Historically, lavender marriage was a legal union between a gay man and a lesbian, entered as a way to "pass" and navigate a homophobic society. Today, Gen Z-ers are embracing a new kind of lavender marriage: marriage to a friend to ease financial stress. www.womenshealthmag.com/relationship...

Just like standard, run-of-the-mill porn, research on AI-generated porn points to a very mixed set of perceptions and experiences, with some seeing it as a healthy outlet for exploring fantasies, and others describing difficulties regulating use. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/9/...

In today's show, we're talking with Dr. Sarah Hill about how estrogen and progesterone affect women’s sexual desire and behavior throughout the menstrual cycle and why this is important for women and their partners to understand. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

New report finds that teens and young adults (ages 18-24) think that there's too much sex and romance in TV shows and movies. A majority (51.5%) want to see more content focused on friendships, and 39% want to see more aromantic and asexual characters. mashable.com/article/teen...

Study of middle-age adults who have never had sex: sexlessness is associated w/ living in areas with more income inequality, having higher education and intelligence, more introversion and social isolation, less physical strength (men only), & less substance use. theconversation.com/1-of-people-...

We need to stop thinking about kink as a binary thing--that you're either kinky or you aren't. Kink runs on a spectrum, and we all exhibit some degree of kinkiness, whether we self-identify as "kinky" or not. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/9/...

Many of us have learned that seeking pleasure is selfish and entitled, and that it's not something we should prioritize. So how can we develop a healthier relationship with pleasure? Let's talk about it. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

The concept of good-enough sex is often mischaracterized as ’settling’ or as having sex that’s merely adequate or mediocre. But good-enough sex is sex that is satisfying, without the expectation or demand that it’s going to be perfect every time. edition.cnn.com/2025/08/25/h...

Research finds that college students rely on a wide range of cues to determine sexual consent in situations where alcohol is consumed. In this post, @emmendelson.bsky.social dives into a new study exploring how students navigate consent under the influence. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/9/...

Why did choking during sex become vanilla? I was asked for coment from @dazeddigital.com they've produced this very balanced article on sexual choking with comments from myself and @justinlehmiller.bsky.social www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture...

In today's show, Dr. Juliana Hauser is back to discuss her latest book, A New Position on Sex: A Guide to Greater Sexual Confidence, Pleasure, and Authenticity. Listen in for tips on uncovering your true sexual self. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

Research finds that mothers are more likely to initiate "the talk" than fathers. The most common barriers to talking about sex that parents report are child or parental discomfort, fear of saying the wrong thing, and uncertainty over what to say. www.latrobe.edu.au/news/article...

People differ in their predispositions to value safety vs pleasure when it comes to sex. Research finds that those who are more safety-oriented use more protection and have less casual sex, but are less sexually satisfied than those who are more pleasure-oriented. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Psychological interventions to change fantasies have had very limited success. It is not easy to get rid of an existing fantasy, but it is possible to cultivate new sexual interests. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-...

For a lot of men, sex is a topic that's fraught with worries about their performance. So in today's show, we're diving into how men can deal with performance anxiety and build up their confidence in the bedroom. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

The average American looking for love online will swipe almost 4,000 times on a dating app before finding a romantic partner. So how does all of this swiping affect us and our mental health? www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/3/...

Sex ed doesn’t have to suck. But as Margaret Grace Myers tells @justinlehmiller.bsky.social, when it’s used as a chess piece by the religious right to gain cultural and political high ground, its implementation suffers.

Why don’t we have a federal mandate for comprehensive sex ed in the US? What can we do to improve sex ed in our own communities? @justinlehmiller.bsky.social asks Margaret Grace Myers.

Join us in Chicago in February for the 13th annual SPSP Sexuality Pre-Conference! If you'd like to share your latest research with us, submissions for presentations are open through October 23. Hope to see you there! www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/9/...

Surveys find that nearly half of men are dissatisfied with their penis size and wish they were larger. So is there anything you can actually do to increase size? In this episode, we dive into what works and what doesn't. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

Research finds that sharing your sexual turn-ons tends to strengthen intimacy and satisfaction; however, focusing on your turn-offs has the opposite effect. This may be because emphasizing your dislikes (instead of your likes) can easily sound like criticism. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ever...

Many incels believe that having sex will be a huge, transformative experience; however, they often find that having sex doesn't change things for them (or their ideological beliefs) as much as they thought it would. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/5/...

One-third of adults say that sharing secrets or fantasizing about someone else is a form of infidelity. What counts as cheating to you? www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-...

BDSM practitioners have mastered skills that many of us struggle with every day, including honest communication, clear boundaries, deep trust, & vulnerability. Here's what we can learn from kinksters. @aliciamwalker1.bsky.social @ariellekuperberg.bsky.social www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

Self-expansion plays a pivotal role in maintaining excitement, passion, and connection over time in relationships. Here's how. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/2/...

How common is rough sex among young adults? Among adults ages 18-29, 10% of men and 15% of women say they have been choked by a partner during sex, 20% of men and 39% of women have been spanked, and 8% of men and 7% of women have been slapped. yougov.co.uk/society/arti...

