The Happy Trail

Tinder is many things; it is all at once shallow, convenient and hilarious. For those not familiar with Tinder, it is an app where users swipe right if they are interested in someone’s profile or left to pass. If two people both swipe right, they are considered a match and can then send each other messages. Many have complained that this leads to shallow evaluations. Why subject yourself to that kind of scrutiny? In fact, it is ridiculous to pretend that this scrutiny does not already exist on some level....

Now comes the question you have, all this time, been pondering: to swallow, or not to swallow?  There is the possibility that you yourself are in biological possession of an organ of a phallic nature, and therefore may appreciate the delightful sensation of having your semen swallowed as you orgasm. Perhaps, you are not in possession of a penis biologically, but can sympathize with this person and want to bring them pleasure. But then again, perhaps you find semen somewhat repulsive, and have no wish to consume it, for fear...

With the 2014 Race and Pedagogy Conference in full swing this past weekend, it seemed fitting to do research on minority feminist movements. Any discussion in this article will revolve around the information and commentary on the web.  This is, of course, where most feminist discussion takes place nowadays. Occasionally we will see the jaw-dropping public display, such as Beyonce’s VMA performance, where the word “Feminist” was proudly shining in lights behind her. Recently we even saw former Harry Potter star Emma Watson deliver a speech to the U.N. inviting...

Douching. It’s a scary word, isn’t it? For a great many readers, the mere sight of this word causes them to shrink away and shrivel like withering flowers. “Douche not,” they cry, “for fear of infections and secretions of an unpleasant and potentially odorous nature!” Yet simultaneously, there are those readers who look upon douching and think to themselves, “What wondrous practice this is!  How clean and shiny-new I am for my sexual partner(s) after performing it.” But let us not get carried away in damnation or praise of this...

As the school year begins, a natural amount of nervousness surfaces about what this semester will mean in terms of friendships, new romantic relationships, hookups, and yes, perhaps some schoolwork as well. While all these concerns are normal, for some of us there may be a bit of anxiety about what to do in case we have a sexual encounter that does not follow the rules of consent, an incident of sexual harassment or discrimination based on our sexual or gender identities. Of course, whenever such an incident occurs on...

Contraceptives come in all shapes and sizes, but they have one thing in common; women’s bodies are their targets. Women have been bombarded with birth control options ever since the Food and Drug Administration approved the first oral contraceptive in 1960. According to Planned Parenthood’s website, the only male-oriented birth control options available are “abstinence, condoms, outercourse, vasectomy withdrawal.” However, this could all be subject to change as a new method of birth control will hopefully be added to the list of available possibilities. Vasalgel, a product developed by Parsemus...

Practice makes perfect. But does this prove true for our sexual lives? No matter how amazing one is while in the bedroom (or on the couch, on the floor, outdoors, et cetera) there is always a disconnect between how we imagine things to unfold and what actually happens. Did I put that in the right place? Was I communicating enough with my partner? Regardless, things never go exactly as we draw them up in our head; it is impossible for things to go ‘perfectly’ if there are two (or more)...

A first-year student of the University of Puget Sound sits in Diversions Café, awaiting their steaming and caffeinated beverage. She glances around her, hoping to find a distraction for the ensuing wait, and her eyes alight upon a new edition of The Trail, open to a section entitled The Happy Trail. “Ah yes!” the student thinks, “I’ve heard of this—the sex-positive source for student expression and information on sexual matters.” And yet this new student cannot help but think, “What does being ‘sex- positive’ mean?” Perhaps you have been, or...

A new duo that could be likened to Amy Poehler and Tina Fey has emerged on Comedy Central, produced by the former actress. The show follows two self proclaimed “Jewesses” Abbi Abrams and Ilana Wexler (played by creators Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer) and their shenanigans in New York City. When explaining this show to people, I have called it the feminine/East Coast equivalent of “Workaholics.” But the only thing that makes it feminine is that the main characters are female and discuss feminist issues. Why is this show so...

A page on Phoenix, Arizona’s Sex Workers Outreach Project website is asking people to sign a pledge protesting Project ROSE (Reaching Out to the Sexually Exploited), a program tied with recent laws that claim to “rescue” sex workers. Most recently, the project has gained media attention because of the arrest and conviction of sex worker advocate and trans* woman of color Monica Jones. The founder of Project ROSE claims that it is providing services to those illegally involved in “prostitution and sex trafficking situations,” and that it works towards harm...

The weather is warming up, and clothes are being stripped off. Summer is just around the corner, and it seems like the perfect time to explore sex outside! But before you frolic around town, there are a couple things that you should consider. First of all, what are we talking about here? When I talk about outdoor sex, I don’t mean sex in remote wilderness locations for just you, your partner and the mountains. Many might think of that as the ideal. I’m talking about sex in public and semi-public...