In 2018, I initiated an accountability process to address harms I caused to one of my previous partners and to my personal and professional communities. From 2014-2016, I harmed and emotionally abused one of my partners. I used social media in the autumn of 2016 to defend my actions which harmed my communities. I took
Note: I wrote this post in April 2019 to explore how my thinking on this topic has changed since writing this one in December 2015. In the tech world, they often say that it’s important to find a balance between security and usability. If you make your online passwords difficult to crack, they’re also difficult
There’s a piece of advice that sex educators and writers always seem to give folks that I find both accurate and useless. “It’s all about communication” is certainly true, and it doesn’t do a lot of good. Part of that is because almost everyone thinks that they’re great at communicating, in the same way that
If you ask most people what makes someone an amazing lover, they’ll probably say that it’s about being able to give your partner pleasure. There’s certainly a lot of truth in that, but it’s only half of the story. The other half is taking pleasure. Let me explain that that means. Giving Pleasure When you
There’s a funny thing that a lot of people do during sex. They focus so much on increasing the level of stimulation that they actually miss out on some of the opportunities to experience incredible pleasure. That’s because one of the most effective ways to enhance your sexual experience is to create a rise and
In several of the communities and events that I participate in, I’ve seen some ongoing discussions about the differences between a safe space and brave space. While these conversations have been useful to some degree, they often turn into a debate about which one is more important. It seems to me that this creates a
When I talk with people about sex coaching and how it can help them, it sometimes becomes apparent that they’re looking for a transformative, cathartic experience that will change everything about their sex lives. This seems to be especially common when they’re asking about somatic sex coaching, but it also happens when they’re curious about
There’s a phrase that a lot of people use when talking about their feelings. They’ll start their sentences with “I am…” As in: I’m angry. I’m sad. I’m scared. From a grammar angle, these ways of expressing emotions aren’t any different than saying “I’m hungry” or “I’m ready to leave the party.” But when you
I talk with a lot of people about their sexual desires and the things they want to try. One of the questions that they sometimes ask is “how do I make this sexual fantasy come true?” I find that there’s actually more to that than you might think. Most fantasies aren’t just about the physical
There’s a question you can ask during sex that can lead to a communication trainwreck, despite your best intentions. “What do you like?” On the surface, it seems like a great way to find out what brings a smile to your partner’s face and show consideration for their preferences and needs. And in some situations,
One of the biggest relationship challenges that people struggle with is emotional flooding. It’s something that happens to everyone sometimes, and if you don’t know how to respond to it, it can escalate conflict and create disconnection. Fortunately, many of the steps you can take to resolve it are pretty simple. Not necessarily easy, but
1 in 3 cisgender women in the US will have an abortion at some point in their lifetime. For such a widely-shared experience, the stigma associated with it keeps most people silent about it. Instead, we get polarized political fights that don’t leave much room for individual stories. That comes from both sides of the
