Sex

Will Toys Ever Go Beyond Blue and Pink?

Products marketed to children are more divided by gender stereotypes than ever, but the Internet is increasingly offering alternatives to Hot Wheels and Barbies.

• Katharine Schwab
• May 5, 2016

Does Adding ‘Genderqueer’ to the Dictionary Make It ‘Real’?

A conversation about Merriam-Webster’s newest words with a professional lexicographer

• Emma Green
• April 25, 2016

When Doctors Refuse to Treat LGBT Patients

A new law in Mississippi makes it legal for physicians and therapists to opt out of care on religious grounds. What does this mean for medicine?

• Emma Green
• April 19, 2016

What's the Answer to Political Polarization in the U.S.?

From partisan gerrymandering to exclusionary party primaries, a breakdown of the factors behind our polarized politics, and common proposals to fix it

• Russell Berman
• March 8, 2016

Female Freedom and Fury in The Witch

The film’s director, Robert Eggers, discusses how his Puritan horror story came to focus on the empowerment of a teenage girl.

• David Sims
• February 24, 2016

The Progressive Roots of the Pro-Life Movement

A new book looks at the history of anti-abortion advocacy before Roe v. Wade, arguing that today’s activists are much different than their predecessors.

• Emma Green
• February 3, 2016

Star Wars: The Feminism Awakens

Rey, the franchise’s newest breakout star, is a heroine fans can finally feel good about liking.

• Megan Garber
• December 19, 2015

In Defense of #BadSex

An annual award for literature’s worst coupling often forgets that any erotic scene can be cringeworthy out of context.

• Allan Drew
• December 1, 2015

Who's Sweating the Sexbots?

While sex robots do reflect troubling gender dynamics, they hardly doom humanity to a future of exploitation and empty relationships.

• Julie Beck
• September 30, 2015

Sleeping with Other People and the Fate of the Romantic Comedy

• Christopher Orr
• September 18, 2015

Coming to Terms With 'Slut'

After publishing my memoir, I learned firsthand how the simple act of being a woman who writes about sex can lead to vicious shaming from strangers.

• Robin Rinaldi
• September 6, 2015

Why Flibanserin Is Not the ‘Female Viagra’

The drug's controversial approval yesterday comes on the heels of two previous unsuccessful attempts, lingering questions about safety, and uncertainty about whether or not it really works.

• Cari Romm
• August 19, 2015

‘You've Come a Long Way, Baby’: The Lag Between Advertising and Feminism

Even at the height of ‘women’s liberation,’ products aimed to female consumers were actually marketed to men.

• Megan Garber
• June 15, 2015

The Real Christian Debate on Transgender Identity

Some conservatives have made mocking remarks about Caitlyn Jenner, but their attitudes obscure deep, meaningful questions about the meaning of gender.

• Emma Green
• June 4, 2015

Can Sexuality Be Changed?

A trial in New Jersey this week will determine whether telling gay people that they can become straight constitutes consumer fraud. The ruling might mean the end of so-called “conversion therapies” for good.

• Olga Khazan
• June 3, 2015

The Paradigm Lag: Why It's (Still) Awkward to Talk About Caitlyn Jenner

Cultural conventions, when it comes to talking about transgender people, haven’t caught up to cultural realities. That will change, and quickly.

• Megan Garber
• June 2, 2015

Dadbod: A New Word for a Timeless Physique

Are men really getting schlumpier, or are people just finding better ways to talk about it?

• Spencer Kornhaber
• April 30, 2015

When Sex Ed Discusses Gender Inequality, Sex Gets Safer

A new study shows a "striking" difference in effectiveness between programs that address gender and power, and those that don't.

• Julie Beck
• April 27, 2015

Only 7 Percent of Teens Are Using the Most Effective Form of Birth Control

A new CDC report shows adoption of IUDs and implants among adolescents is on the rise, but they still lag behind condoms and the Pill.

• Julie Beck
• April 9, 2015