sexual health

  • Sex Education X H&M Is Giving Us Back-To-School Levels Of Excitement

    Is Sex Education the best show on Netflix or is it the best show on Netflix? Duh, of course there’s only one answer, what with its off-kilter humour, every Gillian Anderson scene and the students’ quirky British-American hybrid style. It’s the kind of style we wish we could have had pinned to our back-to-school mood boards all those years ago. Happily, H&M – as ever – is on it, bringing us what we reckon is their best pop culture collaboration yet: a varsity collection inspired by the hit show,

  • How The NHS Is Contributing To Fertility Treatment Inequality

    For Modern Queer Family, Refinery29 reported on how LGBTQ+ people spend astronomical amounts of money to start a family as they are left with no choice but to pursue private care or follow more dangerous routes. During that reporting, we noticed a gap in the available data. We decided to investigate and can reveal that the NHS is not centrally recording information about how easy it is for LGBTQ+ people to access fertility care. In England, access to fertility services is complicated. Fertility

  • The First Cast Photo Of The Sex And The City Reboot Is Here & Fans Can’t Stop Talking About It

    Leave it to the die-hard Sex And The City fans to give their honest and unfiltered opinions on the first cast photo from the series’ highly anticipated reboot And Just Like That. Since Sarah Jessica Parker posted the teaser for the revival in January, fans have been eager to revisit the lives of the women, whom they last saw in the 2010 film Sex and the City 2. While HBO Max has yet to announce a premiere date, the streaming service released the first cast photo of the SATC reboot with Sarah Jes

  • 'The elderly are not immune': Man, 83, diagnosed with HIV

    'We must debunk beliefs that older adults are not sexually active.'

  • Why people tend to have the most sex in July

    A new study finds out

  • People have more sex in July than any other month, finds new survey

    It's followed by August, and then June.

  • Women reveal the one thing that most improved their sex life

    From a well-thumbed book to a throw-away piece of advice

  • Allison Mack Now Says She Regrets Running NXIVM’s Sex Cult

    Mandatory Credit: Photo by Mark Lennihan/AP/Shutterstock (10191127a) Actress Allison Mack leaves Brooklyn federal court, in New York. Mack pleaded guilty to racketeering charges on Monday in a case involving a cult-like group based in upstate New York. The trial is expected to detail sensational allegations that the group, called NXIVM, recruited sex slaves for its spiritual leader, Keith Raniere Branded Women, New York, USA – 08 Apr 2019 In 2020, the HBO documentary Seduced: Inside The NXIVM Cu

  • 'Always ready': Men with erectile dysfunction having more sex during pandemic, study suggests

    'With their partners at home, they wanted to always be ready.'

  • I Tried An At-Home Hormone Test Kit – But How Much Can It Tell Me About My Fertility?

    “Are you sure you want to do this?” my friend asked, genuinely concerned. “What if it’s bad news?” My at-home hormone testing kit had just arrived courtesy of a Dutch company named Grip which tests the hormones which provide indicators of a woman’s fertility remotely for £139. Grip tests the same hormones as any private fertility clinic: Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) which is produced by cells from the small follicles in a woman’s ovaries and is used as a marker of egg quantity. Luteinisizing Hor

  • This Is Our First Look At The New Sex And The City Series

    The new Sex and the City series, And Just Like That…, is officially in production. Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw) posted a photo on Instagram showing her with fellow original cast members Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes) and Kristin Davis (Charlotte York Goldenblatt). Appropriately enough, the trio have the familiar New York City skyline behind them. “Read through our first episodes,” SJP wrote in the caption. “Alongside all the fellas and our newest cast members. Like an ice cream sundae.

  • As Ofsted warns of sex abuse in schools: How can we raise boys to respect girls?

    In light of the shocking recent Ofsted report, how can we raise boys to respect girls and understand what harassment looks like?

  • How Does It Feel To Have A Partner Who Does Sex Work?

    Chris Buck, a photographer and director based in New York and California, has always been drawn to the tension between strength and vulnerability. In his latest series — the book, Gentlemen’s Club — Buck explores that dichotomy within the world of strip clubs. Over six years, he interviewed 40 people — strippers and their partners. Buck’s earliest questions were basic, revolving around some variation of: Are you sure you’re cool with your partner stripping? As he spoke to more couples, though, h

  • Half of coupled-up people say current partner is 'worst sex they've ever had'

    One in five also admitted they'd had more than ten bad sexual encounters in their life...