While some argue that sex work is always a product of coercion or something that is only ever pursued as a last resort, research finds that many women choose to enter the profession because they actually like the work. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/9/...

Is kink just about whips and chains? Is it always about sex? Is everyone who’s into kink working through some type of trauma? In today’s show, we’re debunking common myths about BDSM with @aliciamwalker1.bsky.social and @ariellekuperberg.bsky.social. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

Americans are having a record low amount of sex. In 1990, 55% of adults ages 18–64 reported having sex weekly. By 2024, the number fell to 37%. Sexual frequency is dropping across all demographic groups, including age and marital status. ifstudies.org/blog/the-sex...

There's a pervasive view in the field of sex therapy that all men are capable of experiencing pleasure in the same way. However, male sexuality (just like female sexuality) is highly complex and variable. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2024/4/...

Research finds that certain personality traits and mating strategies are associated with greater success on dating apps. For example, people who score higher in narcissism and psychopathy are more likely to report finding both dates and sex partners online. www.psypost.org/psychopathic...

One of the problems with sex ed is that we think about it as this “one and done” thing. Like it’s a single class that you take in middle or high school. Or it’s a one-time talk you have with your parents. But that’s not the right way to look at it. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

Good-enough sex is often mischaracterized as settling or mediocre… ”But good-enough sex is sex that is pleasurable and satisfying without the expectation or demand that it’s going to be perfect every time” @justinlehmiller.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/08/25/health/good-enough-sex-wellness

"Sexual compatibility isn’t just about liking the same things in bed. It’s about how you handle what’s different. Can you talk about sex? Can you disagree with care? Can you stay emotionally connected even when things aren’t hot and heavy?" www.menshealth.com/sex-women/a6...

"Get It Out" investigates the politics of hysterectomy in modern-day life and explores the broader state of healthcare and social inequality. In this post, @emmendelson.bsky.social interviews @andreabeckerphd.bsky.social about the books's key themes. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2025/8/...

Last year, 27 US states introduced bills aimed at restricting sex ed. The fight over what sex ed should cover (and whether it should even be taught at all) has been going on for over a century, and we've made surprisingly little progress. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

New study comparing men who do vs. do not own sex dolls concludes that these dolls "act as a safe surrogate for relationships with living people...Doll ownership does not appear to be associated with sexual aggression or sexual offending." www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/all-...

Social media trends such as "No Nut November" suggest that there are benefits to masturbatory abstinence. However, a longitudinal study of people who partook in this trend did not find any significant changes in sexual wellbeing over time. academic.oup.com/jsm/advance-...

Research finds that individuals who engage in BDSM tend to report lower levels of attachment avoidance and anxiety. Those with more secure emotional attachment were more likely to act on their BDSM interests. www.psypost.org/securely-att...

Why are some people straight while others are gay or bisexual? What determines our sexual orientation anyway? Today, we’re diving into what we’ve learned about the biological origins of our sexuality from decades of research with @nathanlents.bsky.social. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

Research finds that Asian and Black Americans tend to believe they are more attractive to White Americans than to each other — and those beliefs, in turn, predict stronger attraction to White partners. psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d...

Some argue that humans evolved for monogamy, while other argue that we evolved for non-monogamy. So which is it? @nathanlents.bsky.social, author of the new book The Sexual Evolution, is on the show today to dive into the debate. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or mostly heterosexual tend to experience more social isolation than their heterosexual peers as they move from early adulthood into midlife. This gap actually widens over time, especially for men. www.psypost.org/long-term-st...

Erectile difficulties are often blamed on porn. But research actually finds that, if anything, men who use porn tend to report better erectile function. So what does cause ED? Let's talk about it. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

"Choosiness" is often assumed to lead to less sex. But there are different types of choosiness. Research finds that when choosiness reflects greater self-confidence and clear preferences about what one wants, it's actually linked to greater sexual frequency. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

"Gay men reported being less gender-conforming in childhood, had a higher proportion of older brothers, were more right-handed, had more non-heterosexual relatives, and had more feminized digit ratios on both their left and right hand." link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Sex can disappear in long-term relationships for a number of reasons. However, there’s a lot you can do to break the dry spell and get your intimate life back on track. Learn how in today's episode. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/podcast...

A large cross-cultural study of adults from 50 countries found that participants who met their partners online reported lower relationship satisfaction & lower intensity of love compared to those who met offline, with effect sizes ranging from small to medium. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

“Situationships” are sexual or romantic relationships that lack clear commitment or labels. Situationships are generally less satisfying than relationships that are more clearly defined, yet many stay in them anyway. So why stay in a less than satisfying situation? www.psypost.org/new-psycholo...

There’s a popular stereotype that BDSM is inherently rooted in personal trauma--and, in some cases, there is truth to this. However, it’s far more common for people to be drawn to BDSM for other reasons. www.sexandpsychology.com/blog/2022/8/...