Meeting the Family

​If you are in a romantic relationship, eventually the time may come to meet your partner’s family.  This can be an important step in a relationship, because family is often a very influential part of someone’s life.  Meeting your partner’s family can create an essential connection between two important pieces of their life: their family…

When to Lose Your Virginity

Defining “Losing Your Virginity” What exactly does “losing your virginity” mean? Virginity can be defined in different ways according to your sexual orientation, beliefs, and culture.  Losing your virginity is often described as engaging in penetrative sex, including anal sex, for the first time. The definition can also be expanded to include oral sex and manual stimulation. Oftentimes, when sexual intercourse and virginity…

Online Dating

Online dating is a powerful resource for meeting potential partners. While conventional dating methods are still practiced, online dating offers a convenient, safe, alternative approach to meeting new people. Some people do not choose online dating because they meet new people in their everyday lives, while others appreciate the safety and confidence provided when initial…

A Teenager’s Guide to Kissing

This guide provides simple tips that aim to help any first kissing experiences go as smoothly and enjoyably as possible. Moreover, it addresses some common myths about kissing. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely throughout the world; as a result, a kiss can express many different kinds of sentiments. This guide focuses on kissing to…

Building Trust

Trust can be defined as relying on the integrity, word, and promise of another individual.1 Most people would agree that trust is a vital part of a relationship. Those in romantic relationships may have noticed that trust does not always come naturally in relationships and often takes a lot of work to develop. A person must…

How to Have “The Talk” With Your Parent

What Is “The Talk?” Some call it the tale of the “birds and the bees;” others call it “the talk.” Regardless of the name, it is almost always associated with feelings of awkwardness, anxiety, and uneasiness. “The talk” consists of a discussion between parents and their child(ren) about sex and sexuality. Many young people are…

The Mathematics of Love

Although human emotion is not rational, predictable, or easily quantifiable, love, like most life experiences is characterized by patterns: “from the number of sexual partners we have in our lifetime to how we message on an internet dating website. These patterns twist and turn and warp and evolve just as love does, and are all…

A Guide To Kissing

A first kiss can be an exciting and a nerve-wracking experience, but having a partner you trust and are comfortable with can help ease a lot of this anxiety. This guide provides simple tips, tricks, and pointers to kissing that will make all the difference and keep your partner coming back for more. This guide will…

Overview of Sexual Orientations

Sexual orientation is a term that describes a person’s sexual, emotional, or romantic attraction, as well as the gender(s) of the people they are attracted to.1, 2 Sexual orientation differs from gender identity in that gender identity describes a person’s psychological identification with a particular gender, rather than their attraction to people.  The Kinsey Scale—developed…