There are a lot of ways that guys and girls are different—social expectations, speed of sexual arousal, all sorts of things. But there’s one important way they’re not different: heartbreak. Despite the image that guys are tough and unemotional, their hearts work the same way as girls’. They are every bit as likely to moon […]
The Sexiest Book in the Bible
When people think about what the Bible has to say about sex, they tend to focus on sex-negative passages. (And much of religious negativity isn’t even in the Bible itself, but from subsequent teachings of religious organizations over the centuries…but that’s a separate topic.) Many people—even people of faith—don’t know about the part of the […]
TalkStarter for Teens: Hot on Halloween
If you have a teenager, you’ve noticed that girls’ Halloween costumes today tend to be a lot sexier than when we were in high school. A lot of girls look like Playboy bunnies in outfits that are tight, short, and low-cut. What does your teen think about this? If you’ve got a son, he probably […]
Straight and Gay Aren’t Black and White
You’re probably heard of Alfred Kinsey, the biologist who, back in the 1940s, switched from studying insects to studying human sexuality when he discovered how little was known about it. (The 2004 bio pic Kinsey, starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, is excellent, by the way—definitely worth seeing.) Kinsey’s work transformed our understanding of sex […]
TalkStarter for Kids: The Tool in the Toiletries Aisle
A lot of sexual topics parents might want to address with kids are emotionally charged (for us, anyway). So many areas involve choices and morality and relationships, which are complex and can feel intimidating to talk about. Fortunately, there’s one sex-related topic that has no moral component whatsoever: periods. Virtually every adult woman under […]
Why Guys Should Care a LOT About Birth Control
Most sexually active teens and young adults these days are pretty careful to use birth control. But if some people are more concerned about BC than others, you’d figure it’s women, because we’re the ones who get pregnant. It is true that a woman who gets pregnant when she’s not ready is in a tough […]
How to Affair-Proof Your Relationship
Most people who cheat on their partners aren’t bad people. It’s the act of cheating that’s awful—it violates the trust in the relationship, which causes a lot of pain and is very difficult to repair. Although there are some serial philanderers who are repeatedly unfaithful, most people who cheat are ordinary, pretty-good people who make a […]
TalkStarter for Teens: A Family Dinner to Remember
Did you ever notice that we use one word for “elbow” and one word for “foot,” but dozens of words for our private parts? You can use the abundance of slang words to break the ice with your teens and preteens about sexuality. It will be a raucous family dinner none of you will […]
Life Lessons From a Fried Seafood Dinner
By the time I met my friends at a restaurant the other day, I was seriously hungry. I’d had a long day at work and a small lunch—and man, the fried seafood dinner on the menu sounded tasty. I don’t eat much fried food, but I thoroughly enjoyed the pile of shrimp and french fries. […]
TalkStarter for Adults: What Was Puberty Like for You?
For most of us, puberty was when our sense of ourselves as sexual beings really kicked in. It’s also a challenging time for a lot of kids. Sometimes things that were hard for us during puberty can have emotional effects that last for many years. So knowing what puberty was like for your partner […]