Don’t Fear the Sex Recession
We shouldn't see changes in Americans’ sex lives as a single phenomenon with an overarching cause.
The Complicated Reality of “Sex Trafficking”
Anthropologist Jennifer Musto looked at how the rise in concern about sex trafficking, particularly in regard to the domestic trafficking of underage girls, actually plays out in policing.
Who Gets To Speak Publicly About Sex?
Frederick Hollick's case involved not only his controversial sex-positive arguments, but also the question of who should be privy to medical knowledge about sex.
The Political Provocations of Asexuality
As more people begin to identify themselves as asexual, their presence is revealing the limits to certain kinds of feminist politics.
Charles Knowlton, the Father of American Birth Control
Decades after Charles Knowlton died, his book would be credited with the reversal of population growth in England and the popularization of contraception in the United States.
Eroticism and Religion in Utopia
Some 19th-century utopian idealists took up deeply unconventional sexual arrangements based specifically on their religious beliefs.
The Books that Taught the Seventies to Have Sex
What can 1970s sex manuals tell us about the height of the Sexual Revolution? The 1970s was a distinctive sexual decade that’s well worth studying today.
A Short History of the Condom
Dating back to at least medieval times, the condom has taken a winding path to social acceptance.
The Stigma Around Older Woman-Younger Man Relationships
A recent study found that 34 percent of women over 40 are dating younger men, yet these relationships continue to face social disapproval. Why?
The Ongoing Practice of Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation seems totally foreign to the U.S., but versions of the long-outlawed surgery have seen a recent resurgence.