Apr 272013
 
“New phone app makes it easy for kids to sext!”

The above headline was what I recently overheard on a 24hr news channel (sexting being the activity of sending provocative images of oneself and others over the internet and smart phones). Of course, with just a little attention to what followed, it became clear that the hysteria-inducing title was more hype than substance. The app […]

Grieving my past “hotness”

 Posted by on March 25, 2013
Mar 252013
 
Grieving my past “hotness”

LGBT people have sacrificed a lot to be whole sexual beings. Often, we have had to go against the tide of peer pressure, cultural norms and religious traditions just to simply be honest and authentic people in terms of our sexuality. I think it is then particularly challenging for our community to come to grips […]

Ecstatic Dance – How free can you dance?

 Posted by on February 24, 2013
Feb 242013
 
Ecstatic Dance - How free can you dance?

Sometime ago I was watching a young child hear the rhythm of music and unconsciously translate it into joyful movement. She wasn’t more than a couple dozen months old. She could barely walk, and yet the music made her effortlessly move – up, down, jiggle, wave, stomp – whatever! She was a bubbling euphoric conduit […]

Unmarried?

 Posted by on February 4, 2013
Feb 042013
 
Unmarried?

A friend mentioned to me that he was recently filling out some tax forms that had a check box for “single” under the category of relationship status. This reminded him of a time when similar forms did not use the word “single” but instead, they used the word “unmarried.” It’s good to see that, of […]

Blossoming Affection as Activism

 Posted by on December 16, 2012
Dec 162012
 
Blossoming Affection as Activism

When last I visited my Seattle boyfriend, we were holding hands in public on our way to a movie in the downtown area. After many years of therapy and self-work to rid myself of abusive religion in my childhood, I was proud of myself for being so comfortable — almost unconscious about expressing basic affection […]

Nov 072012
 
There’s a reason the words “sexy fundamentalists” are rarely used together.

I had a stranger on Facebook — one who looked to be a conservative Christian by the profile — ask me, “What exactly is sexology and why do we need to study it? Is there some purpose for it? Most people know how to have babies. Just trying to understand.” It was an important and […]

Oct 192012
 
Shame is like a sexual illness... and the antidote, please?

Very few people have been given healthy approval, support and respectful privacy to self-pleasure. On the contrary, most people have vivid memories of being overtly shamed at a young age by others about the natural discovery of sexual self-stimulation. Just a few short decades ago, the ignorance and shaming of masturbation in the medical field […]