PhilosophySciencePsychologySocietyCulture
EssaysVideos

Popular

About
DONATENEWSLETTER
/
/
Aeon
DONATE/NEWSLETTER/
/

    Virginity lost, perspective gained – four stories of formative sexual experience

    Whether they are romantic or traumatic, embarrassing or inspiring, first sexual encounters are always formative. In this short animated documentary, four people tell the stories of their first sexual experiences, recalling these moments with a mixture of nostalgia, amusement, regret and wonder.

    Director: Jonas Odell

    23 May 2014
    Claymation character with blue hair and large head at a desk with a laptop in an office setting, with posters on the wall behind.

    videoChildhood and adolescence

    The aliens among us: close encounters of the teenage kind

    6 minutes

    A drawing of a hand figure standing on its pointer and middle fingers with a smiley face. Behind is a cave with drawings of human shapes on the walls.

    videoSex and sexuality

    For ages, solo sex was hardly taboo. What led to its centuries-long dry spell?

    4 minutes

    A woman with a shaved head holds young child in her lap. Both are smiling, touching foreheads and embracing.

    videoPersonality

    How scars continue to shape the mind long after the tissue has settled

    19 minutes

    Illustration of a person sitting in a room with a bed and various objects. The background is pink, and the objects include a lamp, books, clock, plants, lava lamp, slippers, and a small ball. The person appears to be drawn in a simple, sketch-like style.

    videoSex and sexuality

    After a sextortion scam, Eugene conducts an unblushing survey of masturbation

    14 minutes

    Woman gazing at her reflection in a hand mirror, wearing pink earrings and lying on a patterned red rug.

    videoTeaching and learning

    The vulva dialogues – inside a sex-ed class that rebels against genitalia shame

    11 minutes

    Two children smiling and laughing in a classroom with a bright yellow wall and shelves with binders and books.

    videoSex and sexuality

    What does the Dutch model of comprehensive, ‘shame-free’ sex-ed look like?

    9 minutes

    Two older women wearing hats and sunglasses raise their arms in celebration at a street parade, with a purple background.

    videoSex and sexuality

    From secret crushes to self-acceptance – a joyful chronicle of ‘old lesbian’ stories

    29 minutes

    Black-and-white photo of a historic cityscape featuring multiple bridges and elevated train tracks over a river.

    videoFilm and visual culture

    Our ideas about what early movies looked like are all wrong

    11 minutes

    Illustration of an older couple sitting in bed with a book, nightstands with lamps, and pictures on the wall in a cosy room.

    videoLove and friendship

    ‘What does sex mean to you?’ A fly-on-the-wall view of relationship counselling

    50 minutes