Understanding how men who have sex with men (MSM) identify with sexual role labels such as Top, Bottom, or Versatile offers descriptive insights into how sexuality, identity, and self-presentation of masculinity intersect on dating platforms. Drawing on cross-sectional data from 141,156 active users of the global gay dating app Surge, a new study describes age-based […]
Students Shedding Pubic Hair
Researchers from Indiana University studied a total of 3,139 students (about evenly divided between males and females), who completed the online Campus Sexual Health Survey, to assess their habits of genital grooming. Over 97% of students had shaved or trimmed pubic hair at some point in their life, with an average starting age of 15.5 years. […]
Broadening Our View of Autoeroticism
Sexual self-stimulation takes more forms than just stroking one’s genitals, as a recent weighted sample of 3,423 American adults shows. Some people arouse themselves by reading erotica or touching different parts of their body, or merely through personal fantasies; orgasm can also be induced by “syntribation,” which involves flexing pelvic or thigh muscles. Although little […]
Study: Mental Health Disparities Among Sexual Minorities Are Due to Family Background, Not Stigma
Compared with the heterosexual population, LGBT people today score lower on key mental health indices. Current scholarship relies on Sexual Minority Stress Theory (SMST) to explain the disparity as resulting from stigma and discrimination. Historically informed scholars question this approach, pointing to the ground-breaking work of UCLA psychologist Evelyn Hooker, who showed in the 1950s […]
Sexual Racism in LGBTQ Spaces
Interracial relationships are more common among LGBTQ people than in the heterosexual population. The common use of digital platforms by LGBTQ persons trying to find partners nevertheless exposes them to “sexual racism” through sorting algorithms and anonymous communications that permit insults that would not be tolerated in in-person interactions. Sexual racism can either take the […]
No Decrease in Male Sperm Count from 1970 to 2018
Rumors of declining testosterone and sperm count in men have been a staple of Manosphere ideology and political concerns about lower birth-rates. A new meta-analysis of scholarly articles published since 1970 concludes that there is no evidence of diminished male fertility or sperm count during this period. This directly contradicts the findings of a 2023 […]
Hunting Unicorns
A new study published in Psychology and Sexualitysurveyed 80 members of a couple, at least one of whom is bi-sexual, who had sought or were seeking a “unicorn,” i.e. a third partner to share sex and/or romance with both of them. Females are more often sought than males, which is unsurprising inasmuch as women are […]
Most Penis Size Obsession is Psychological
Physicians express concern about the growing popularity of penis enlargement procedures, which, despite the enthusiastic claims of some practitioners, the relevant professional societies regard as “experimental” due to the lack of sufficient safety and efficacy data. An opinion piece published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine recommends careful psychological screening of patients prior to receiving […]
Women Less Heterosexual than Men
LGBTQ+ identification has more than doubled since 2012 according to a recent Gallup poll. 28% of Gen Z women identified as LGBTQ+ compared with 10.6% of Gen Z men. In an in-depth piece, The Conversation brings together an interdisciplinary team (psychology, social work, and gender studies) to look at this national trend and ask if […]
Why Do Fathers Commit Incest?
A recently published study based on in-depth interviews with six UK fathers convicted of abusing their own children or step-children gives insight into the common characteristics that put men at risk for this profoundly damaging behavior. These include dysfunctional family environments in their own upbringing, an instrumentalizing attitude toward having children (i.e. doing it to […]