The Happy Trail

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...

According to a recent study by Comparative Legal Services, unreasonable behavior has outranked adultery as the most common reason cited as grounds for divorce in the United States. By tracking and analyzing the reasons couples divorced since the 1970s, this study pointed towards a remarkable change in attitudes in American culture towards a possible greater acceptance for adultery in relationships. While some may consider this a sign that the family unit is all but dissolved, others, including a burgeoning group of family therapists, see adultery as an opportunity for a...

The Happy Trail wants to know! If you're a guy, were you circumcised at birth or not at all? How does this affect your self identity. Let us know in the poll below or leave a comment! Men: How do you feel about circumcision? (polls)...

The male condom is possibly one of the most commonly used and misused form of birth control in any sexual act involving male genitalia. Many who use the male condom tend to do so due to its affordability, effectiveness in the protection against STIs and pregnancy as well as the fact that this concrete barrier against potential disaster is ubiquitous among drug stores, super markets and around college campuses such as our own (check out CHWS if you want some for free!). While I could spend an entire article talking...

Japan has had its fair share of crises over the last couple of years. In 2001, they saw an earthquake, a tsunami and a radioactive meltdown. But experts are warning of a new, slower crisis that we need to be on the lookout for in Japan. Young people aren’t having sex. Journalists, economists and psychologists have been looking for an explanation of the country’s population decline for some time. According to The Guardian, 2012 saw fewer babies born in Japan than any other year on record! (It was also the...

As the school year picks up steam, things tend to get hotter and heavier. Have you thought about what you or your partner might be carrying around with you besides textbooks? STDs (or STIs, as the two are interchangeable) are real and alive on college campuses. Just last year, there were eleven reported cases of chlamydia at Puget Sound according to the Center for Health and Wellness (CHWS). Getting and STD test is simple and can save you anxiety and, quite possibly, your life. While there is no single test...

It’s really bothersome that “virginity” is still such a profound measure of worth for so many people, regardless of whether virginity is “pure” or “uncool.” The whole notion of “virginity” is silly anyway. Why is “having your cherry popped” (more on how that’s a complete fallacy later) with penis-in-vagina sex so much more significant than any other sexual act? Virginity is, in fact, a concept that arose several thousand years ago in societies where women were seen as property to be bought or traded. Forbidding women from engaging penis-in-vagina (PIV)...

It has been argued that we are entering into an era of greater visibility and tolerance of other sexualities and gender identifications. While we as a society have made great leaps and strides in our acceptance of the LGBTQ community in the last 50 years or so, we still have a ways to go in the ways in which we perceive the different manifestations of sexuality in our culture. One such manifestation is called asexuality - something that we do not talk about very often, or many of us many...

As I walked into Kilworth Chapel last Wednesday for Jay Friedman’s “J-Spot” lecture, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” was playing over the chapel sound system. “Ahh,” I thought. “This will be a great opportunity to hear about the ‘Blurred Lines’ problem from the perspective of a sex educator! This should be good!” Unfortunately, Friedman never touched on the “Blurred Lines” issue. In fact, the lecture seemed to lack any profound insight on any issue regarding sex and relationships. Friedman opened with the poetic story of what seemed to be two lovers...

When most people think of orgasms, what the French call le petit mort, they usually center on an idea of something that happens when at least one person reaches sexual climax in the context of arousal. For men this culminates in ejaculation; for women it’s an intense stimulation from within the vagina (colloquially known as the “G-spot”) and/or the sensitive nerve endings of the clitoris. Even when we bring ourselves to orgasm through masturbation, we may find ourselves harkening back to previous sexual experiences that were enjoyable, watching pornography or...

This summer I made dozens of new friends, travelled across the Pacific Northwest and was introduced to lifestyles that I had never even considered. But one of the biggest ideas that I was introduced to this summer was that of a consent culture. A consent culture is one in which the axis of all sexual interaction— or rather all human interaction— is based around consent. Now obviously this includes radical changes to our ideas of consent in sex, but it also means a shift towards complete and total respect towards...