  • How to overcome intimacy anxiety - and have better sex

    New research found 63% of single people feel nervous at the thought of intimacy and sex after a year of lockdowns.

  • Coronavirus may cause impotence by persisting in the penis, small study suggests

    Two men required surgery for their newfound erectile dysfunction after becoming infected.

  • Midlife women are happiest with their sex lives, study finds

    Increased self confidence and a higher libido are ‘key’ to increasing pleasure post-pandemic.

  • What to do if you're always too tired for sex

    How to reignite your sexual energy

  • Sex guru pensioner, 73, spent lockdown helping couples improve their love lives

    Stell Ralfini runs sex workshops for singles and couples hoping to put the spark back into their love lives.

  • Rebel Wilson Candidly Shares That She Is 'Struggling' with Her Fertility

    'I got some bad news today and didn’t have anyone to share it with...'

  • Game Of Thrones‘s Esmé Bianco Suing Marilyn Manson For Alleged Rape & Sex Trafficking

    BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 09: Marilyn Manson arriving for the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Karwai Tang/Getty Images) Editor’s note: The following article includes details about abuse and sexual assault that may be triggering. Please proceed thoughtfully. British actress Esmé Bianco, known for her role as Ros on HBO’s Game Of Thrones, sued musicia

  • Queen awards sex toy company for 'Outstanding Continuous Growth'

