Love & Relationships
Essays
Join Liz Goldwyn—author, filmmaker, and host of the hit podcast The Sex Ed—on her new book, Sex, Health, and Consciousness.
Liz Goldwyn leads a guided interactive meditation.
if you are worried about the state of your own sex life post-baby, know you aren’t alone; you’re actually part of the majority. Kara Hoppe discusses how to reclaim your sexual self postpartum.
Midori discusses her cutting edge new Kink Awareness Certification program with the Sexual Health Alliance; easing into BDSM; and how to meet kink-curious people IRL. She also answers The Sex Ed community’s pressing questions about safe words, aftercare, the difference between pain and pleasure, and more!
Have you ever been curious about kink? Fancy a little extra spice in your sex life? Fantasized about being tied up—or tying your partner up—but don’t know where and how to start? Here, we break down BDSM basics with author, artist, podcast guest, and (s)expert Midori.
The Sex Ed explores sex, health, and consciousness in the digital age. Liz Goldwyn leads a sex positive discussion with adult film star and author Nina Hartley and burlesque queen and author Dita Von Teese. Both prominent figures in their respective fields, each have helped demystify the fetish world for wider audiences and open up healthy conversations around sexuality
Founder Liz Goldwyn sits down with Girlboss and journalist Tierney Finster to talk about sex, health and consciousness.
Writer, filmmaker and founder of The Sex Ed, Liz Goldwyn, hosts an evening of conversation with Dr. Kate Lister, owner of Whores of Yore–a living archive of sexual history, and sexual anthropologist Betony Vernon, as they gather with guests to discuss erotic dress and accessories.
Watch Liz Goldwyn, writer, filmmaker and founder of The Sex Ed as she hosts a discussion with artist Genevieve Gaignard and curator Essence Harden at the inaugural Frieze Art Fair in Los Angeles. Presented by MatchesFashion.com.
How can we celebrate sex in ways that emancipate our desire from feelings of shame? Can pleasure, power and porn be redefined as a means to teach us about sex and connection?
Watch filmmaker and founder of The Sex Ed, Liz Goldwyn, in conversation with award-winning, international indie adult filmmaker, Erika Lust, moderated by journalist and editor Danielle Kwateng-Clark.
The trio address the responsibility of representing female sexuality across creative mediums, while reframing the dialogue around pornography and gender equality.
Join acclaimed designer Christopher Kane, founder of The Sex Ed Liz Goldwyn, and journalist, author and critic Alex Fury for a discussion about sex and fashion.
In this piece, Ruba talks about wishing there was more open support around postpartum sex and sexuality; the pressures she felt to ‘get back into the swing of it,’ despite not feeling ready; the lube she considers to be a game-changer; and more.
You may be thinking, “what the hippie heck is sex magic?” Simply put, sex magic is a way of harnessing mindfulness through intention setting during orgasms. This means that when you’re pleasuring yourself or having intimate, connected sex with a partner, you meditate on goals that you wish to attain while climaxing. This could be a new job, an intention to cultivate more self esteem, a dream of where you want your life to go, or even what a partnership could feel like— imagining being fully held, nurtured and seen in the eyes of another.
Venus, the ancient Roman goddess of love, beauty and sexuality, is much more than an enchanting star of mythology. Venus is a divine ray of light that embodies the most beautiful parts of ourselves. This is a guide to understanding how you love and nurture by your Venus zodiac written just for The Sex Ed by astrologer Lisa Stardust.
This special feature covers ways to explore self care and sex itself during the upcoming holiday season. We hope to remind you how important it is to love yourself and spend time around people who support and love you. We want to empower you to pick and choose how you want to engage with yourself and others during this time of year.
My first real job was as a paid intern for Planned Parenthood. I was 13 and hadn’t gone “all the way.” I was working in the office at the Santa Monica clinic in Los Angeles in the thick of STD testing with anti-abortionists picketing outside—plunged into the deep end of my “professional” sex education.
Have you ever felt so stressed that the idea of having sex to feel better actually made you MORE stressed? Maybe you had a terrible week at work and the thought of giving or receiving pleasure feels impossible…
As a certified, professional sex coach, I am frequently asked what is “normal sex.” Here is the truth—our sexuality is as unique as our own fingerprints.
