The Happy Trail

It’s quite well-known that female hormonal birth control, particularly oral contraceptives, can often have some undesirable side effects. Mood swings, weight gain, tacky discharge and decreased (or more rarely, increased) libido are all commonly cited concerns. Fortunately, with so many brands of birth control available, many women are able to fine tune their baby-blocking hormonal cocktail to minimize these side effects. Others are content to tolerate them in favor of eliminating risk or simply enjoying more spontaneous, intimate sex without need for a condom. For many women, hormonal birth control...

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, hundreds of students piled into Schneebeck Concert Hall for the consent workshop put on by Babeland, a sex toy shop in Seattle that focuses on personal empowerment and community education. Several campus groups hosted the event, including WIXEN (a club focusing on women’s intersectionality, empowerment and narratives), Student Actitivities, SIRGE (a leadership position that advances sexuality issues, relationships, and gender education) and Greek Life. As part of an effort to introduce more sex positive education into Greek Life, all sorority and fraternity members were required to...

“:)” “Hey so what’s your story?” “You are really cute. Like in a genuine way not a tinder way” “Hi! You’re really cute. We should hang out sometime!” “So I sort of have a crush on (you)?” “Steven Hawking, me, Hitler. You have to choose. Mary one, kill one, fuck one. Go!” “Hey ms tinderella!” “You look like you need some love” “Woah, yes please.” “I want to blow in ya butthole and make your ears wiggle!” “I want to be on you” “I fuck you” In November, a friend...

Earlier this month, tech giant Facebook changed how its users are able to identify in terms of their gender. As of Feb. 13, users in the U.S. are now able to identify as one of 58 various options including the traditionally used male and female. Some of the most recent examples include identities such as Cis, Trans*, Genderqueer, Pangender and Twospirit. Users are also now able to select which pronouns they wish to use. This means that instead of the typical ‘he’ or ‘she’, people can now be referred to...

Tinder, an app that pairs you with others, has been touted as a revolution in the modern dating scene. Let us know your thoughts about it below: Do you or have you used Tinder, the dating app? (polls) Why do you use Tinder? (polls) Which gender do you identify as? (polls)...

In his most recent performance-art project, Heather Cassils spent 20 minutes attacking a 2,000lb clay sculpture in the darkness with only the occasional flash of a camera to illuminate his work. The piece, which was recently named as the winner of a 2013 MOTHA (Museum of Transgender Hirstory & Art) Art Award, was meant, amongst other things, to draw attention to the disproportionate levels of physical violence experienced by trans* and genderqueer people worldwide. Cassils uses extreme physical training to shape the body, much like he shaped the sculpture with...

Love is sometimes crazy. Sex is sometimes confusing. However, the disjointed hit-or-miss nature of good and bad in such relationships may actually have a common underlying factor at play: oxytocin. In understanding this neural hormone which has captivated the scientific community in recent decades, we may become more in tune with ourselves, others and our relationships to each other. And have better sex  to boot! Oxytocin is a social hormone released with eye contact, physical touch, social interaction and, as implied, sex. It is a primary regulator of trust, empathy,...

An increasing number of people have been discovering that monogamy is not their ideal relationship structure. Some may feel that their sweetheart lives too far away for either party to be getting everything they need and/or want out of the relationship. Others might find themselves attracted to more than one person and want to explore those attractions ethically and with the consent of everyone involved. Still others might find that they want to focus the bulk of their energies on themselves, but still want to engage in meaningful relationships that...

Genital piercings have been a longstanding taboo in American society. As a result many myths and assumptions exist about piercings themselves as well as the bodies of those to whom they belong. While they may not be for everyone, many of those who have decided to partake in piercing their privates have found euphoria with increased sensation to their already sensitive areas. But every piercing has its critics, so here are a few commonly cited facts and falsehoods about getting your goodies blinged out. Typical piercings for someone with a...

All too often­—through media, government regulation or percieved “social norms”—people get the message that their sexuality is wrong, weird or somehow deviant. Only by bringing awareness to real sexual experience, both bad and good, can individuals prove that sexuality is more personal and diverse than has been previously thought. Advertisements, movies and TV shows give women the impression that they should either be sexual objects, existing for the aesthetic pleasure of others, or that they should be virginal and sexless. Men receive equally limiting prescriptions for their sexuality: that they...

Many of us have been there before: something or someone new and exciting comes along and all of a sudden we’re entranced. There’s a natural attraction to newness and uniqueness. However, when does this attraction veer away from simple exploration of those who are different from us and enter into the danger zone of sexually exoticizing others? The traditional script for the start of a relationship in which one or both members exoticizes the other begins with a simple thought of “I’ve never been with (insert difference here) before, I...

Modern concepts of gender are expanding at an increasing rate to include people who do not feel comfortable as exclusively “female” or “male.” Germany recently added “X” as a third gender option on birth certificates, and Sweden introduced the gender neutral pronoun “hen” around 1960. In order for notions of non-binary gender to be fully embraced, though, we must develop a vocabulary to talk about it with depth and complexity. People unfamiliar with trans*, third gender and genderless identities may feel confused or even threatened when it comes to speaking...