    Lovehoney is recognised for hard work

  • 3 Asexual Women Tell Us About Dating When You Have No Interest In Sex

    Sex and physical intimacy dominate much of the mainstream conversation about modern relationships, but what if the act of making love moves you no more than filling in tax returns?For someone who identifies as asexual, this lack of desire may well be a hurdle they have to navigate if they wish to seek a romantic partner.Asexuality is a multifaceted orientation that describes a person who does not experience sexual attraction.There is a spectrum of ways people can identify as asexual, from bi-romantic – a romantic attraction to both men and women – to grey-asexual, meaning someone who may experience some sexual attraction but at a lower intensity or on very rare occasions.It is by no means a new phenomenon, but it has experienced a surge in interest recently thanks to greater awareness around sexual orientations and fluidity.The most commonly cited figure for the prevalence of asexuality among the global population is 1%. This came from a 2004 paper by Canadian psychologist Anthony Bogaert, in which he asked a large sample of people who they were sexually attracted to.Furthermore, community sites such as the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), which shares information about asexuality and offers a space for people who identify as asexual to arrange meet-ups, is reporting higher numbers of registered users than ever before. Since 2010, it has grown from having 22,460 members to over 100,000 in 2018.Here, three women who identify as asexual tell us exactly what it is like to date and have relationships without wanting to have sex – and the perks and pitfalls that present themselves during the process.Eilidh, 24I’ve always been a family-oriented person and my friends mean the absolute world to me. I’m passionate about advocating for human rights and I play the saxophone. But finding a long-term partner, someone to share my interests with, is something I’ve dreamed about for ages. That can be tricky when you identify as an asexual, as I do.I define my asexuality as bi-romantic, which means I’m romantically attracted to men and women, but I don’t want to have sex with them. I don’t think about it, I’m not bothered by it – that urge just doesn’t come to me.Sex drives seem to be incredibly important to a lot of relationships, but when I fall for someone, I want to spend a lot of time getting to know them. Kissing and holding hands is the most physically intimate I really get.Personality is very important to me. My ideal partner is someone who can make me laugh. The traits I go for tend to be different depending on whether I’m dating men or women. In men, I like nerdy, intelligent guys who are passionate about something. I’m attracted to more beautiful women, strangely.Explaining asexuality on dating apps can be interesting! The sort of comments I get range from, "That doesn’t make any sense!" to "Is there something wrong with you?" I take it on the chin most of the time. People don’t seem to understand it’s not a choice I’ve made.Other people have been curious about my (lack of?) sexuality and ask me questions, which is a great way to talk about it.I tend to tell people I’m dating that I’m asexual straightaway, so there can be no confusion over what that means.Before I came out, there were a couple of times when guys were very overfamiliar with me on dates, touched me and stroked my arms, despite having known me for just hours, in ways that felt inappropriate and extremely uncomfortable. Once, I even had a panic attack over it. Above everything, it is important to me that I feel respected whoever I’m dating.Leila*, 21I’m going to cut to the chase – I definitely want to get married. It’s more trying to figure out how to get to that point, as I’ve actually no idea how people do it.Before I came out as asexual, I noticed that the way my friends would talk about relationships was totally different to how I would think about them. We used to watch rom coms and TV shows where the characters would act like having sex was the most important thing in life.Actors were always having one-night stands, and I thought they were completely fake scenes, that the media and Hollywood had just totally made them up. Why would anyone want to do that? I thought. Then my friends started having one-night stands and I was blown away. I had no idea they were real!I started identifying as asexual when I was 17. Then, I wasn’t sexually attracted to people at all and I didn’t want to have sex. Now, I’m not completely opposed to the idea of sex, but in reality it wouldn’t be something I would seek out.I don’t tend to use dating apps, because I feel like I need to know someone better to be romantically attracted to them. But being asexual can make this confusing, too. It’s hard to know what a normal friendship is and what isn’t.Sometimes, I convince myself I have a crush on certain friends. Then I think it could ruin our friendship to take it much further and I get obsessed with that and give up trying.Technically, I like men and women, but when I do have crushes they are mostly on girls. I have one friend who I was crushing on a lot. She was very understanding and we supported each other a lot through our studies. And she had really great curly brown hair. She was small too, which I really liked because I’m quite tall.Sadly, I moved away, so nothing long-term came out of it.*Name has been changedChristina, 24 I am attracted to both men and women romantically, but I would describe myself as totally sex-neutral. I’m not repulsed by the idea of having sex, it’s just that I’m not in the slightest bit bothered about it. It doesn’t shame me, embarrass me, or move me at all. I’m totally indifferent to its very existence.For me to experience romantic attraction, I have to know someone quite well, which makes dating in the modern sense a little bit obsolete for me.Physical attributes don’t play an important role in my selection process. Most people can look at a celebrity and say, "She’s hot" or "He’s hot". Objectively, I can agree that they are physically attractive, but I won’t feel that draw towards them that perhaps someone who isn’t asexual would.For me, the most attractive features in a person would be being thoughtful, caring and trustworthy. They’d have to not be too clingy, though. I’d need there to be a certain level of independence on both sides for it to work.I’ve actually never had a full relationship, but there was one person I developed deep feelings for. It was a male friend I was at school with and we shared a lot together. We had the same interests and hobbies, like our love of drama and music. He was super nice and considerate, but ultimately, I don’t think we were compatible. I’m really practical and organised, while he’s one of those people who leaves things up in the air.I’m as bothered about finding "the one" as I am about sex. However, I’ve dreamed about adopting children since I was little. For me, kids have always been part of my future plan, but a potential husband or wife is negotiable.If I do meet someone I could be with long-term that would be amazing. But right now, I’m focusing on my true love – acting and screen writing. If I had to play someone in a movie who was sexually attracted to another person or had to have sex? I’d be very open with the director about my asexuality, but ultimately, as I’m not bothered by it and don’t feel uncomfortable, it could make playing a role like that even easier for me.My passion really lies in sci-fi and fantasy films however, so you’re more likely to see me in the next Star Wars than a rom com anyway.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Lockdown Has Forced Celibacy On Me, I Needed ItThe Sexual Orientation Terms You Need To KnowWhat It's Like Dating As A Demisexual

  • This is the age fertility drops off in women

    And it's later than 35

  • 6 People On Giving Up Sex Until The Pandemic Is Over (& Maybe Longer)

    When the first guidelines on how to have safe COVID sex were released in June of 2020, the advice was pretty damn clear: “You are your safest sex partner.” Many of us laughed, many of us cried, but most of us hoped the pandemic (and therefore our dry spell) would be over and done with by the end of the summer.That, um, didn't happen. Over a year into quarantine with COVID-19 still prevalent in the U.S. and the UK, a new sex-free reality has settled in for many. And while some are undoubtedly sti

  • Relate and Rankin pair up in new campaign celebrating the joy of later life sex and intimacy

    The new campaign by Relate, featuring images by photographer Rankin, aims to change the perception of intimacy in later life.