Sex & Culture

Ten Problems With Purity Balls

Purity Balls are more popular than ever. That’s the religious ceremony in which a girl (usually about 12) pledges her “purity” to her father and to God until she marries. Balls are like group weddings: dozens of dads wear tuxedos, girls wear (typically white) ball gowns, dads put gold bands on their daughters’ wedding finger, and then the couple has a First Dance together. The average age of first marriage in America is now over 27. That would make the non-sexual Purity Zone (from pledge to marriage) some 15 years long. If we adjust the figure for the demographics of…

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Gay Pride—A Reminder

Today is Gay Pride Day. Across the U.S. and many other countries, colorful parades mark the 45th anniversary of the riots around New York’s Stonewall Inn, credited with launching the gay rights movement. The riots were a series of violent reactions to yet another then-completely-legal police raid on gay bars. Today it’s almost impossible to imagine that only four decades ago, being gay was grounds for harassment, arrest, and jail time. And, of course, losing one’s job, one’s apartment, and custody of one’s children. A lot has changed since then. And a lot hasn’t. A huge number of Americans still…

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The Year In Sex—Continuing in 2014

Many of the most important sex-related stories of 2013 will continue into this year. So it’s doubly important that we remember what happened—because in many ways they’re still happening. Condoms mandatory in porn films? Los Angeles County, the world’s porn producer, was Ground Zero last year for an unfortunate battle over the best ways to […]

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Holiday Gifts for Imperfect Sex Lives

Right about now, almost everybody’s shopping, hoping to buy that perfect something. There’s no shortage of sex gifts, especially for those who have satisfying sex lives: vibrators, lingerie, S/M gear, books, rubber gloves (to each their own, right?). But the sex gifts most men and women really need can’t be bought. Here’s my wish list […]

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