AlterNet.org: Sex and Relationships

Ellen Stands Up to Right-Wing Gay Bashing Group

Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:01 PST

"One Million Moms" is angry JC Penny is sticking by Ellen, their spokesperson. Ellen had some choice words for them in return.

The Making of Gay Marriage's Top Foe: How Maggie Gallagher's College Pregnancy Made Her a Traditional Marriage Zealot

Mark Oppenheimer, Salon — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:00:01 PST

Maggie Gallagher has devoted herself to stopping same-sex marriage.

Has the Market Rejected the Religious Right's Hateful Social Agenda?

Tina Dupuy, AlterNet — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:01 PST

It's clear from advertising that the market does not favor the GOP's social agenda.

Is It Time for Fair Trade Porn?

Erika Christakis, Huffington Post — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:00:01 PST

Like people once thought little about their food's provenance, porn consumers think little about where their porn is sourced. But that could change.

Knocked Up: Republican Presidential Candidates' Plan for American Women

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:00:01 PST

Birth control is under attack by all of the candidates competing for the Republican presidential nomination.

Sex Therapist Shares the Secret to Hot Sex (Hint: It Has More to Do With the Mind Than the Body)

Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:01 PST

Sex therapist Marty Klein's message is antithetical to the sex advice found everywhere from self-help books to the supermarket checkout line.

Son of New York Police Commissioner Accused of Rape, Media Smears Alleged Victim

Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:00:01 PST

A prominent New York TV anchor is accused of rape -- but the tabloids smear the accuser. What's so dismaying about the coverage is how pathetically typical it is.

Praying to Be Skinny and Straight: Why Evangelicals Are Concerned With Weight-loss and 'Ex-gay' Therapies

Hannah Tepper, Salon — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:01 PST

A new book reveals how evangelical culture equates gayness and fatness as both sinful inabilities to control urges.

Why New Birth Control Benefits are the Right Choice and Why Religious Conservatives Have it Wrong

June Carbone, Naomi Cahn, AlterNet — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:00:01 PST

In a country of alarmingly high unplanned pregnancy, American women need access to affordable birth control for economic and health reasons.

DNA Database of Men Who Pay for Sex? The Strange Push to Make Cops Collect DNA from Suspected Johns

Melissa Gira Grant, AlterNet — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:00:01 PST

Law enforcement and conservative campaigners want to threaten men who buy sex with the possibility of being marked for life in a government database.

Memo to the News Media: Newt Didn't Want an 'Open Relationship' -- He Just Wanted to Cheat

Theresa "Darklady" Reed, AlterNet — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:00:01 PST

You donâ€™t lie about an affair for six years and then ask permission.

Why Evangelicals Don't Care When Rich White Conservatives Defile Marriage

Amanda Marcotte, AlterNet — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:01 PST

Gingrich doesnâ€™t live by the strict sexual rules laid out by conservatives, because those rules are meant for other people: the poor, Democrats, gays, and minorities.

3 Ways Conservative Christianity's Obsessions Promote Abortions

Valerie Tarico, Away Point — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:00:01 PST

One of the great ironies of American society is that most abortions in the U.S. are caused by conservative Christians.

Is Gay a Choice? The Science Behind Actress Cynthia Nixon's Controversial Remarks

Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:00:01 PST

Activists have long combated attacks on LGBT identities by highlighting the science showing that homosexuality is genetic, but there is other research worth considering.

Can Infidelity Make a Relationship ... Stronger?

Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:00:01 PST

The specter of cheating looms large. But does it always have to have catastrophic consequences?

What Happened When My Wife and I Decided to Have Sex With Other People

Nicholas Garnett, Salon — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:00:01 PST

We thought bringing in new people would add adventure and spice up our sex life.

What I Learned from Christian Sex Guides (Hint: Bigotry)

Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:00:01 PST

Two religious sex advice books being hyped as edgy and sexy are actually outdated and bigoted â€“ surprise!

BDSM: Inside the World of Kink

Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:01 PST

A look at San Francisco's kink community with an assistant anthropologist and author of "Techniques of Pleasure."

Confiscating Condoms? The Dumbfounding Ways Police Deal With Prostitution

Melissa Gira Grant, AlterNet — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:00:01 PST

Each year, scores of new laws are proposed to make prostitution somehow even more illegal than it already is.

The Dumbest Things GOP Candidates Have Said About Sex

Lizz Winstead, Comment Is Free — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:00:01 PST

Why is the GOP field so obsessed with other people's sex lives?