essay
Human rights and justice
Utah is so gay!
The Mormon state is seen as deeply homophobic. Yet, from polygamy to pride, Mormons themselves are a distinctly queer lot
Kristi Rhead
video
Sex and sexuality
From secret crushes to self-acceptance – a joyful chronicle of ‘old lesbian’ stories
29 minutes
essay
Sex and sexuality
Sexual sensation
What makes touch on some parts of the body erotic but not others? Cutting-edge biologists are arriving at new answers
David J Linden
video
Sex and sexuality
After a sextortion scam, Eugene conducts an unblushing survey of masturbation
14 minutes
video
Technology and the self
A deepfake porn victim confronts the pain of having her likeness stolen and vandalised
19 minutes
video
Art
More than breathtaking, ‘The Birth of Venus’ signalled an aesthetic revolution
19 minutes
video
Sex and sexuality
For ages, solo sex was hardly taboo. What led to its centuries-long dry spell?
4 minutes
video
Gender
The ‘sworn virgins’ of Albania who trade femininity for freedom
10 minutes
essay
Art
All those naked Greeks…
Men in ancient Greek art exercise, fight battles, pursue lovers and mourn lost friends, all without their pants on. Why?
Sarah Murray
essay
History of ideas
Self-satisfaction
The ancient Cynics taught that masturbation is about more than pleasure: it suggests how to live simply and autonomously
M D Usher
essay
Stories and literature
The honesty of pornography
Often vilified as a weapon of male supremacy, pornography in fact has much to tell us about ourselves and our culture
Kathleen Lubey
essay
History of ideas
The invention of free love
Percy Shelley thought romantic love freed men and women from the strictures of monogamy, but did it free them equally?
Neil McArthur
video
The ancient world
Sappho’s homoerotic poetry was beloved in ancient Greece – and burned centuries later
5 minutes
video
Human rights and justice
The staggering cruelty of Ireland’s Church-run ‘mother and baby homes’
18 minutes
essay
Love and friendship
Tainted love
Love is both a wonderful thing and a cunning evolutionary trick to control us. A dangerous cocktail in the wrong hands
Anna Machin
video
Teaching and learning
The vulva dialogues – inside a sex-ed class that rebels against genitalia shame
11 minutes
video
Personality
Art students divulge (and animate) the dating pet peeves they find unforgivable
3 minutes
essay
Biology
Slow sex, long life
Tokyo’s imperial archives advise what science now confirms: the secret of longevity lies in the gentle arts of the bedroom
Denis Noble
essay
Sex and sexuality
Idealising the predator
How did certain French intellectuals get away with preying upon young girls, shamelessly, in public and over decades?
Lily Dunn
essay
Gender
Are men animals?
Diagnosing men as violent and oversexed beasts is tempting but it’s a regressive idea built on dubious analogies
Matthew Gutmann
video
Human rights and justice
When the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence canonised Derek Jarman
24 minutes
video
Sex and sexuality
What does the Dutch model of comprehensive, ‘shame-free’ sex-ed look like?
9 minutes
essay
Education
Sex on the curriculum
Sex education is a battlefield over morals and young bodies, and has exposed fractures in American life for over a century
Kristy Slominski
essay
Stories and literature
Literary prostitutes
I self-published erotica to make ends meet. Could I follow in Anaïs Nin’s footsteps or was I doomed to churn out filth?
Sam Mills