Reading Time: 10 minutes When my Grade 5 class went through Ontario’s reproductive health curriculum in the mid-1990s, the boys and girls were separated, and received remarkably different lessons. Along with the basics of our changing bodies, I and the girls were shown how to use condoms through a banana demonstration, and told how important protection would be when […]
Sex & Gender
Exploring sex and gender from the secular perspective.
Posted inSexuality
In defense of the May/December relationship
Reading Time: 4 minutes I met my future husband in 1996, two years after losing my partner Brian to cancer. A former British army recruit, Brian was 47, I was a couple of years older. We’d been together for two decades. Then I met Marcus. Frankly, I thought nothing would develop out of our chance encounter on a tube […]
Posted inSex & Gender
Mad religious laws: Gender-segregated weddings hinder female photographers
Reading Time: 5 minutes Half a lifetime ago, after earning a diploma in photojournalism—a course paid for by a local weekly I worked for in South Africa—I immediately put my newly-acquired skills to work outside office hours by doing something that, today, would get me lynched. I’d lean over garden gates and fences and snap pictures of young children. […]
Posted inSex & Gender
Faith and sexuality collide in Finland
Reading Time: 5 minutes Two court cases about faith and sexuality have been dubiously characterized as “shocking” and “a ‘canary in the coalmine’ for freedom of speech throughout the Western world,” according to human rights lawyer Paul Coleman of the conservative, religion-promoting Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADFI). Though the ADFI’s characterization may sound a bit overwrought (and is), it’s, […]
Posted inSex & Gender
The secular humanist’s guide to trans advocacy
Reading Time: 16 minutes I really didn’t want to have to write this piece. Amid pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, along with famines, the ravages of climate change, and other global conflicts, did the U.S. really need to exacerbate human trauma by introducing so much harmful legislation lately? Gosh. Even writing that, it’s hard to pin down which […]
Posted inComedy
What not to say during sex
Reading Time: < 1 minute I was inspired by Erin Louis’ piece 10 secular alternatives to “Oh My God” during sex and decided to write this autobiographical post. While Erin explores the many alternatives of what you can say during intercourse, I would like to share what not to say. How do I know what not to say during sex? […]
Posted inComedy
10 secular alternatives to “Oh My God” during sex
Reading Time: < 1 minute My personal go-to when replacing the word “God” is Lemmy. As in the rock god Lemmy Kilmister. Like when someone sneezes I might say, “Lemmy blesses you.” Or “Lemmy help me, my boss is an idiot.” But saying “Oh my Lemmy,” during sex, particularly if the person’s name doesn’t happen to be Lemmy, could be […]
Posted inCulture
Why is Kim Kardashian yelling at us?
Reading Time: 2 minutes That’s the tweet from author and activist Glennon Doyle about Kim Kardashian’s recent viral advice for working women as part of a Variety interview shared on their social media account. Doyle, who is known for being outspoken and direct, but not unkind, summed up how many of us are feeling. Kardashian’s hot take is not […]
Posted inBooks
Babes + booze 4ever: A review of “Girly Drinks” by Mallory O’Meara
Reading Time: 3 minutes When you hear the phrase “girly drinks,” what comes to mind? Probably pink drinks and cosmos, white wine, and sweet fruity stuff. But what if I told you these concoctions are a pretty recent development that actually reflects a centuries-long history of men trying to exclude women from developments in various important aspects of alcohol […]
Posted inSex & Gender
Why I wish I’d transitioned when I was 12
Reading Time: 7 minutes Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered that parents of trans children be prosecuted as child abusers. The Biden administration has mobilized against the order, and the ACLU is suing, but the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has begun investigations of some parents. A district judge has now blocked these investigations pending a March […]