Category Archive

Relationships

Let’s talk about our partners, and how we negotiate sharing our homes and lives with them.

Depositing peace: How a special pebble helps me build relationship resilience

As a young adult, I developed a habit of carrying a shell with me on difficult days. The shell had been collected by my boyfriend and myself in our earliest days together. When my workday was becoming stressful I simply slipped a hand into my pocket and held it — tracing its outline and breathing in imaginary salt air. A few months ago (whilst on holiday in the Isle of Weight), I absent-mindedly mentioned this habit to my boyfriend.

Long-distance sex hacks with the magic of technology

Long-distance relationships of all kinds are more and more prevalent thanks to technology. Keeping in touch is easier than ever before… but sometimes it’s the lack of touch that makes these relationships difficult. Long-distance sex is totally possible, and it can even be totally fulfilling. I’m going to talk about some long-distance sex hacks using technology. Let’s talk about some long-distance sex hacks using technology.

3 ways to keep the peace when you move in with your partner “too soon”

Shortly after Christmas, I moved in with my boyfriend. But it wasn’t necessarily happening because we wanted it to. To make a long story short, the living situation I had planned fell apart on me pretty suddenly, and he offered to take me in. My only other option was uprooting everything I’d built for myself, and moving back in with my mother — over 100 miles away. There were a few things I knew would have to happen right off the bat in order to keep the peace between us. And as a result of the following tactics, we haven’t had a single problem with this living situation.

How a year on the road saved my life and helped me grieve

My fiancé has always loved travel, and was saving up for a year long road trip cross-country to take with his brother after he finished grad school and his brother got out of the army. When his brother passed away in Afghanistan in 2010, our lives were shattered pretty completely. His death impacted everything, and left us in the center of this desolate vortex of grief. Not knowing how else to proceed we kept moving and decided to still take the trip together. So on a hot sweltering day in July, we packed the Volvo and drove off.

Finding a Dominant/submissive play partner

“I’m in a relationship where my partner is not interested in BDSM, but I am. My partner has decided that they’re okay with me going to someone to help me with my needs. The problem is I don’t know how to do this!”

I can help! First we’ll talk about what to consider before engaging in a BDSM relationship, and then we’ll talk about finding one.

How do you talk about deal-breaker topics?

(Un)Fortunately, we can’t always convince everybody to agree with our personal brand of freedom and equality. By now I have realized that screaming “This is so unfair! Why don’t you want to understand?” is not the smartest way to begin any kind of conversation. How do you cope with constant mentioning of idealogical deal breakers — homophobic, racist, misogynic, and many other discriminatory comments — with people you can’t necessarily break things off with.

Single-living vs. couple-living: one woman’s pros and cons

I’m quite satisfied with the single life. Though I’ve really loved loving and living with my manfolk too. They are very, very different lifestyles. I’ve been having a funny feeling that I’m going to meet someone soon, and it’s leading me to wonder if I even really want to. I’ve been contemplating single versus couple life a lot lately…

Clothespins, sex, and cerebral palsy

Carrie is a Los Angeles-based writer who’s written about her experiences with kink and disability. “It’s not often (i.e., almost never) that I get told I’m good at a physical activity. But now my body, which had spent so many years letting me down and making decisions without my consent, had gone and done something absolutely right — and done it better.”