VIEWPOINTS

March 3rd, 2010 | Occasional Contributors

Oxytocin: The Pseudoscience of the Hook-Up Hormone
- Lena Chen

As a now-monogamous former sex blogger, I'm living proof that hooking up doesn't make you crazy or unable to commit. But if mainstream media reports of the past few years are to be believed, I'm the exception, not the rule.

February 24th, 2010 | Occasional Contributors

Circle Circle, Dot Dot – Cooties, Gender, and Building Better Relationships
- Brad Perry

Think back to kindergarten. How did girls and boys relate? My own experience is that, overall, us boys got along pretty well with the girls in our classes. The only memorable rift between girls and boys at that age was the dreaded, omnipresent threat of “cooties” - a mythical condition transmitted across genders via touch, but easily cured by tracing two circles and two dots on the forearm of the infected individual (a “cootie-shot” for those of you not familiar with this epidemic). Cooties were basically a way to upgrade games of tag with a richer, zanier context of infectious disease. Cooties were also understood by both boys and girls to be a fantasy – something we created to make recess a bit more interesting.

February 2nd, 2010 | Occasional Contributors

Seen on Twitter: What's "a Slut"?
- Liz Sabatiuk

To accompany our "Slut: The Worst 4-Letter Word?" podcast, we searched "a slut" in our twitter feed to see how people are using the word. As Jessica pointed out in the poll "Do you use the word 'slut'?" urbandictionary.com has 255 definitions for it (actually, a week later as I'm writing this the number appears to have increased to 259). Based on a brief skim of the many (MANY) tweets that include the term--excluding all mention of Miley Cyrus, I might add--here is my short list, in no particular order, of what "slut" means to twitter-users.

January 27th, 2010 | Occasional Contributors

Ready to Wear: The Date Edition
- Kaarin Moore

You met the cutie of your dreams and your prospective love is hot, funny, intelligent, and obviously has great taste because you were asked on a date. It puts you on cloud nine until you stand in front of your closet and can’t find a thing to wear. Ponder no more because whether your having a casual get together, a formal dinner date, or taking yourself out, here are some tips to make sure you are stunning while you're on the town.

January 14th, 2010 | Occasional Contributors

In 2010, Let’s Just Not Be Friends
- Katy Otto

Dear XXX,

I know it makes you comfortable to think about how close it is possible for us to be one day. Maybe you like the idea of the alchemy: from intense love to the province of the platonic. You have done it in the past; everyone you know seems to be able to do it. Take it down a notch, be okay with it, be just friends.

But I don't care if it makes other people comfortable. I have finally gotten to a point in life where I learning how to make me comfortable, even at the cost of the comfort of others, at the cost of your comfort.

January 5th, 2010 | Occasional Contributors

When does age become just a number?

- Ms. Veralyn

Ms. Veralyn takes a look at the question, "How old is too old?"

December 23rd, 2009 | Occasional Contributors

Surprise, Hooking Up Doesn't Kill!

- Lena Chen

In early 2008, an article in The New York Times claimed that "no one at Harvard represents the hookup culture better than Lena Chen." I'm Lena Chen. Right, how awkward is that? At the time, I was a college junior blogging quite publicly about my sex and love life -- but the last thing I thought was that my vagina represented anyone else's (let alone a whole "culture"). I tried to make that clear to the Times, obviously to no avail.

December 9th, 2009 | Occasional Contributors

An Ode to Good Dudes
- Katy Otto

As someone who's outspoken and calls herself a feminist, I have been categorized as a 'man-hater' on more than one occasion. Would that life were that simple. I was struck once by a bell hooks quote that critique is the strongest expression of love, because it has at its core the belief that the person you are talking to is capable of change and growth. Truth is I--like many other feminists--love men. And like so many things I love, they have the capacity to blow my mind one moment and break my heart the next. When I find myself critical of what I consider to be the negative and harmful implications of traditional masculinity, it is because I think more, and better, is possible. This is an acknowledgement of the more and better this world could demand and expect.

December 4th, 2009 | Occasional Contributors

Why Victoria’s Secret Should Be Your Secret Too
- Kaarin Moore

“I’m kinda in between boyfriends right now, so I don’t need anything sexy.” – Pam Beesly, while visiting Victoria’s Secret

December 1st, 2009 | Occasional Contributors

So, uh, Got Any STDs I Should Know About?
- Liz Sabatiuk

Ever been really nervous about asking someone about their sexual history and STIs, then ended up having a beautiful, completely unawkward conversation? Maybe not. And that's okay. I'd wager that for many of us there are few, if any, ideal moments to bring up contraception and sexually transmitted infections (STIs, more commonly known as STDs), but that doesn't mean it doesn't have to be done. Furthermore, no matter how sweet, open, and honest your partner is, you should never assume that s/he will volunteer information about sexual history or STIs, even if there's something you should know about.