Prostate massage began as a practice reserved for royalty thousands of years ago in the Imperial Harem of China—a selection of 20,000 women chosen to help produce heirs and assure the continuation of the Emperor’s dynasty.
“It burns,” she whispered into my ear. “I used a brand-new sex toy and I don’t understand why my entire vulva is on fire.”
Podcast
Do you ever feel stuck in your head during sex, not quite able to fully tune into your body? Sometimes it can help to center yourself with a pre-sex body scan. That’s right, listening to this meditation can enhance your pleasure – be it solo or with a partner. Host Liz Goldwyn guides you through a quick body scan to get you feeling yourself and centered.
Join Liz and Soulei Goe for a Sound Bath. A sound bath is a meditative experience that uses sound frequencies to induce a state of tranquility in the body and brain. We encourage you to enjoy, sit back and float as you listen to this special recording that’s designed to help you let go.
The Sex Ed Podcast is BACK with a special holiday treat! We’re giving you the tools to expand your pleasure potential and bliss out. Liz Goldwyn guides you through a meditation designed to help you breathe your way to orgasmic bliss with this special edition release.
This week’s guests are Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg, who are life-long friends as well as co-creators and writers of the hilarious, Emmy nominated animated Netflix series, Big Mouth, Season 3 of which premieres October 4th. Liz, Nick and Andrew discussed writing comedy about the awkward stages of puberty; Hormone Monsters; enthusiastic consent; andhow to be a woke man in the 21st century.
This week’s podcast guest Lykke Li is a singer, songwriter, mother and co-owner of Yola Mezcal. She has been on tour supporting her record SO SAD SO SEXY and follow-up EP, STILL SAD STILL SEXY, which came out in 2018 and 2019. Lykke and Liz talk about creating art from pain; motherhood in the music business; why she’s over music festivals and how her personal definitions of love have evolved.
This week’s guest is Alia Shawkat. Alia is an actress, producer, writer and artist. Among her many credits are starring roles on Arrested Development and Search Party. She also wrote, produced and starred in 2018’s modern erotic love story, Duck Butter. Liz and Alia talked about navigating coming-of-age in Hollywood; her upbringing as a child of a strip-club owner; and how she is invested in changing depictions of sexuality on screen.
Our guest this week is Dr. Linda Mona, a highly honored clinical psychologist specializing in patients with chronic health conditions and disabilities. Dr. Mona works as a consultant to healthcare service providers, in addition to her private practice, where she focuses on the importance of sexual health as a means of improving overall quality of life. Dr. Mona and Liz talk about digital dating with a disability; her favorite sex toy recommendations and how a disability can in fact make you MORE creative in the bedroom.
Today, our guest is Liz’s brother, Tony Goldwyn. Tony is an actor, director, producer and activist, most notably known for playing The United States President Fitzgerald Grant on ABC’s SCANDAL for 7 seasons. Tony and Liz discuss male privilege; their father’s sometimes “tough love” advice; appearing nude onstage and on screen; what it was like to become a sex symbol at 50 and how intimacy evolves with age.
This week, our guest is Rabbi Denise Eger, who leads Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood. Rabbi Eger is one of the first lesbian Rabbis to work openly in the United States, and was the first queer President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which is the largest organization of Rabbis in the world. Rabbi Eger gives a blessing before a conversation about sex and spirituality; the myth of Lilith; ordaining California’s first legal lesbian wedding and how she is leading her congregation to evolve past the gender binary.
No one person is an expert in love. So, for our season finale, Liz asked 50 strangers about LOVE: What is love? Does love hurt? Is love scary? Have you been in love? Their answers reflected a diversity of experiences and perceptions from young, old, single, happily partnered, divorced, polyamorous and currently heartbroken people. From fears of dying alone and being eaten by cats, to a couple that have been together 47 years— this episode covers it all. Visit www.thesexed.com to stay up to date on Season 2!
Dr. Wendy Cherry is a Sex Therapist and Executive Director and co-founder of the American Association of Couples and Sex Therapists (AACAST.) Dr. Cherry is also Co-Director of UCLA’s AACAST’s programming, for Medical residents, undergrads, licensed and practicing sex therapists. On this episode, Liz and Wendy cover what sex therapy is and how it works, how we can overcome internalized erotic shame, and how to break the ice to your partner when you want to address an issue in the bedroom.
