For all my sex work scholars and aficionados out there…you’ve just been gifted a treasure trove of research! Norma Jean Almodovar is a former Los Angeles traffic officer turned sex worker turned sex work activist and founder of the nonprofit International Sex Worker Foundation for Art, Culture, and Education (ISWFACE), and her personal archive of […]
Sex Work: It Does a Body (Image) Good
A recent study published in the Sexuality and Culture explored sex workers’ relationship to body image. Although sex work can ofcourse lead to sexual objectification, the study found that sex work can also act as a productive enabler of body positivity. Participants in the study described experiences of receiving positive feedback about their bodies from […]
Brazil Stalls Youth Gender Transition Services + Judith Butler’s Latest Treatise
Moves to limit minors’ access to medicalized gender transition are not unique to the U.S. and Europe. Under political pressure and tied up in litigation, even Brazil’s leftist government has announced it is rescinding an earlier proposal to lower the age at which hormones can be obtained from 18 to 16 and the age for […]
Paying for Pride: A Queer Conundrum Continued
Dr. Daniel Conway – Reader in Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster, UK and a Research Associate at the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg – participated in the 13th Annual Conference of the Sexuality Studies Association in Toronto earlier this summer. His presentation was based on research from […]
Porn: fruitful or poisonous for couples?
A recent study from the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships analyzed pornography use in the context of coupled relationality. Specifically, the study considered the motivations behind pornography use and assessed how different motivations affected “daily dynamics” between partners. The results linked pornography as a solo project (for things like stress reduction or as a […]
Kinsey Study Suggests Camsite Interactions Can Be Educational
A large qualitative study by researchers affiliated with the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University suggests that as many as 12% of male clients who regularly use erotic webcam sites such as Livejasmin.com or Chaturbate feel they have learned things they did not previously know about obtaining sexual consent and/or respecting partners. Since the mechanics of […]
Have you heard of seminal plasma hypersensitivity?
An underdiagnosed sperm allergy is gaining more visibility. In fact, this is not an allergy to sperm itself, but to the proteins in the seminal plasma that carries the sperm. A 2024 study suggests that this allergy is more common than previously believed, partly because it often goes misdiagnosed. This condition does not solely affect women. […]
Despite liberal laws Europeans grow more hostile to sex work
Public opposition to sex work has been growing in Europe, despite more liberal policies in some countries. A study forthcoming in the Archives of Sexual Behavior shows that decriminalizing sex work does not necessarily lead to greater public acceptance, as reflected on a ten-point scale. While public attitudes in Spain did become more liberal after decriminalization in […]
Turning the table on penetration and power
A study recently published in the Journal of Sex Research examines the “Fourth Love” community in China. This group of women enjoys anally penetrating men with sex toys and are also dominant financially and romantically in their relationships. Additionally, their male partners prefer being submissive to their control. Members of this community are mostly young, […]
Incels are not a monolith
See the latest study of the growing incel (involuntary celibate) population, published open access in Archives of Sexual Behavior. 561 male subjects in the US and UK were recruited from an online Incel forum. Contrary to common stereotypes they are not particularly right-wing and 42% of the sample were non-white. Their mental health is poor, […]