacy with new people, nor that there aren’t things you can do to make it safer if you do decide to get physically close to someone. Here are some basics to get you started.

The Network/La Red

The Network/La Red is a survivor-led, social justice organization that works to end partner abuse in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, SM, polyamorous, and queer communities. They are a bilingual English/Spanish resource.

Captain Awkward

A blog offering advice on a variety of topics, including relationships, abuse, boundary setting, and how to have tough conversations.

AMAZE

Real, accurate information about sex, bodies and relationships in fun, animated videos.

The Scarleteen Safety Plan

If you're in an abusive relationship, to make abuse stop you've got to get away and stay away. Here's help to do that safely, and to be as safe as you can before leaving.

Love is Respect Healthy Relationships Quiz

A quick quiz to test the health of your relationships and help you detect red flags. The site also provides lots of information about dating abuse and advice for getting help and taking action. A live chat feature is available if you wish to talk with a peer advocate (you can also reach them by phone or text.)

The LGBT National Help Center

Operating the Gay & Lesbian National Hotline and several different programs that help members of our community talk about the important issues that they are facing in their lives.

Love is Respect

loveisrespect, National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline is a national resource that can be accessed by phone or the internet.

Quintimacy: An Interview with Beck Thom

Britain’s Quintimacy is a space that intends to cultivate queer intimacy through trauma-informed and embodied connection. In an interview with Scarleteen, founder Beck Thom talks about their working frameworks, sex ed in the UK, what they do at Quintimacy and the need to better educate people, including children and teenagers, about trauma and consent.