Gwen McClendon is a minister at Shabach Christian Fellowship Church in Los Angeles. She has also been a sex educator since 1969. With over 50 years of experience speaking to teenagers about sexuality, both in the public school system and as a Youth Pastor, Gwen understands first hand why abstinence only education doesn’t work. In this interview Gwen and Liz have a nuanced conversation about sex, love and God, as well as teenage hormones and the church’s responsibilities when it comes to sex education.
Lou Paget is a certified sex educator who travels the world sharing accurate, practical information with honesty and accessibility. She’s also the bestselling author of 5 books on sexuality. In this episode, she shares her tips for the best cunnilingus and fellatio among other insights into the bedroom.
What do you imagine when you hear the word celibacy? A monk taking a vow of chastity? Someone denying themselves pleasure? Do you imagine someone saving themselves for marriage or God? Do you think that if you go too long without penetrative sex, you’ll grow cobwebs? Do you consider celibacy the absence of all orgasms - including masturbation? Have you ever gone through a period of self-imposed celibacy? For our season three finale, Liz dives deep into the topic of Celibacy with the help of some friends and guests from this season.
This special episode pays homage to rock’n’roll of the 60s and 70s with legends Bebe Buell and Pamela Des Barres. Pamela and Bebe are icons who have written groundbreaking, NY Times bestselling memoirs about their wild times loving, and leaving, some of the biggest rock stars of our time. This week, Liz talks to Pamela and Bebe about the free-love innocence of days gone by for this special episodeon sex, drugs and rock’n’roll!
Ana de la Reguera is an actress, producer and activist. Liz talked to Ana about her new semi-autobiographical TV show, ANA, which she created, wrote, produced and stars in; her experiences in the telenovela world; why you need to find someone who’s got check, chic and shock; and how she’s coming of age sexually in her 40s.
Peggy Orenstein is the author of the groundbreaking NY Times bestseller Girls & Sex, and its followup, Boys & Sex. Her byline has appeared in the NY Times, The Atlantic, Washington Post and more. Liz talked to Peggy about “feminist fuckboys”; teaching boys to embrace their vulnerability and process complex emotions; why hookup culture isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, regardless of gender; and what we can do to raise boys away from the shadow of toxic masculinity.
An exclusive episode of the podcast featuring Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s Creative Director. Liz met Alessandro in Milan to talk about his erotic relationship to nature; why Rome is his mistress; moving beyond confining modes of masculinity; his passion for dressing like a 1950s granny and how he channels orgasmic energy every day.
Books
Selected Poems is the classic volume by the distinguished and celebrated poet Gwendolyn Brooks, winner of the 1950 Pulitzer Prize, and recipient of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. This compelling collection showcases Brooks's technical mastery, her warm humanity, and her compassionate and illuminating response to a complex world. This edition also includes a special PS section with insights, interviews, and more—including a short piece by Nikki Giovanni entitled "Remembering Gwen."
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A writer, activist, and mother of two, Audre Lorde grew up in 1930s Harlem. She earned a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University, received a National Endowment for the Arts grant for poetry, and was New York State’s Poet Laureate from 1991 to 1993. She is the author of twelve books, including ZAMI and THE BLACK UNICORN. Lorde died of cancer at the age of fifty-eight in 1992.
Zami is a fast-moving chronicle. From the author’s vivid childhood memories in Harlem to her coming of age in the late 1950s, the nature of Audre Lorde’s work is cyclical. It especially relates the linkage of women who have shaped her . . . Lorde brings into play her craft of lush description and characterization. It keeps unfolding page after page.
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Throughout her illustrious career in letters, Maya Angelou gifted, healed, and inspired the world with her words. Now the beauty and spirit of those words live on in this new and complete collection of poetry that reflects and honors the writer’s remarkable life.
Maya Angelou: The Complete Poetry also features her final long-form poems, including “A Brave and Startling Truth,” “Amazing Peace,” “His Day Is Done,” and the honest and endearing Mother.
