Sexual Identity
My One and Only
The number of people you choose to sleep with isn’t the crux of sexual liberation. People who choose to have sex with fewer (or no) people shouldn’t be ashamed, and neither should people who choose to have multiple partners. It’s all about the choice - having the agency to sleep with as many or as few people as you please. It doesn’t make you naïve or boring or a slut or a whore; it’s just a choice that you’ve made, and that in itself is sexually liberating.
Under Pressure: Apps Can Perpetuate Unrealistic Sexual Expectations
Dating apps are part and parcel of modern life. Those marketed to the LGBTQ+ community are particularly handy if you don’t have a conventional way to meet others with whom you identify. But I feel like spending so much time using apps twisted my perception of what a whole relationship should look like.
Impurity Culture: Masturbation Is Self-Care
Masturbation is a topic you might need to do a little extra work on defining your values around if you grew up in purity culture being told that it was a sin—and that’s especially true during the pandemic, when pleasurable touch from others is not always safe or accessible to us and self-care has become more important than ever as we try to process all the painful things happening in our world. Self-pleasure can be an extremely important aspect of self-care even during non-pandemic times, and right now that is especially true.
Hi, Bi Guy: Coming Out to Your Girlfriend
Even when you're with a supportive partner, coming out as a bisexual guy to a girlfriend or another kind of woman partner isn't always easy and might feel awfully intimidating. Adam England has some support, help and solidarity to spare.
Connecting with LGBTQ+ Elders
There’s this feeling of smallness - that your world is confined to secrets you tell in your diary, or to the few people you know in real life that are brave (or perhaps foolish) enough to come out - that I identify as a part of my theory on queer orphanhood.
You spend so much time contemplating your identity that you don’t have time to wonder about people out there. There’s a kind of spiritual displacement in being queer and young.
I'm closeted and my sister is homophobic -- is there a way to save our relationship?
Anonymous asks:
My sister and I have never really gotten along. My nerdy and analytical personality has contrasted her affectionate and sensitive one for our entire lives. Though our relationship has never been perfect, everything's spiraled downhill since she enrolled in a local all-girls' Catholic school....
I already came out, but I doubt my sexuality every day
Anonymous asks:
I'm a sixteen-year-old girl and recently realized that I am bisexual. My parents and brother have always been very clear that they will be accepting of whoever I am, so I came out to them only a few weeks after figuring things out myself. (They were indeed fine with it.) I also came out to a bunch of friends pretty quickly since most of my friends are queer, too. But now I’m really confused....
Is gender a social construct? Being an ally on social media
Anonymous asks:
I’m a 21 year old college student who is interested in being a better ally to my LGBTQ friends. I’ve joined the alliance at college and sometimes have discussions with the club about LGBTQ issues.I have fun, and it’s a good experience. Sometimes though, especially on social media, I feel like I need to agree with the most “progressive” side in order to be taken seriously as an ally....
My Best Friend Just Told Me That He Loves Me, But I Don't Even Know If I'm Straight. Help!
Anonymous asks:
I'm a 15-year-old girl who's best friends with a 15-year-old boy. He just told me that he likes me, like a lot. He wants to start dating, but I haven't talked to him about the fact that I'm not sure I'm straight. I don't want anything to change between us, because I love him a lot, just not romantically. Please help!...
Machismo: How Toxic Masculinity Harms Latinx People - an interview with Laura Carlsen
Machismo is an expression of exacerbated masculinity that has caused lingering pain and trauma to generations of Latinx people. Many young people are still struggling with it today.