sex

Article
  • Heather Corinna

A short, fast, sex ed summary about intimacy.

Article
  • Cass Ball

It can feel like the world will end if you haven’t had sex or a sexual or romantic relationship by your mid-twenties. There are countless ways in which our culture puts pressure on young people to gain experience in romantic and sexual relationships. But truthfully, if you don’t have much, or even any, experience with dating and sex, you are not doomed to never experience romantic and sexual connection. The world also will not end.

Article
  • Sam Wall
  • Jenna Gaarde
  • Claire P

The super-basics on what lubricant is and why people use it.

Article
  • Noah Zazanis

Gender norms are really hard, but are much easier to deal with when we learn we’re not alone. When we can talk openly about the pressures we’re feeling, and realize that those pressures don’t have to control their lives, we can start figuring out ways to resist them.

Advice
  • Emily Joy Allison-Hearn

Hey friend, Thank you for writing in with your question; I completely identify with the anxiety of searching for acceptance from your faith community when your life choices are at odds with religious dogma. It’s a hard place to be in. I want to say two things unequivocally that I think can both be...

Advice
  • Mo Ranyart

When people ask about lowering their standards and whether it's worth it to do so, the answer to that question depends on what those standards are. You didn't describe yours in detail, so I don't have much to go on, but in general, I'd divide what people tend to call "standards" into two types of...

Advice
  • Mo Ranyart

The good news is: you aren't suffering from Too Much Lust, although that might be a fun name for your album when it's complete. Jokes aside, it's not wrong or unusual to have sexual feelings about someone you're crushing on, whether that person is a celebrity you've never met or a friend you see...

Advice
  • Heather Corinna

I'm so sorry to hear that your friends' behavior has got you feeling this way, Liv. From the sound of things, even if they're not doing it on purpose, they're souring what otherwise sounds like something that's been pretty nice for you and is also obviously a formative life experience. A first...

Article
  • Sam Wall
  • s.e. smith

Dating and romance can be fraught spaces for anyone, regardless of their gender. But a common, specific fear we see among trans and otherwise gender-nonconforming users is that their gender identity means that no one will want to be their partner, that no one will ever find them attractive, or that it will limit their sexual orientation. Those fears can come from all sorts of places, be that messages from your family or the images of trans people you see on TV. Let’s pull those worries out into the light and take a closer look at them

Advice
  • Mo Ranyart

First things first - it sounds like your family needs to step back and let you make your own choices here, without adding their own commentary or judgment. They may be coming from a place of concern, but it's misguided and hurtful, and whether they wind up being right about this or not, it's still...