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Charting Kiki and Man Ray’s volatile relationship, award-winning historian Mark Braude illuminates for the first time Kiki’s seminal influence not only on Man Ray’s art, but on the culture of 1920s Paris and beyond. The works they made together, including the Surrealist icons Le Violon d’Ingres and Noire et blanche, now set records at auction. As provocative and magnetically irresistible as Kiki herself, Kiki Man Ray is the story of an exceptional life that will challenge ideas about artists and muses―and the lines separating the two.
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Finely dressed and finely drunk, Charlie Price is a man dedicated to his vices. Chief among them is his explicit novel collection, though his impending marriage to a woman he can’t love will force his carefully curated collection into hiding. Before it does, Charlie is determined to have one last hurrah: meeting his favorite author in person, Miles Montague.
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With Sex, Health, and Consciousness, Liz Goldwyn, founder of the thriving online platform and podcast The Sex Ed, has created an inclusive, holistic, and much-needed guide to sexual well-being—and the pleasure that's possible when we embrace our sexuality as a natural part of a healthy human experience.
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This book redresses the balance, revealing the history of the sex trade through the eyes of sex workers. These tales are brought to life by Whores of Yore creator Kate Lister’s witty and authoritative text, and illuminated by a rich archive of photographs, artworks, and objects offering insight into sex workers’ lives, challenging assumptions about this age-old trade.
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Written by a psychologist and relationship expert, Baby Bomb offers powerful tools based in psychology and neurobiology to help you and your partner co-parent and co-partner as a solid and supportive team--while also cultivating mad love for each other! You'll find more than just "tips" for better parenting and partnering; you'll discover how a secure-functioning relationship is essential for raising happy, healthy kids.
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On Her Knees chronicles Brenda’s spiritual journey over the course of a decade in LA, through marriage, divorce, unlikely friendship, and sexual exploration. Through it all, she began tearing down the false idol of purity while refusing to abandon her faith. Told with raw honesty, sans obligatory shame, this is a story for anyone who wonders if it’s possible to love God without fearing sex, in all its shades of grey.
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Sexually transmitted diseases have been hidden players in our lives for the whole of human history, with roles in everything from World War II to the growth of the Internet to The Bachelor. Ina Park, MD, has been pushing boundaries to empower and inform others about sexual health for decades. With Strange Bedfellows, she ventures far beyond the bedroom to examine the hidden role and influence of these widely misunderstood infections and share their untold stories.
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A comprehensive and fun-to-read guidebook for people of all sexual identities and experience levels, Getting It covers all the bases of hook-up culture from first moves and sex etiquette to navigating non-monogamy and sexual health. In an era of endless crossed signals and heightened awareness of consent and respect, award-winning author and sex educator Allison Moon shows you how to achieve safe and enjoyable encounters by practicing clear communication and consideration of all parties involved--yourself included.
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Everyone has secrets, especially secret, kinky desires. Unspeakably Erotic: Lesbian Kink is guaranteed to trigger that hot flush that comes with the discovery of a new, sexy, sometimes unmentionable desire and that insatiable hunger that is left wanting more.
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A collective work of art whose time has come. Of lasting value for all lovers of literature and the erotic, this is a glorious, groundbreaking celebration of black sensuality, including works by Alice Walker, Ntozake Shange, and many more.
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Some Men explores the promise of men's violence prevention work with boys and men in schools, college sports, fraternities, and the U.S. military. It illuminates the strains and tensions of such work-including the reproduction of male privilege in feminist spheres-and explores how men and women navigate these tensions.
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The effects of traditionally defined masculinity have become one of the most prevalent social issues of our time. In this engaging and provocative new book, beloved actor, director, and social activist Justin Baldoni reflects on his own struggles with masculinity. With insight and honesty, he explores a range of difficult, sometimes uncomfortable topics including strength and vulnerability, relationships and marriage, body image, sex and sexuality, racial justice, gender equality, and fatherhood.
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Plays Well in Groups provides a historical and cultural history of group sex throughout the ages. From depictions in Paleolithic cave art to the Playboy mansion, Katherine Frank delves into the fields of sociology, biology, anthropology, and psychology to provide explanations for both, participation in group sex and the complex reactions to it—from fascination to fear. This book draws on survey research, ethnographic observation around the world, and interviews with participants to offer a cross-cultural look at the manifestations and meanings of group sex; who has it, and why.
