It feels strange to admit this, but when I first read that bisexual women are more vulnerable to sexual and intimate partner violence than people of other orientations, I felt relieved. It wasn’t the butterfly-winged relief of good news. It was the lightness of finally being able to breathe. Or perhaps, of feeling that I still couldn’tContinue reading “Why Bisexual Women Are at a Higher Risk for Violence”
Category Archives: Sexuality
A Complete Guide to Post-Sex Cleanup
Marie Kondo taught America how to clean out objects that don’t spark joy. But who can you turn to when you need to clean semen and menstrual blood off your couch after a hot romp and you only have an hour before your family arrives for dinner? Never fear: I’m here to help you tidyContinue reading “A Complete Guide to Post-Sex Cleanup”
How to Tell if Polyamory is Really for You
No matter what love style you choose, all relationships have one common denominator: They’re super-complicated. First, society imposes rigid definitions of gender, sexuality, and love. Add that to the personal baggage we pick up along the way, and you’ve got one explosive cocktail. Polyamory is no exception. Based on the belief that we can be sexually andContinue reading “How to Tell if Polyamory is Really for You”
How to Master Affirmative Consent (It’s Hot, We Promise)
“I’ve never been with anyone who talks so much during sex,” he said. I was midway through an R-rated romp when this sexy someone’s comment stopped me in my tracks. What?! I thought. What could be better than alternating oral sex with oral expression? As a feminist writer, I spend a lot of time talking about sex, andContinue reading “How to Master Affirmative Consent (It’s Hot, We Promise)”
When American Waitresses Were Labeled ‘Women of Ill Repute’
WHEN NELL RETURNED TO THE breakroom, her waitress’ apron was full of money. Her coworkers, spotting the dollar bills, laughed. “Them ain’t tips,” said one waitress. “Them is dates, ain’t they, Nell?” Nell displayed the cash to her friends. “Sure,” she said. “Be thankful for a dollar in these hard times!” Nell wasn’t the only waitressContinue reading “When American Waitresses Were Labeled ‘Women of Ill Repute’”
Our Favorite Porn That’s Both Sexy and Ethical
Saying that porn is a contentious issue is like saying the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs was a space rock: It’s not wrong, but it doesn’t reveal the scope of the damage. From the “feminist sex wars” of the 1980s to current anti-porn crusaders, many have argued that filmed sex is inherently wrong, regardless ofContinue reading “Our Favorite Porn That’s Both Sexy and Ethical”
The Founder of America’s Earliest Lesbian Bar Was Deported for Obscenity
IT TOOK OFFICER MARGARET LEONARD three tries to get her hands on Eve Adams’ book of lesbian short stories. We don’t know what, exactly, the New York Police Department officer experienced when she first slunk undercover into Eve Adams’ Tearoom at 129 MacDougal Street. But it’s easy to imagine a group of artists gathered under gleamingContinue reading “The Founder of America’s Earliest Lesbian Bar Was Deported for Obscenity”
Lesbian bars are disappearing. We spent a night at one that’s still standing.
Walking into Henrietta Hudson feels like taking off a heavy backpack. It’s a humid June night in New York’s Greenwich Village, and inside the reggaeton-pulsing bar, a sparse crowd drinks beer and laughs. My shoulders instantly relax, and not just because I’ve escaped a spring downpour. Read more at The Washington Posts’s The Lily. Photo:Continue reading “Lesbian bars are disappearing. We spent a night at one that’s still standing.”
How Lesbian Potlucks Nourished the LGBTQ Movement
JEN MARTIN AND LIZ ALPERN lived in “that house.” Many queer friend groups have one. It’s the kind of place where a pot of soup is always boiling, where bread is always in the oven, where someone is always willing to read your tarot cards. Friends stopped to visit the Brooklyn apartment on weeknights. It wasContinue reading “How Lesbian Potlucks Nourished the LGBTQ Movement”
The Girl Who Jumped Out of a Pie and Into a Gilded Age Morality Tale
ON MAY 20, 1895, 16-YEAR-OLD Susie Johnson, wearing nothing but gauze and haloed by a flock of live canaries, burst through the crust of a giant pie. It was polo player John Ellliot Cowdin’s 10th wedding anniversary, and the dinner was lavish: 16 courses from clams to coffee, each punctuated by champagne. Two models entertained theContinue reading “The Girl Who Jumped Out of a Pie and Into a Gilded Age Morality Tale”
