How To Accept An Apology

I recently received this from a reader: My boyfriend did something that hurt me deeply, and while he has apologized many times and we have talked about it a lot, I can’t seem to let it go. I know this is in no small part because I have a pretty low tolerance for hurt in

Bring The Foreplay Out Of The Bedroom

I don’t usually use the word foreplay because I think that it reinforces the idea that penis-in-vagina intercourse is the goal of sex and that everything else is there to lead up to it. In my experience, those beliefs encourage male-female couples to get so focused on intercourse as the definition of successful sex that

Being Bold

I get a lot of questions from men who want to be able to approach women and aren’t sure how to do it. Whether they’re interested in socializing, dating, or a sexual connection (not that those are mutually exclusive), there are plenty of guys who would like to do engage with women without being creepy,

August Is Anal Sex Month! Come Learn How To Do It Right

 Did you know that August is Anal Sex Month? Of course, you don’t need to wait until then to explore anal pleasure. But if you’ve been curious about it or if you’ve tried it and had it not work, this is a great time to get the tips you need to make it hot, safe,

Four Things You Need To Know To Have Awesome Anal Sex

It probably won’t surprise you to hear that I love anal sex. After all, I’m one of the authors of The Ultimate Guide to Prostate Pleasure, and I teach lots of workshops about anal play, prostate massage, and related topics. Of course, that’s not all I do, but given how many people fantasize about anal

Giving Attention

Have you ever thought about what it means when you “pay attention”? It’s a phrase I’ve heard often enough. When I was a kid, teachers and my parents told to pay attention to what they said. Advice columns say that we should pay attention to our partners. But there’s something about it that never quite

Learning to Ask

Do you ever have difficulty asking for what you want? I used to, and it’s taken a lot of practice to be able to change that. On a recent trip, I had a great reminder of how important it is to be able to build that skill. When I got to the gate for my

What Does “Sexual Success” Mean?

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself what a successful sexual experience is? It’s an important question because how you answer it says a lot about your attitudes and beliefs about sex. And that has a big impact on the kinds of experiences you’re creating and the sexual relationships you build. One of the more

What Does Pushing Boundaries in BDSM Mean?

In some of the (mostly online) discussions I’ve seen around BDSM & kink, there’s a sticking point that seems to come up over and over. What does it mean when people say that they get turned on by “pushing boundaries”? I think this is worth unpacking because there are at least two different meanings to

Taking No For An Answer

I have a confession to make. Taking no for an answer doesn’t always happen easily. See, there’s been a lot of conversation in different online and in-person communities that I move through about “creepy men.” I’ve even written this piece on five things men can do to not be creepy. Part of those discussions include

Shame Is A Powerful Medicine

I spend a lot of time thinking about and talking about the connections between sex & shame. To be honest, I think it’s a real problem that we have so little language for thinking about and exploring shame because it’s part of everyone’s life. And it’s especially part of almost everyone’s sex life. One of