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A journey into the Big Questions that will turn you into a thinking person about sex and consent, with the ability to wrestle towards the answers that work for YOU and continue to wrestle towards them for the rest of your life. What is the meaning and purpose of sex? How does it intersect with who I am? Why are people so afraid of it? What does a healthy and joyful approach to sex look like for me? Why is consent so much more than a yes or no question?
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In a world that thrives on aggression and physical force, male violence has become an all-too-frequent response to the frustrations and anxieties that fill men's lives. Men's Work gives back to men the power and responsibility they need to unlearn the lessons of control and aggression. Going beyond the mythology of the current men's movement, this revolutionary work identifies and develops the social and political framework on which to place men's individual efforts to recover their humanity.
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With The Breathing Book, young readers discover the power of mindful awareness through a series of breathing practices and engaging activities designed to calm the mind and body, set positive intentions, and spark creativity and imagination. A book that’s much more than just a book, this interactive offering from Christopher Willard and Olivia Weisser invites readers to bring their full attention to the sights, sounds, and tactile sensations that arise as they explore the practices on each page with awareness.
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In Love Without Reason: The Lost Art of Giving a F*ck, activist and filmmaker LaRayia Gaston shares an inspiring and actionable guide to help us connect with our hearts, reawaken our innate desire to make a difference, and then actually make that difference in a way that nourishes our souls.
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When we live in the ego, we find ourselves full of fear and resistance. When we live in the soul, we are able to be present, listen deeply, and love fully. This is the central teaching in Walking Each Other Home, an intimate dialogue between Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush about loving and dying. Join these two lifelong friends and luminaries as they share stories and exercises, endowing us with the wisdom they have gleaned along this path to help prepare us for the most important spiritual practice there is: dying itself.
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Millions of broken couples say sexual dissatisfaction was their number one reason for ending the relationship. Learn how to recover your passion, find the connection you crave, and boost your sexual confidence. Or gain the insights you need to embark on a new adventure without the sexual baggage and challenges of the past. No matter where you are in your sexual evolution, this intimate, practical guide will help you renew your curiosity, reclaim intimacy, and embrace your full potential for erotic freedom.
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On Enlightened Sex, bestselling author David Deida presents his first full-length audio curriculum for transforming your lovemaking. Through 10 in-depth sessions of guided practices, sexual skills, and provocative insights into the nature of human sexuality, David Deida shows you how to sustain the ecstasy of deep sex.
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Gay Hendricks, PhD offers a series of proven breathing and visualization exercises (some to practice alone, some with a partner) that gives you the opportunity to experience a new level of sexual bliss.
Dr. Hendricks research has shown that conscious breathing is essential to health and vitality. Now he reveals a new pathway to fulfillment for people who seek radical enhancement and deep healing of their sexuality.
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Peter Wohlleben is the author of numerous books about the natural world including The Hidden Life of Trees, The Inner Lives of Animals, and The Secret Wisdom of Nature, which together make up his bestselling The Mysteries of Nature Series. The Hidden Life of Trees explores questions such as: are trees social beings?
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The Secret Life of Plants explores plants’ response to human care and nurturing, as well as their ability to communicate with humans, their surprising reaction to music, lie-detection abilities, creative powers, and much more.
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From the ancient poet Sappho to tombois in contemporary Indonesia, women throughout history and around the globe have desired, loved, and had sex with other women. In beautiful prose, Sapphistries tells their stories, capturing the multitude of ways that diverse societies have shaped female same-sex sexuality across time and place.
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This is an all-encompassing, no-holds-barred exploration of CBD and sexual wellness. This sex positive book is full of helpful information on sexual health, empowering advice, and tips and tricks on using CBD in the bedroom.
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In defiance of the brutal military government that took power in Uruguay in the 1970s, and under which homosexuality is a dangerous transgression, five women miraculously find one another—and, together, an isolated cape that they claim as their own.
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C is for Consent follows expert recommendations about letting kids make their own decisions regarding physical affection. The book teaches babies, toddlers, parents, and grandparents that it is okay for kids to say no to hugs and kisses, and that what happens to a person's body is up to them. This helps children grow up confident in their bodies, comfortable with expressing physical boundaries, and respectful of the boundaries of others.