Cory Silverberg's Blog, page 4

Sexual Readings

The Polish Church's Gender Problem

A sociologist describes how Poland's Catholic Church has turned gender (or sometimes "gender ideology") into the newest wolf in sheep's clothing aka the devil. This op-ed is translated and I'm not sure if it's the translation or not but as it reads the Church also has a real problem understanding the difference between sex and gender. According to the piece the Church has produced posters for schools reading "Protect Your Child Against Gender" and a priest r...

Have You Ever Tried to Burn a Condom?

Late last year, sometime around World AIDS Day, someone sent me a link to a piece of art and activism, a poster with the image of a burning condom called Litany for Burning Condoms. The image and words are shared by Chaplin Christopher Jones and Ted Kerr, inspired by the work and lived experience of Chaplain Jones. The poster itself was part of poster/VIRUS, from AIDS Action Now, curated by Alex McClelland and Jessica Whitbread.

One of the many things that made the poster such an effective i...

New Study Describes Incidence of Vulvodynia in the US

It usually isn't until our life is touched by a problem with health that we begin to understand how complicated and uncertain our grasp on pain and illness is. The media, and the medical and pharmacological industrial complex paint a picture of health, illness, and disease as three very different things, each of which can be measured, identified, and altered with precision and certainty.

But then your body begins to fall apart, you or someone in your life gets injured, becomes sick, and you s...

Can Sex Be Heteronormative?

A few weeks ago I received a letter from a woman who was planning on starting to have a certain kind of sex again. Well that was her hope. She hasn't had vaginal intercourse much in her life. There were many reasons for this which she shared, one of them was that it never felt that good. It's possible that her question was a simple one about pain during intercourse.

But she had an amazing way of describing her understanding and experiences of her sexual past, and I got completely caught up in...

Of Hymens and Homers

There's so much silence and shame around sex in most cultures and communities that it's easy to blame the silence for sexual ignorance and misinformation. But sometimes it isn't the silence that keeps us confused. Sometimes it's the information we're given.

You've probably heard the joke (or maybe it's just a saying) that is meant to suggest someone is the very definition of a thing. Like "When you look up loser in the dictionary..." or "When you look up Homer in the dictionary...".

It works...

Sexual Resolutions 2014

Writing this blog was the first time I wrote (or typed) 2014 as the year it is, not the year it will be. That first time always feels like a change. The feeling for me is sort of like being stopped unexpectedly in the hallway as I'm walking from one room to the next. I often get so engrossed in work that I forget that other people live in my house with me or work in the office I work in. I'm going to get a glass of water and suddenly someone is there, their presence bringing me back to an awa...

Remembering Sexuality and Gender Losses in 2013

In 2006 I made a list at the end of the year of people who worked in sexuality who passed away. Some of those people were recognized with obituaries in the media of record, but most weren't. Since then what began as a task that took a few hours has become an assignment I begin in late November and spend a few weeks working on.

Over the years the remembrances have grown longer and I've moved away from including anyone who receives a lot of media attention. The goal of the list is to share with...

Top Sex Questions of 2013

It's a completely unscientific sample, and may tell us more about search engines than people, but since 2006 I've I have been compiling a yearly list of the most frequently accessed sex questions on About.com.

This year there are many of the usual suspects (penis size, anal sex, masturbation) but a question about having a too small penis was supplanted this year by a question about having a too large penis. In both cases it's more the "too" than the size that's the problem, but I guess proble...

Holiday Sex Guide 2013

At best the holidays are a mixed blessing. Even if you have a place to go and people to be with, sometimes getting to those places and being with those people for more than a day can be highly stressful.

I know the sex addiction industry won't like me saying this, but for many of us sex can be an adaptive and useful tool for dealing with holiday stress. It can also be fun, and it doesn't have to cost a dime (although if the sex your having does come with a price, please consider tipping well...

Sex Book Gift Guide 2013

From a comic artists take on sex in the animal kingdom to a cultural anthropologists take on group sex among humans, from bisexual erotica to mixed-faith erotica, this years list of sex books covers a range of tastes and perspectives for sex geeks, photography fans, and budding sexologists on your holiday gift list.

Books are so easy to buy online, but remember your local and independent book store this holiday season, they probably have a website too!

Read More: Sex Book Holiday Gift Guide...